Running in Southern California

By Ernest Joseph – July 2004

On my recent visit to California, I had opportunities to run in San Diego, Oceanside and Santa Monica. Runs in San Diego and Oceanside were mostly on the beaches of Coronado and Carlsbad and pretty much solo runs. But I had a great opportunity to do a group run while in Santa Monica. The Sunday morning group runs in Santa Monica mountain trails are organized by very efficient Trail Runners Club based in Pacific Palisades. Through their web site http://www.trailrunnersclub.com I was able to get details and contact the club two weeks ahead of time and was pleasantly surprised and relieved when I saw Carol and Patty waiting for me before proceeding to the trailhead. They did not forget to wait! These year-round group runs varies in length but consistent in challenges and spectacular views it offers, and are described in details on their web-site as well as in the book “50 Trail Runs in Southern California” by Stan Swartz, Jim Wolff and Samir Shahin.

Once at the trailhead, we met up with more runners, including Adam, who was going to mark the trail with all-purpose flour paste (preserving the nature, of course) so that no one gets lost. This is important because along the way, the trails often forks in to multiple directions and there is a possibility of encountering rattlesnakes, coyotes and possibly mountain lions in these areas. There are also areas of poison oak.

The run we did was run#22; Palisades Highlands to Garapito Trail run which is a keyhole loop within the Topanga State Park. Located in the cliffs and canyons of the Santa Monica Mountains, Topanga State Park features 36 miles of trails through open grassland, live oaks and spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean. The park is located entirely within the Los Angeles City limits and is considered the world’s largest wildland within the boundaries of a major city. More than 11,000 acres of land are preserved in the park.

The run starts at the Topanga State Park access parking lot at the top of Palisades Highlands (Elevation ~ 1,300 feet) and heads toward Eagle Peak via Hub Junction (Elevation ~ 2,000 feet). Just before reaching it, we take the narrow but very pretty Garapito Trail before returning to the start. Carol (group leader), Patty and other runners started few minutes ahead of Adam and I. First few miles leading to the hub junction are mainly on Fire road, which is wide enough dirt road for a vehicle to drive. No roots or rocks to worry about. We caught up with Carol, Patty and Liz at the hub junction that allowed me to take a group picture.

From here on, I stayed with Patty and Carol running towards Eagle peak and Garapito trail road. Patty who has been running in these mountains long enough was pointing out small wonders of the nature such as sedimentary rock formations along the way. Soon we entered the Garapito trail road, which is a narrow, single-track with spectacular views of San Fernando Valley and forms a keyhole loop back to hub junction. On this trail, Patty mentioned that we would come across poison Oak, which is lush and abundant on this stretch. I never got to encounter poison Oak knowingly because at this point Mike had caught up with us and I started to respond to his speed, soon moving ahead of the rest of the group. The biggest difference between Palisades in the east and the Pacific Palisades trail running in the west is the part of the trail you pay attention to. Unlike running on the long path / Appalachian trail portions in palisades park system in New York where you constantly lift your leg up to avoid rocks and roots, on Garapito trail I was paying attention upwards to avoid tree branches from knocking me unconscious. 

As we completed the loop and reached hub junction, the trail is back on the fire road, but climbing back what we had lost going down on Garapito trail. Mike just took off from here on and thanks to Adam’s precise trail marking; I was able to return safely back to the parking lot, sans mountain lion -rattle snake-Coyote encounters.

At the end, we had post run refreshments and talk about running, from a recent experience of Badwater ultra marathon to what brand of shoes to use on trails. I was fortunate to find such a friendly group to run with while on vacation, and am glad that I made few friends along the way. If anyone travelling to LA, Santa Monica, Malibu, west valley or Ventura area and want a unique running experience, please visit Trail Runners Club web site and contact them. You will not be disappointed.