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Do you have what it takes to Escape LA?


[LEFT]Like a $12 cappuccino, this highly curated route is not for everyone. It’s hard to get to.
It’s an acquired taste. It’s elitist, presumptuous, and kinda rude. But one taste and
you’ll join the fold of people denying that it exists just to keep it to yourself. You’ll start
saying silly things like “it’s freezing out here,” when it’s 57 degrees, “no one walks in LA,”
after parking your car 7 blocks away, and “LA Cycling Sucks.”[/LEFT]


Cycling in LA must really suck if a route was created just to escape. And we were about to find out!

This ride went down a month ago. I was looking forward to this route. Plenty of familiar and favorite trails, and plenty of new ones. Lots of familiar faces too. And a ton of vert.


Day 1


Herding of cats began shortly before the 7am start at the Santa Monica Pier




The whole group rolled out together.




6-7 riders doing the loop clockwise soon split off. The rest riding CCW still had a bit more gentle climbing before things got steeper through Pacific Palisades neighborhoods and then up Sullivan Ridge fire road.




Looking back at the beach




After a few miles on dirt Mulholland and then paved Mulholland we dropped down a side road and a bit more dirt into some quiet neighborhoods.


Pic by Mike


More pavement and some busier roads past Universal Studios among others, to Griffiths Park.

Looking NE to the San Gabriels, which we’d be climbing over later in the day.




Horses in the middle of LA. What were they trying to escape?




On the backside of the park we got some nice views of the Hollywood sign and rode past the Griffith Observatory, which was crazy busy even on a weekday.




We rode some more busy pavement to the I-5 crossing where we got onto bike paths for awhile




Poaching bike paths on your Harley. Cuz why not?




The LA River is a gigantic concrete spillway but it supports a surprising amount of vegetation and wildlife. It was actually pretty nice to ride along. Cafes and a bike shops opened right onto the path in places.




I caught up to Nancy, fresh from a resupply, after crossing another freeway. Lots more bike path to go.




People rail about the homeless in LA and we definitely saw some people living in squalor, but some of the camps were actually well kept and pretty ornate. And bike friendly, apparently… even if that is your bike there.




Altadena at the bottom of the San Gabriels is the last resupply for 85 miles so everyone was stopping to stock up. This put quite a few small groups of us on trail close together and we leapfrogged others a few times. Mike caught up to Nancy and I at the last taco shop and we’d hit the trail together.


Into the Gabes.

Lower Sam Merrill is a classic front side climb. There were still quite a few hikers out mid afternoon, though most were coming down.


Pic by Mike


Lower Sam is work. A bit steep, and plenty of get-offs for stair steps and rock gardens. Since we were hitting the trail 55 miles and 4,000ft into our day there may have been a bit more pushing than normal.
We got called out by a barefoot trail runner… you guys can ride your bikes, you know!




So, we pedalled…




Many riders were here for the first time so I pointed out a few sights, like the ruins of the Mt Lowe Railway at the top of Lower Sam.


Pic by Mike


Fellow San Diego riders Sammy and Shelly and a few others caught up to us at the ruins




I fell behind after stopping for a few bites of burrito so I was on my own up Echo Mtn Trail and the Mt Lowe Railway (these days it’s a fire road).




The killer sunset seemed to last forever



A bunch of riders were camping at the Mt Lowe trail camp. Mike and Nancy had waited for me there and we continued on Eaton Saddle. Camping would be more limited for awhile but I knew some good spots.

Mueller Tunnel


Pic by Mike


The final bit of dirt before the Mt Wilson Red Box road where we’d drop down to Red Box TH and fill water at the fountain.




We ran into Ben and a few other riders at Red Box. They planned to continue on. Some other riders apparently camped out of sight nearby.
I had a camp spot in mind not far down the Gabrielino Trail. There are more spots lower down towards Switzer TH but I figured those would be in a cold air drainage and damp. Beyond that it would be 90min to the next good spot, maybe longer given our current state.

The spot we picked was along a wider section of trail that was flat and wide enough for 3-4 sleepers. Another rider, Oilcan racer joined us. A few others rolled thru before we were asleep as well as some early risers before dawn. Pretty good day out. Getting onto the backside was my goal so it was good to make it there.

Day 1 Stats: 70mi, +8,600/-4,360ft, 14.5 hrs

Day 2


We got up at first light and were moving right at sunrise. Gabrielino would be a decent warmup with just a few tech bits and downed trees that we dismounted for. Stopped in at Switzers picnic area for a bite to eat then did the climb up to Hwy 2.




