Humbled at Pride Rock

            Tucked away in the Sierra Pelona Mountains, in northern Los Angeles County, is the National Park and natural phenomenon known as Vasquez Rocks.  If you stop by to pay a visit to these monolithic slabs of sandstone, you're sure to have your breath taken away.

            The historic site is famous for its 932-acres of bizarre and baffling rock formations that attract many visitors, hikers, and even Hollywood producers. The site has been used in various films as early as 1935 when it premiered in the Universal Studios motion picture Werewolf of London and has since only been used increasingly. Vasquez Rocks even appears in the original Star Trek TV series and as a result one of the most prominent rock structures there was nicknamed "Captain Kirk's Rock." 

Captain Kirk and a Gorn at Captain Kirk's Rock

            These massive rock structures aren't only a sensational sight, but they also have an extraordinary history as well.  There are two major views on how the Vasquez Rocks were initially formed. On the one hand, Uniformitarians (who believe the entire universe has slowly been formed over billions of years) believe the Vasquez Rocks were formed millions of years ago by rapid erosion during uplift along the San Andreas Fault.  On the other hand, those who hold to catastrophism (that the world and many of its features were formed only thousands of years ago during a worldwide cataclysm), believe that these rocks and even the greater surrounding region are evidence of a catastrophic flood during the days of Noah, as according to the Holy Bible.  Either way, these rocks are almost as old as history itself and when I was there I couldn't help but think about how many different people over the thousands of years have gazed upon this magnificent geological structure.

            The rocks got their name from the infamous Californian bandit Tiburcio Vásquez who fled to these rocks in order to escape the law enforcement pursuing him.  Even more interesting than that, these rocks and the region were the home of the ancient Shoshone and Tataviam peoples, Native American tribes who lived there from the 18th till the 20th centuries.

            When I first visited these rocks I was dumfounded as I beheld their greatness (I hadn't seen any pictures prior to my visit, and they completely superseded my rather low expectations).  Their structure immediately reminded me of Pride Rock, from Disney's The Lion King, and I later learned that Disney actually got the inspiration for their iconic rock from the Vasquez Rocks. And so I was humbled by the grandeur of the real-life Pride Rock.

The resemblance of Disney's Pride Rock to Vasquez Rocks is visible

            The giant sandstone slab you see in the above picture is climbable to the very top, and is relatively an easy climb, provided that you have shoes with very good grip.  If you do accept the challenge of going to the top—make sure you exercise extreme caution as the climb is incredible steep and slippery and if you lose your footing it will mean for you a very quickly accelerating ride down the face of Pride Rock! And I would not advise standing at the top of this rock; because of the windy climate which could easily make you lose your balance, it's safest if you remain sitting or lying down at the top.

            The Vasquez National Park is a huge area with abundant hiking trails.  I myself enjoy a good deal of risk and adventure so at one area of the park I climbed up a steep ravine which wasn't too difficult.  There are plenty of exploring and climbing opportunities at this park, and it might even be considered a jungle gym by some maniacal rock climbers.

            Two significant benefits of Vasquez Rocks are that it's free to enter and park and it's easy to find. This place is great for day trips, picnics, filming/photo shoots (I myself filmed a Wild West scene out here for a film class I took), or hiking.  If you decide to pay Vasquez a visit, just be sure you watch out for roaming aliens, outlaws, starship captains, and lion overlords!

Off the Deep End

If you like water parks and hiking, then you'll love Malibu Creek State Park, nature's best water park in LA County, just 25 miles from downtown.  I went there just last weekend with a group of friends to explore and seek out adventure—once they told me about cliff jumping opportunities at this scenic creek I was all in!  It's an easy spot to find, just off the 101 on Las Virgenes Road, and I recommend you do like us and take advantage of the free street parking on Mulholland Highway instead of paying to park at Malibu Creek (to park on the street is barely any farther from the parking lot and you'll save fourteen bucks!).

On our way to the creek, we passed through a field plentifully bestrewn with tall yellow flowers and grass (picture below).  The surrounding hills were green and lush, and we were all a little taken back by the majesty of the landscape.  Oddly enough, the view inspired at least three of us to begin singing "The Hills are Alive." 

 The hike from where we parked to the cliff diving location was only about a mile and we got to walk along part of the 25-mile long Malibu Creek.

Carefully crossing the creek.

Once we got to the primary location, it was like God's water park for the people of Los Angeles.  Children were laughing and playing in the water, families setting up picnics and barbeques, some people were traversing across the steep rocks, and those brave enough would dare to face the 45-foot jump from one of the cliffs into the pond below.  We set up our camp and strung hammocks in the trees and enjoyed the warm weather of Malibu. 

The top of those rocks is where the daring launch themselves into the pond.

 Home is where the hammocks are!

We then began our hike further up the creek by first swimming across the (rather cold) pond to the rocks on the other side.  From there we split into a few different groups who wanted to take different paths until we would meet a tenth of a mile down the creek. Some went hopping across boulders, others swam once again through the water, and I and one other chose to climb the vertical rock wall to the other side.  Once reunited, we continued our trek by jumping, sliding, or traversing our way up the flowing river.  We spotted a rope swing that someone had strung up on a tree branch and used it to launch ourselves into the river.  There were caves and caverns, detours and shortcuts, all of which kept me and my buddies (who love unguided adventures) entertained.  I'll leave finding them up to you since that's where most of the excitement of adventure was!  Of course, you need to be safe since it's easy to fall when climbing on rocks, and you should never attempt anything that's outside your comfort zone or capability.

We spent about three hours at the Malibu State Park and only scratched the surface of activities to do there.  So next time you're looking for some sunshine and amusement, be sure to check out Malibu Creek!

A diver splashing into the water.