Walk #42 - Pacific Palisades - Giant Steps

Distance: 3.6 miles
Steps: 1,117
Difficulty: 5

"Here is the monster step walk, a lovely, bucolic stroll through a secluded canyon that culminates in a hideous climb of over 500 steps, in a single staircase! Alone amont the walks in this book, it is over stairs not originally intended for public use, on a route that offers no cafe or restaurant and no public restrooms, and is not well served by bus or Metro. But it is a walk of staggering beauty, over public parkland, filled with historical interest. Plus, it has that 500-step staircase!" Taken from Secret Stairs by Charles Fleming.

We saved the best/worst for almost last! The best as in the longest staircase in Los Angeles; the worst as in the longest staircase in Los Angeles. I say "almost last" because this walk marked the 39th of 42 walks. If you have not participated and want to, act quickly! It turned out to be a perfect morning in the hoity-toity neighborhood of Brentwood. If you don't know where it is, it's where OJ Simpson lived... This swanky hillside neighborhood is also adjacent to Topanga State Park (Rustic Canyon) and within minutes of starting we were in the country. A strenuous walk yet very enjoyable.

From left to right: Ines, Willie, Charles, and Enrique.

We began this walk at the intersection of Amalfi Drive and Casale Road. After walking for only a few minutes we encountered views of the Pacific Ocean and a dirt path leading to the entrance of Topanga State Park.

The Pacific Ocean in the background. I think those are vineyards on the hillside.


Rustic Canyon

Charles and moi.

The canyon views provided a dramatic backdrop to what we were about to see. Several minutes after walking on the trail we found our first staircase taking us down to the the canyon floor.

The first one consisted of 40 steps.

A 'decorated' water tower .

In addition to steps we found long, paved paths leading to more stairs; 321 of them.

They were several landings and became very steep towards the end.

Ines

This path would lead us to a big surprise! It is said that in the 1930s a local heiress, Winona Stephens, invested a fortune to build a 50-acre self-containing compound which included water tanks, fuel tanks, and power generators. The man who persuaded her to build it was a Nazi sympathizer who believed that Hitler's army would eventually take over the US. He was accused of being a spy, arrested, and sent to prison and the compound fell into disrepair and was ceded to the State of California.

At the bottom of the Canyon and along a creek lies the compound. Very little remains intact and the structures we sawe were covered over in graffiti. Charles exploring the former power station with Ines in the window.

Seeing the creek was a real treat. I felt transported by it and truly it made me forget that I was only 25 minutes (there was no traffic) away from home. Ines, Enrique and I felt a little adventurous and continued along a path for another quarter of a mile while Charles and Willie stayed at the compound.

This path would lead us to the barn.

The path continues for many miles and leads to many other trails that lead to Mandeville Canyon and Temescal Canyon and even to Mullholland Drive! I definitely want to explore this area at a later time. Charles and I are getting used to our Sunday walks and are looking for more opportunities to hike whether in urban LA or in the wilds of the city. Just don't ask me if I'll be blogging as for now, the answer is a firm "no!"

On the way back from seeing the barn I heard my name being called. Charles wanted me to hurry up and join them as they had come across some fellow Secret Stairs walkers. This was the 3rd time this has happened and I did not want to miss the photo opportunity. The other 2 encounters have been included in previous entries. We quickly caught up to the group and one of them said we were an 'inspiration' when they found out we were nearly done with the 42; they were just starting.

What goes down must come up.. It was great going down to the canyon but there really was only one way up and it was the mother of all stairways. 512 steps with no breaks! They went on, and on, and on and I felt like the kid asking, "are we there yet?"

They went on like, forever!

Almost to the top.

Charles and Willie hoofing it up the final steps. We all eventually made it up in one piece.

The view from the top.

This house was in really bad shape; likely due to land movement.

Soon we were back in 'civilization' and walking among some serious real estate. One of these has various terraces with an infinity pool on one, a tennis court on the other and I don't know what else..

Our starting point.

After a serious stair walk it's only proper to grab a bite to eat so we headed to the little village at Sunset Blvd. and Barrington Avenue in Brentwood for lunch at the Bellwood Bakery. I lived down the road on Barrington Avenue my Junior year at UCLA and it brought back some memories!

Feel free to join me as I discover hidden parts of Los Angeles and tackle the remaining 3 stair walks.

Steps walked to date: 20,097.

Follow me on Twitter: @ClimbingLA

Walk #40 : Santa Monica - Rustic Canyon Loop

Distance: 3 miles
Steps: 1,069
Difficulty: 4.5

"This is an athletic walk up the southern side of Santa Monica Canyon and back down bucolic Rustic Canyon, through leafy, eucalyptus-scented glades and past historic homes and architectural wonders. Along the way are hard bodies and ocean views." Taken from Secret Stairs by Charles Fleming.