Telephone Trail is an interesting connector over to Mt Lukens area. Part old road gone back to singletrack, part gnarly narrow trail.




We picked our way around and over rockfall.




Powered by cocaine, in true LA style. 2 scoops should be enough to get me up Lukens? : )


Pic by Mike


There was some fast descending on Hoyt Mtn road. We would soon gain that elevation back.




Some of the fire roads are on the primitive side and pretty nice. Nancy and Oilcan had fallen back so it was just Mike and I for now.




After a quick snack and drink at the top we dropped right in to Stone Canyon. I was both looking forward and dreading the descent down Stone, which is steep and loose. There was some downhill hike a bike on this one where I wasn’t sure my brakes would be able to slow me down.


Pic by Mike


Enjoy the rest though, we’ll be going straight up the mountains on the other side next!




At the bottom we had to negotiate this sketchy rock dam bridge over the creek. Was nice to keep feet dry, until I dunked one trying to get this photo of Nancy




We all filtered water here since this was the last reliable source for 45 miles. There are a couple springs and a PCT water cache before that, but this late in the season they might not be viable.


Next up was Condor Peak Trail, just resurrected the last 2-3 years by the Lowelifes Respectable Citizens Club. The trail was wiped off the mountain by the 2009 Station Fire and following winter’s storms.

It’s a constant battle to maintain trails in these mountains and there were a few landslides lower down.




Much of this trail is rideable, but you gotta earn it.




The trail traverses steep mountain slopes. We chose to walk some of the more exposed sections where the tread wasn’t as solid.




No passing lane here. We would actually run into the race leader shortly who was riding clockwise, 200 miles in and no sleep.


Pic by Mike


I’d been thinking earlier we should have no problem making it up to Mt Gleason before dark. Nope. We weren’t even going to make the high point on Condor Peak before dark. Not a bad place to be for sunset though!




Cool shot of Mike higher up ahead of me




Not bad, LA. Not bad!




Last light. Time to finish this. A few riders were setting up camp at the high point. Mike and I kept going.




We had a couple more rolling miles on Condor Peak and then 3 miles up Mendenhall Ridge to get to the top. Mendenhall Ridge is on the primitive side and no longer open to vehicles. We had to navigate a few downed trees.




Pretty nice riding up there at night with city lights far down below.




Mike at the top at Lightning Point.




It was windy up top with lots of blowing dust, but not super cold. My original goal was to get close to Santa Clarita tonight, still 30 miles away. I figured we could see how things go to North Fork Station 8 miles away, check on water there and then make a decision.
Wind continued to gust and temps fell on the ride across. At North Fork we found the PCT water stash had a full 5gal jug and another that was half full. And a couple hiker tents set up nearby. It was sheltered from the wind so we decided to camp there as well. Found a spot away from the other tents and crashed out after a bite to eat.

Didn’t make it as far as I wanted but it was a solid day with lots of great trail.

Stats – 44mi, +9,150/-9,300, 15.5 hrs

Day 3

We were up before sunrise again. I met one of the PCT hikers who was from Scotland, thru-hiking southbound and stoked to be out. PCT passes right by North Fork and is the reason there is a water cache there.

North Fork was the furthest west I’d been previously on Santa Clara Divide Rd so most of the day would be new ground for me.

We had 4 notable climbs to get to Santa Clarita. The first were 300-500ft each, perfect to get us warmed up. Then another of about 1200ft.




There were great views of deep canyons off the side of the road. We ran into a few of the clockwise riders who were kicking ass.


Found a spot to get a nice shot of Mike rounding a corner below as we dropped down to Little Tujunga Canyon Rd.




There is a large washout on the road. We weren’t sure exactly where, just that it came on a fast section of road after a turn. Found it!


Pic by Mike


Passing the picnic area at Little Tujunga Canyon we suddenly heard our names called out. We met Emily during the Queen’s Ransom in 2022 as did Shelly, just behind us, this year. Emily made the drive over to surprise friends and hand out drinks and snacks. Beer me!


Pic by Mike


A beer and a coke powered us nicely up the next climb, after Mike stopped to insert a plug after his tire spontaneously started spewing sealant. We filled up on water at the fire station at the top. Firefighters were out getting in their PT and there were tons of bikers and hikers out, so the place was hopping.




