Yesterday morning I was up at 6:30 a.m. and decided to take my camera with me for an adventure run. It was still kind of cool out so I decided to down a bottle of water before the run thinking I would be out no more than an hour and a half. I don't like carrying water if I don't have to, especially when I'm holding a camera.

I decided to head down Sycamore Canyon and see where the Blue Canyon Trail would take me. Usually when I run down Sycamore Canyon I do a straight shot down to the beach. I don't get out enough to the great trails in the Boney Mountain State Wilderness area in Pt Mugu State Park and I'd never run the Blue Canyon Trail, part of the Backbone Trail, all the way through.

Blue Canyon Trail entry point adjacent to Danielson Multi-Use AreaTo get to the Blue Canyon Trail, you run the entire paved section of Big Sycamore Canyon Road to the Danielson Multi-Use Area in Malibu. Instead of heading down to PCH, you veer left. You can't miss it. It's where there's a house. I've always assumed a park ranger lives in that house but don't know for sure.

Danielson Multi-Use Area includes picnic tables and plenty of shade.About .8 mile takes you to a juncture where you can veer left up the Old Boney Trail, which gets you to the Danielson Monument. I continued

Juncture of Blue Canyon Trail/Backbone Trail with Old Boney TrailMoving on, you are treated to outstanding canyon views and views of the Tri Peaks above.

Another mile of twists and turns through single track trails gets you the Chamberlain Trail junction, which is also part of the Backbone Trail system.

This trail is tantalizing with its panoramic views to the ocean, the Oxnard Plain and Conejo Valley.

The Chamberlain Trail takes you up to the highest peaks in the Santa Monica Mountains, the Tri Peaks including Boney Peak and Sandstone Peak (the other one I don't know the name of), but alas, I had no water and was over an hour into my run...and my mouth was getting a bit dry.

So sadly, I turned around and headed back to civilization. There was not a soul to be found on these trails other than me. What a great place to run and explore. Total elapsed time of my waterless run was 2 hours, excluding the 5 minutes of stops to snap photos.

On a side note, I ran into a couple friends as I approached the Blue Canyon Trail trailhead. These deer were very large. I slowed to a halt but they weren't up to the task of smiling and saying "cheese" to me.