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"Cold War" Military History by Grasshopper Located NE of the Los Angeles metro area, a Family Friendly, Benchmark Mountain, with "Cold War" Military History to also include Day Hiking - Mountain Biking - Dog Watching & Dog Dogging. The West Manderville Fire Road route is closed to Vehicle Traffic for the entire ~3.75 mile one way. The recommended Upper Park / TH Start is within San Vicente Mountain Park and the Lower W. Manderville Fire Road Park / TH Start is within the Manderville Canyon Park. History: San Vicente Mountain BM at 1961ft was an ideal site for NIKE missile radar. It provided vision in all directions. In 1956, during the "Cold War", soldiers from the LA96C Battery could look southwest to a youthful Los Angeles with few of the tall buildings we see today. From here it is 15 miles to the center of downtown and 10 miles to Venice Beach. During the "Cold War" period this was a military reservation. LA96C was one of the NIKE missile sites that protected Los Angeles from a feared attack by Soviet bombers. It was an active battery from 1956 - 1968 with radar searching the sky for enemy airplanes. In 1962 NIKE officials claimed, "Whatever tomorrow brings...NIKE will be watching, always ready. In the 1960's new military technology made the NIKE missiles obsolete, and the site has now been made into a park. Unfortunately, Mother Nature is reclaiming the military ruins. Check out the Triplog. Leave No Trace and +Add a Triplog after your hike to support this local community.
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WARNING! Hiking and outdoor related sports can be dangerous. Be responsible and prepare for the trip. Study the area you are entering and plan accordingly. Dress for the current and unexpected weather changes. Take plenty of water. Never go alone. Make an itinerary with your plan(s), route(s), destination(s) and expected return time. Give your itinerary to trusted family and/or friends.
Most recent Triplog Review
San Vicente Mtn Park - Santa Monica Mtns
This was our planned family day outing for my last full day of Christmas Week 2014 visit with my CALIF youngest daughter, son-in-law, and three youngest of five total grand-kids (ages.. 6.5, 4.5, and 20 months) 
With an invite from my youngest daughter to join their CA family of five for Christmas Week, I knew I must not miss out on this opportunity. My youngest three grand-kids, barely 22 months apart in age, are a real hand full for both my daughter and son-in-law who have demanding professions, but are the perfect ages for Christmas celebration week as they all 3 still believe Santa Claus is alive & well!
I don't fly anymore and I knew I could not drive my highly modified and now older "Grasshopper" Jeep to CA and back the required 800+ round trip miles, but I could rent a car and that is exactly what I chose to do. My son-in-law forwarded me the recommended driving route from the PHX area to their NNW Los Angeles area residence location in Encino, CA., and I then plotted the entire route with key turn waypoints included on our HAZ- Route Manager module, then I downloaded it all into my Oregon 600 GPSr. I did not get lost, but did have a few intense LA Metro traffic moments.
I had a most wonderful time visiting my CA family filled with lasting & rewarding memories of this Christmas 2014 which also included this fun, but short for us (think- 3 young kids attention span
) local, popular area day hike.
With an invite from my youngest daughter to join their CA family of five for Christmas Week, I knew I must not miss out on this opportunity. My youngest three grand-kids, barely 22 months apart in age, are a real hand full for both my daughter and son-in-law who have demanding professions, but are the perfect ages for Christmas celebration week as they all 3 still believe Santa Claus is alive & well!
I don't fly anymore and I knew I could not drive my highly modified and now older "Grasshopper" Jeep to CA and back the required 800+ round trip miles, but I could rent a car and that is exactly what I chose to do. My son-in-law forwarded me the recommended driving route from the PHX area to their NNW Los Angeles area residence location in Encino, CA., and I then plotted the entire route with key turn waypoints included on our HAZ- Route Manager module, then I downloaded it all into my Oregon 600 GPSr. I did not get lost, but did have a few intense LA Metro traffic moments.
I had a most wonderful time visiting my CA family filled with lasting & rewarding memories of this Christmas 2014 which also included this fun, but short for us (think- 3 young kids attention span
) local, popular area day hike.2014-12-26 Grasshopper