Ran into Erin C on the descent down to town. Erin created the Tour de los Padres route


Pic by Mike


Next stop was Carl’s Jr for a burger and corner store for some snacks.




Then it was back into the hills. There was some nice singletrack to start off at Wildwood Open Space, but also some steep pushes in full sun.


Pic by Mike


The descent out of Wildwood was flowy and fun. Contouring singletrack on steep side slopes. Really nice trail I’d probably never have ridden otherwise.




The climb that followed was probably the worst one of the day. Not super long, but steep.


Pic by Mike


Nice to see some flowers out this late in the year!




Still climbin’




Cool views considering we’re still sandwiched between urban areas




Found some pretty nice trail up in the hills skirting around a Standard Oil facility.




The bits of fire road mixed in weren’t anything to complain about




On the south side of the facility we came across two City of LA park rangers on ATVs, trying to figure out how to navigate the now-very-rutted trail. They had come up from the other side. Side hill was too steep to go off trail and the rut criss-crossed randomly. We wished them luck and kept going.




Pedaling across Porter Ranch at dusk we were spotted by Ben and Nate who hollered out and joined us. Just in time for some bushwacking and rock crawling towards Rocky Peak. We’d heard this next section was overgrown through a canyon bottom with unavoidable poison oak. Turned out it wasn’t bad at all. Cool little trail, actually.




Once out of Devil’s Canyon we rode past some very expensive looking homes. There was a big to-do going on at one of them and we briefly discussed crashing the party in hopes of getting dinner. Ultimately we decided to play it safe and hit up In n Out on the other side of Rocky Peak.




Bikepacking I can usually ride about 90% of what I can ride normally. Not so easy at night though when the handlebar bag blocks your vision right in front of your front wheel. I walked some of the stair steppy drops on Chumash Trail. (Headlamp battery was dead, hoping to charge electronics at In n Out as well.)




Double double-double needed to happen. Turned out to be a good move as we found all the nearby stores and gas stations already closed for the night, so no resupply for us.
One of the In n Out workers came out and asked if we were bikepacking, said she has been wanting to give it a try. Do it! But maybe don’t start with this route : ) The guy you can see in the corner of the window came out as well. He was an e-biker and had to tell us about all his life’s adventures. He’d go back inside, and then 10 mins later be back out telling us another one. Time to get outta here!




We may or may not have had to evade a rent-a-cop parked up near the entrance to the next open space. Not quite sure since all he did was turn on flashing orange lights after we rode past, but made no attempt to get us to stop after we rode past the gate. Maybe he was worried we'd report him sleeping on the job? hahaha.




We had a decent climb up the fire road to the high point of the network. It was nice and quiet up there, and calm winds. We turned onto some singletrack, and as with Rocky Peak we were wishing for a full moon so we could see the rock formations better. I had some possible campsites marked but when we came to a wide, flat spot we took it. Was around 130am and dropping down into the valley could mean colder temps. Done….


Stats for the day – 68mi, +9,640/-11,720ft, 18hrs

Day 4


A side bonus of camping higher up was a better view of sunrise. Despite the late night we were all up and pretty much ready to go by the time the sun was up. That’s a lot easier to do when temps are nice hahaha….




Starting to move




Nate and Ben were raring to go




The descent into the valley was pretty short as was the ride along the valley bottom


Pic by Mike


And then we were back in climb mode.




I think this was the spot I had picked on satellite imagery to camp. Would have been a nice spot, but we would have missed all the views.




We were soon spread out, with Ben and Nate ahead. Had to climb all the way out of the valley and then we descended on a ridgeline heading NW.




Following a track through an unfamiliar area you can play a constant game of where are we going next? More often than not, the route does not go where you think it will. Like over and around these two outcrops.




Mike spotted a tiny baby rattler. Smallest one I’ve ever seen. Just a tiny button for a rattle.




The hills kept coming. Having not been able to resupply after In n Out, I was down to a bit of snack food. But we still had a ways to go to any sort of store.




We stopped for water and snacks near the YMCA building, then climbed up to the next hill into Wildwood Regional Park where we found a huge cactus garden. Both prickly pear and cholla.

The trail was rocky and fun, contouring across a ridgeline with some short steep climbs and great views across the valley below.




Dropping off the far side of the ridgeline there were some fun switchbacks. And a lot more cactus.




Those taller mountains in the distance are the Boney Mountains in Pt Mugu State Park. After a big loop to the east we’ll be circling way back to the west and riding behind them down to the beach later tonite.




