Vasquez Rocks
Last Sunday, I welcomed four new members to The Hike Guy’s Hiking Club. My friend George Lucas Ric arrived with his lively two-year old daughter, Eliza. She was ready to take on the trails with her pink backpack. Also new to the club are Leighton and Lori from Upland, California, who learned about me and my hiking club through the Facebook fan page I created. The five of us would make up the day’s expeditionary force, setting out on a beautiful afternoon to explore the trails of Vasquez Rocks Natural Area Park.
Lori & Leighton exploring the Vasquez Rocks Natural Park
Vasquez Rocks are the most famous unknown rock formations in the nation. Famous for being seen in a countless number of , television shows, music videos, films and print ads, yet unknown because most don’t know the scene’s location. I’d guess that a good percentage of Angelinos have no idea that these amazing rocks are just a 45 minute drive from downtown Los Angeles. If you happen to glimpse out the window while driving up the Antelope Valley Freeway (SR 14) towards Lancaster, you might spot the fin-like rock jutting 150 feet out of the surrounding desert scrub.
I first visited the small park run by the City of Los Angeles back in 2002. Since then, I’ve been back 5-6 times. As with most visitors, I usually spend my visit with a hike or drive down to the main rocky outcrop and climb to the top. However, for the hike on Sunday, we would be exploring much of the 905 acres of land that comprise of the public park. Here’s a handful of photos taken on the 4-mile hike. You can also view more photos of this hike in a photo gallery.
Eliza with her new hiking sticker. Everyone who hikes with me gets one.
Lori & Leighton checking out the park from atop a ridge. You can see the snow-capped Mt. Gleason and the San Gabriel Mountains in the background.
Leighton checks out a natural bridge.
We snacked in one of the many of the park's pocket caves, which offered excellent views of the area. Shoshonean and Tataviam peoples lived in this area around the time the United States was formed.
The day was just about perfect for hiking.
We climbed the popular rock at the end of our hike.
Leighton resting near the top of the 150-foot high rock formation.
Click on the image above to access more photos of this hike
Kolby, great pics…great time had by Eliza and myself. She had a blast…
If we can get any extra pictures you took of us, I'd love it.
Holy crap! 1917! Sweet Lord I envy your NG collection.
Thanks, Michael. At one time, I owned all but 16 issues from 1913-1996. Space became an issue and now I just have the oldest decade or so. You might want to check this out.
That was a fun hike!
Sorry to hear–and I'm with about the printed page. I think Kindles are an abomination and I always print out articles from online to read them. The most online reading I do is people's blogs, such as yours. I think blogs are a great way for people to connect and experience life in other parts of the country and the world.