Finding solitude above the city

Taking in Will Rogers State Historical Park offers hikers a unique view.

To gaze out over the city and contemplate the almost unfathomable scope of humanity below would not rank high on a hiker's list of things to do.

But I strongly recommend they do just that, if they find themselves on an afternoon visit to Will Rogers State Historical Park.

Take the Inspiration Loop Trail about a mile to the beginning of the Backbone Trail in the Santa Monica Mountains, turn right and trek upward another mile or so and detour onto any of several small plateaus that overlook the Westside and beyond.

Then thank the powdery-blue heavens that you are where you stand — and not down there.

It's amazing how much of the city is visible: hillside mansions, sprawling neighborhoods, clusters of skyscrapers, the Getty Museum, Santa Monica, Venice, Palos Verdes. Even the Pacific Ocean.

The city appears eerily silent, but down there, as sure as the 5-o'clock hour, is the chaotic jockeying of cars, screeching tires, honking horns and one-fingered salutes.

Up here, there is mostly just solitude.

And the farther one travels up the Backbone Trail, the better the view becomes. It's like rising in a hot-air balloon, but you have tender earth underfoot, birdsong and rustling of critters in bushes.

It is not the purest wilderness experience. "I think the houses kind of spoil it, to tell the truth," Dianne Sax, 66, a Venice resident, says during her brisk uphill trek.

But it is what you make of it, and with some time, energy and, of course, a little backbone, you really can get away from it all.

Beyond inspiration

The 2 1/2 -mile eucalyptus-lined Inspiration Loop Trail is the main thoroughfare in the park, and Inspiration Point atop the loop is the payoff.

This trail is purely for casual hikers, mountain bikers, joggers and dog-walkers. And the point, or plateau, with its benches and tables, affords an impressive view.

But the most noteworthy feature of this loop is that it marks the beginning of the renown Backbone Trail, which begins opposite the diversion to Inspiration Point, and spans 60 miles in a westerly direction across the Santa Monica Mountains to Point Mugu State Park.

More immediately, it traverses the rugged wilderness of Topanga State Park, which boasts 36 miles of trails and is the world's largest wild-land within boundaries of a major city.

In fact, the intention of this column was to focus on a fun or interesting hike within Topanga, but nobody answered the phone at the ranger station.

And when a ranger finally called back, he left a message saying the park cannot afford to man its kiosk on weekdays, and that I'd be unable to acquire a trail map until the weekend.

So, I placed Topanga on hold and opted for Will Rogers. It was a Thursday afternoon, first day of summer, balmy, breezy, slightly hazy …

Stairway to heaven

At the Inspiration Loop Trail's beginning, alongside a vast polo field, I'm passed by two joggers. They trot ahead and I walk leisurely and alone for 15 minutes.