There were still a few hills to climb before we’d get there though.




We dropped into Conejo Canyon. Like Devil’s Canyon, this reminded me of a couple trails at home with breakaway bridges and gross looking water as penalty for failure.




Checking out the waterfalls on the climb out




We were enjoying some fun flowy miles when we came across a couple guys with cameras out and hollering at us to send it. It was Gregg and Aaron who finished the day before. Gregg was co-creator of the route. Aaron lives just around the corner and invited us over for cold drinks and leftover Halloween candy. Score!






Coming up was a 75 mile stretch with no resupply. The Halloween candy wasn’t going to hold us over for long so we had already decided on a nearby Vons store for food.

Shotgunning a jar of marinara sauce as a source of quick, easily digestible calories.... You can add this to the list of things that people who don’t bikepack probably won’t understand lol.


Pic by Mike


Shelly and Sammy went for the pass while we resupplied. But we reeled them back in (briefly) just before the Sapwi bike park.




The riders in line were too puzzled to complain when Ben cut to the front and did a couple runs on the small jump line.


Pic by Mike


Stopping at this taco shop was part of the resupply plan. California burrito for dinner, and breakfast burrito for the next day. And a couple cervezas por favor. The burritos were huge! Nancy stopped by to say hi. She had scratched in Santa Clarita but lives nearby.




And she offered to ride up Space Mtn and meet us with beers. Amazing. Thanks Nancy!

We still had some miles to go…the rest of Space Mtn and Robles, then Sycamore Canyon-Pt Mugu State Park. There was some steep sketchy stuff to get through.




I got ahead of the others at one point. Winds were calm so it was super peaceful out.




Final drop down to the start of Pt Mugu. I waited a few mins for the guys there. Nate had dropped back so it was just me, Mike and Ben.




About 2/3 of the route in Pt Mugu was on paved and dirt road. Once we finished the singletrack, the road portion got absolutely frigid as we dropped further down the canyon. Layers were added and we slowed down to cut the wind chill.
Down at the beach is a campground, and then the route goes along the beach for few miles before turning uphill on pavement for 8 miles to the Backbone Trail. I really wanted to get up there to camp with an ocean view since the sunrise would be amazing.

But the cold turned me into a wuss and there was discussion of whether the paved climb would also be up a cold air drainage. All I could think about was getting into a warm sleeping bag. The campground has showers and even those did not seem appealing (also, was never able to confirm if there was hot water!) So I suggested to Mike we crash at the hike-bike campsite in the campground and do the climb in the morning. Ben decided to keep going.

I’d never been to the hike-bike site before and its just a shared site. We saw Shelly and Sammy there and another racer Keith already asleep, so snuck into a spot off to the side to avoid waking anyone. We were both out pretty quick as well.


Stats – 54mi, +7,230/-9,100ft, 15 hrs

Day 5


Early morning at the hike-bike campsite.




I woke up around 4am when I thought I heard a rider roll out of camp. Then heard Shelly and Sammy start to pack up around 6. I was wide awake by then, so might as well get up and get this climb over with.

We could hear waves pounding from the campsite. This was the view from the highway just a few hundred feet away.




I’m sure the sunrise from Backbone Trail would have been amazing, but it was not bad at sea level either. Sun was just barely up as we hit PCH for a few miles.




At the Neptune’s Net restaurant (not open til 10am) we turned uphill on Yerba Buena Rd. Fortunately the road was quiet on a Monday morning. We climbed back up past the Boney Mountains. Backbone Trail goes right over those mountains but it is California state wilderness and bikes aren’t allowed.




You don’t have to climb up Backbone very far before the views get good. Just a few more corners and we’d have a full view of the ocean.


Pic by Mike


This is the area where I’d wanted to camp. There are some nice wide spots. Ben said he’d made it up here around 1am, and Nate around 4am.




We came across a ton of hikers between the two crossings of Yerba Buena Rd. Apparently there is an organized group hike every Monday, complete with guides with walkie talkies and people posted up at various turns so no one goes the wrong way.




We stopped to refill water at the fire station on Encinal Canyon Rd. From this point on it would be new trail for me most of the day.

Lots of new growth in the burn area




Mostly the trail was riding pretty nicely, and we got back into some pretty remote feeling canyons.




