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There is a saying that once you have seen it once, you have seen it all! Yea, that doesn’t work for me nor rocks, not in a million years. After my last cathedral experience, I was curious about the rocks afar and decided to research further. Turns out the next buddy close by was Eagle Rock. I could trek over from Hub Junction via Marvin Braude, or I could go through Topanga State Park at Topanga. I decided on the Topanga route, which gave me the opportunity to explore other hidden spots, Trippet Ranch, Musch Trail, and of course, Eagle Rock itself.
It was a windy morning and I was in no way motivated to dive in. However, I decided on squeezing myself into some thermal layers and doing my non-impressive warmups in them. I tripped a couple of times while trying to stand on one foot… I clearly need to keep working on my balance.
The fun part about doing warmups in thermals is that you are guaranteed to be a lot warmer than desired and slightly sweaty. At that point, the only logical thing to do is to throw on your workout attire and carry on with the sweaty activities. Although, I have been guilty of stopping halfway and crashing hard on the couch. Not sorry!
Anyway, I finally made it to the car and hopped on the freeway, I needed some wake-up music so alternative rock it was. Sing along, for no one can hear your cracky voice in full blast! Who cares, for you are the best singer to ever exist!
The entrance to the park already provided the scenic view I craved. This woke me up completely with the exception of my legs, they really were not in the mood for this hike but I was, so we dragged along. It was a trek but seemed like a trek on an imaginary wheatfield of perfection. I don’t know how much sense that makes, but it truly seemed like the well colored and maintained field in games and movies. I felt like I walked into a golden wheatfield and I was about to encounter a long lost friend in the midst of the field, or perhaps in my well-unified dream, and then wake up as we run to each other for a warm embrace.
Wait, what? I digress, let’s continue.
Finally, Just when I pondered if the trek would end anytime soon, I saw the outlines of rocks and loose gravel all over the floor. This is normally annoying for my feet but a positive sign that I was close. The wind was also welcoming in a very windy way, not a lot of birds nor flies… what a change from the others, I missed those damn birds!
The first glance of the rock was… still. Yea, stillness was what I felt initially, as I tried to process what I was feeling. I wasn’t exactly disappointed nor unimpressed, I was impressed but not eagle impressed 🦅. Yes, I had seen pictures but I also saw the picture of the Eagle Rock at PCT and told myself maybe, just maybe it will be slightly similar in person. The rock and its outline were outstanding and HUGE but I wasn’t blown away eagle style.
With that clarification of sorts out of the way, I was speechless by the size of this fella! Wow, it was huge! Did I also mention clean?! Yes, as I took my first step onto the rock, I noticed the outlines, formation, colors, and smoothness. Most of all, hardly any dust, it was clean! I mean, do they have a daily maintenance team that comes to give it a bath? Why so clean! I could fall asleep on this baby!
I didn’t fall asleep, In fact, I was a nervous wreck as I walked my way to the very top… I am still not a pro with heights, still working on my fear of it and hiking has been a tremendous help! I was unable to look down but the view in front of me was breathtaking! There were a few people on the rock and that limited my inner child of exploration. I still explored a bit and sat to take it all in but it was limited. Good thing, there was a chance of laying flat on it and getting an unrequested forehead tan.
Fully satisfied, I hopped off slowly and headed out for Musch trail. Talk about an adventure in the jungle, or at least that’s how I felt when I started on this part. I am talking narrow paths, trees, branches in your face, sharp leaf claws saying hello to your legs and butt, ohhh yea! This was a 360 from the journey to Eagle Rock!
A million years through the jungle and I finally arrived at Musch Trail. It was deserted and I loved it! This time, it didn’t feel like the movie set on a field, it literally felt like the cowboy set in a flashback, with someone about to open the door with a howdy grin and hands full of Whiskey! Or maybe a flashback campfire? Daytime barbecue? Christ! I was hungry, so I munched away at every corner of the camp at my Sahale snacks. Oh lawd, it felt good devouring the tangerine and mango glazed cashew mix as the wind almost blew my cap off! There I was, standing on a log of trees, feeling balanced and free, as I washed it all down with my room temperature water… this was life!
I relaxed a bit as I slowly came to terms with the fact that my fantasy had reached its end. It was time to begin the trek back to my car which was surprisingly relaxing, and I suspect it was because I took a different route as compared to turning around. I decided on following Musch Trail to Trippet Ranch parking lot. It was a shorter and much more refreshing journey. Although I didn’t make it to Santa Ynez waterfall, I was fully satisfied with this short-lived fairytale hike to Eagle Rock and Musch Trail.
Join me POV style, on a not so sunny virtual experience of Eagle Rock and Musch Trail here