Hike: Stough Canyon

As I mentioned, the weather was remarkably warm and clear in the days following Christmas. For those who are interested, here are some more details about a wonderful place to go on a day hike in Burbank....

The trail begins at Stough Canyon Park Nature Center, where there is a parking lot and restrooms. The parking lot gate closes at 5:00pm, so if you plan on being on the trails later than that, park along the street below the parking lot gate.

Parking below the gate would, in fact, be recommended in the summer, as evening hikes allow you to avoid the hot midday sun. However, it was a pleasantly warm winter morning when I began my hike.  Actually, I hiked this trail two days in a row; the first day, my companions were my family, my brother-in-law, and my two nieces.  Some of them weren't in a hiking mood, however, so I returned the following morning with my dog Saydee, who is always in the mood for a good walk.

I was worried about it being chilly.  It was December, after all.  I contemplated wearing a long sleeve shirt over my t-shirt, but upon stepping out of the car I decided it wasn't needed. In fact, after Saydee and I began running up the wide trails in the morning sun, my t-shirt soon came off as well.  In the summer, when  the sun's rays are harsh, I tend to avoid sunlight, or at least slather on a thick layer of sunblock.  But the gentler winter rays of sunlight felt good as Saydee and I made our way to the top.  And as you can tell, a little sunlight might be a good thing in my case...

The trails continue along the ridge, giving views of both sides of the Verdugo Mountains.  (As a kid growing up in Burbank, they were known as the Verdugo Hills, but I guess they have since been promoted to Mountain status.)  It is here on the backside that the trail Saydee and I followed nestled itself briefly into a few ravines where the sun's rays didn't reach, and there was a bit of a chill there, but the shade didn't last long.  We were soon back out in the glorious southern California sunshine.

On previous hikes in these mountains, I followed a side trail to the ruins of an old youth camp.  A building foundation and chimney are all that remain.  Saydee and I did not go to the youth camp on this trip, although from a few spots on the main trail I could see the chimney rising above the sage scrub.  

One option for hikers here is to continue along the ridge of the Verdugo Mountains and descend through Wildwood Canyon, and then cut through the golf course to return to Stough Park.  Because we (well, actually, I) had plans to see a matinee in Hollywood later that day, Saydee and I did not make the whole loop, but returned back the way we came.  As we came down the trail, views of Bob Hope Airport (as a kid growing up, it was Burbank Airport) and the San Fernando Valley stretched out before us.