Dropping into one canyon the trail got a lot more primitive with some gullies to cross and cool rock formations. The rock in this pic was super cool (cooler in person). Not a lot of people make it into this section.




There was a decent climb out of that canyon, and part way up we turned off Backbone onto fire roads that would take us into Malibu Creek State Park. Nice views up top, and not much civilization in view.




Anticipation was building for the soda machine at Malibu Creek State Park. But first we had a nice long descent. The fire road was on the primitive side and pretty nice. And it dropped is right into the site where parts of the MASH TV show were filmed.




How ‘bout a lift?




Ah, yeah! And only $1 each from the vending machine. A quick snack and a pepsi and we were off. Sun had just gone down.




We climbed over a low ridge on nice trail to get out of the park before a long pavement stretch on Mulholland Drive and a few other roads.


Pic by Mike


We missed most of sunset being down in the canyon but the after glow was pretty nice




The pavement stretch was just a bit sketchy with lots of traffic on a narrow two lane road, but most drivers were courteous. Seemed we hit it during rush hour.

We stopped for another snack at the exit onto the dirt climb that would take us over to Topanga Canyon Rd. I think that was the last of the food I had on me.




We rode past some cool looking homes in Topanga Canyon and stopped in at the Topanga Store, our final option for food/water before the end. Got a few more snacks and a Dr Pepper to get us through the final climb.




We had some more pavement miles up to Topanga State Park and then picked up dirt roads to traverse back over to the final section of Backbone Trail, which is open to bikes.

The dirt roads seemed to go on forever. But that section of Backbone is super fun. Even more so at night with city lights below and no other trail users to watch out for.




Mike got a cool shot of me looking down over Santa Monica. You can see the pier sticking out into the water a bit. Not far to go!


Pic by Mike


Took us a while to actually get out of the park, since the route doesn't exactly follow the most direct route.




Pretty good xmas light show on the ride down through Pacific Palisades




A few bike path miles along the beach and we were back at the pier. Ben was staying at the local hostel and came over to ride the last mile with us. The “100% Done” mylar balloon I found on day 2 made it the rest of the trip hahaha.


Pic by Ben


The celebration was interrupted by some idiot tourists driving a full size RV along the bike path. Fortunately they realized they weren’t gonna make it under the pier. Fingers were crossed they’d get stuck in the sand trying to do a 10-point turnaround. Morons.




We headed up top to enjoy a beverage. Nice work guys!




Apparently the pier closes at midnight and police came around to make sure everyone left. Kitchens were closed at every local place we checked with so the only food options were Wendy’s and Taco Bell. Even there the dining rooms were closed so we hit up the drive thru. Wendy’s was cool with it. Now, time to get some sleep!





Stats for day 5 – 72 mi, +10,060/-10,040, 15hrs

Totals for the loop: 308mi, +/-44,600ft, 78hrs. 4mph avg. Finishing race time was 4 days, 15.5hrs. And shared the coveted DFL with Mike : ) Winning time was 2 days, 1.5 hrs.


I really liked this loop. It was tough for sure. But it includes a few of my favorite trails and it’s hard to beat some of the sunrises and sunsets we had. If I were to do the route again I’d probably ride clockwise since it would be a whole different experience. And ask the organizers to move the group start to a full moon weekend, because that would be badass. I’d rank it harder than the AZT300 and Tour de los Padres for reference, but easier than Colorado Trail. Big thanks to Jason and Gregg for putting this event together!

I read your Trip Reports top to bottom, Evan. Thanks so much for taking the time to create and post these for folks like me to enjoy. You continue to inspire!

Thanks Evan for another incredibly informative, entertaining and inspirational TR! Sorry to post a question - but I can't help but ask how did you keep your lights and other electronics charged?

_________________
"We'll ride it until they pave it."

-Big Clyde

No worries! I carried two cache batteries with me hoping that would be enough to keep everything charged. At a couple dinner stops I found wall plugs and got those topped off a bit. That was barely enough to get through the whole ride. Sometimes people get a hotel room just to get electronics charged up. I did that twice on the Arizona trail (also needed laundry and a shower).

Following this trip I bought new lights (Fenix) with a much longer run time, that runs off rechargeable batteries I can swap out. USB chargeable is cool until you have nowhere to charge it. That's the same reason Ive always used a garmin that runs off AA batteries. I used to have a dynamo hub on my hardtail that generated enough power when moving to light a handlebar light. Which was nice since it didn't use up any power. Then just turn a headlamp on for descents.