This was an amazing walk! Exhausting and long and difficult at times, but it was really memorable. Great location, great company, great workout, and then an afternoon at the beach! It was a heck of a way to spend a Sunday.

We began this walk at the intersection of Chautauqua and PCH (Pacific Coast Highway) in Santa Monica. It was overcast (as it almost always is at the beach in SoCal) but as we say here "it'll burn off" and it did but like at 3pm! We had 2 new guests on this walk. I met Carlos recently at UCLA as we were both taking US Law and Interpreting classes. He is Colombian and so is Vlad and so am I so Spanish was heard throughout. Carlos and his wife Alice joined the walk as did two of 'regulars' - Willie and Vlad. Since Willie and Vlad participate so often maybe I should assign them to write some of these entries.

From left to right: Alice, Carlos, Vlad, Willie, Charles

I never noticed the large stairway while driving down this stretch of busy PCH - probably because if you are driving you had better be paying attention. Unfortunately, accidents are common on this highay.

Only 48 steps and we landed on a very quiet, upscale neighborhood. This was the first of our 4 Westside walks and it was great to leave the more familiar Silver Lake/Echo Park/Hollywood/Pasadena to discover new neighborhoods. I know the beach area and lived nearby while attending UCLA but I had never explored these parts of Santa Monica. On the Westside we have a Pacific Palisades stair walk coming up in addition to one by the more touristy area around the pier and a 'monster' walk high above the are in Topanga State Park. We'll be doing these before the summer ends which means we'll be done with them by October. If you want to join us we still have 25 more walks to go.

Our first stairway - 48 easy steps.

I don't get this front yard decoration scheme. Think Flintstones.

After the first easy one we encountered a very long stairway. It takes me a while to wake up in the morning and this one definitely woke me up and prepared me for what was to come.

169 steps.

It happened again! We took a wrong turn and had a laugh. Sometimes we get confused and make wrong turns and in this case we climbed the wrong staircase. It looked very inviting and we fell for the trap.

Rome has the Spanish Steps and Santa Monica has the 4th Street Steps. I had heard about these but never felt the need to drive across LA to climb them although it seems like everyone else does. There are 2 sets of them and they are not far from each other and both are clogged like the 405 Freeway on a Friday afternoon. I couldn't get a nice picture of them without people walking on them. Many people use these steps for workouts and trainers punish their clients by making them climb them again and again. It truly is a circus-type scene and I'm glad I finally was able to participate if only very briefly. 189 steep and grueling steps left us panting at the top but the payoff was worth it.

Vlad tackles the Santa Monica Steps in style.

Rustic Canyon as seen from the top of the stairs.

It seems the residents don't take too kindly to constant streams of sweaty people. You would tink that the well-heeld residents of this tony area would be able to have them closed off but according to the author of Secret Stairs, the reason they can't be closed is because they are part of a tsunami evacuation plan and must be kept open for emergencies.

How'd you like to see people doing push-ups in front of your house?

The beautiful Craftsman at the top of the stairs was built in 1905.

The views of Rustic Canyon were spectacular as were the homes on this street. We walked along this street for a while, passing the 2nd stairway before returning to it for our climb down.

The upper section of the 2nd set of the Santa Monica Steps is made of wood and they are much wider that the other ones up the street. I'm glad we climbed down.

Traffic jam on the steps.

We were soon headed towards a much quieter area - Rustic Canyon. I'd heard of it but never thought to explore it and I'm really glad we did because all 6 of us really felt it was special. On the way there we walked down an 'alley' but it was the nicest one I've ever seen.

We climbed 124 steps and no sooner had we reached the top than we saw the next staircase which would take us deeper into Rustic Canyon.

Willie taking the lead.

The Estenza house built in 1937 in the Streamline Moderne style.

Steep and uneven - I almost took a tumble here.

Mixing up the styles?

Our bucolic walk was nearly over and we wood soon rejoin the busy Chautauqua street and the bustle of the beach.

No comment!

Some may remember this place when it was the Friendship Bar.

Back on PCH and across the street from Will Rogers State Beach is Patrick's Roadhouse - a local landmark that has seen its share of Hollywood stars and where we had lunch.

Charles, Vlad and I made a day of it and after a long walk and a tasty lunch we crossed the highway to chillax on the beach. It was a perfect ending to a perfect walk.

Our Beach Condo

Charles, being a child.

Feel free to join me as I discover hidden parts of Los Angeles and tackle the remaining 25 stair walks.

Steps walked to date: 8,537

Follow me on Twitter: @ClimbingLA