Two Days at "The Bu" Part 1..... Steps, Nazis and a Waterfall

Wanting to get away for a short vacation and as always following our trusty "Secret Stairs" book, Beverly and I thought we would take the advice of Horace Greeley and "Go West" to Pacific Palisades and "The Bu"(as some locals call it). Our first stop, walk #42.

Pacific Palisades -- Giant Steps 
This is as the book says "a walk of staggering beauty, over public parkland filled with historical interest" but it is much more than that, it's a walk into another world.
Starting in the residential intersection of Casale and Capri Roads you hike along Sullivan Fire trail and into Topanga State Park via the Rustic Canyon entrance.
As you walk along, the views behind you are breathtaking and the view ahead is like walking into Jurassic Park. After walking for about 20 min. you will find the first set of steps (you will need to refer to the book for this as it can be a bit confusing).
Down 40 steps and into ..................The Nazi Compound!!!
Left overs from a compound built for Winona Stephens in the 1930's. Hit the link, it's an interesting story.

 First a huge water tank, now rusting and covered in graffiti, then your second set of steps down and down and down.....321 steps. This takes you to a paved driveway and on to your next set and down another 130 steps and then the final 47 and into the camp.

Whats left of the power station, the fuel station and the guard house is a mess of twisted metal and decaying buildings, but it is the coolest thing I've seen in a long time. You could spend hours down there exploring the different paths and ruins. 
After a short hike along the creek bed and an encounter with a rattlesnake we decided to head back to civilization.



Follow the directions in the book for the steps going up. In front of you is the largest known staircase in Los Angeles. It doesn't look so hard but that's because you only see a portion of it, the rest is obscured by the trees.

They go up and up and up, you're looking at about 50 steps till the next bend and then there's 50 more and it just keeps on going and going and continues for 512 steps!!! It is exhilarating, breathtaking and exhausting, and worth the effort.
After this you basically retrace the route back the way you came but........................a few hundred feet before you exit thru the gate there is a set of small railroad tie steps going back down into the canyon, far be it for us to ignore them so we thought ...why not.

No railing, homemade steps, very steep and ending at a bridge with a locked gate. Look to the right and more steps leading around a bend, as you follow the trail the sound of water gets louder and louder. Thankfully there is a rope to help you down to the waterfall.

I would have liked to go to the base of the waterfall but i would have needed a ladder to get back up. A hike back up the the path and back to the road and our starting point. Onward to an evening in Malibu and more steps and history tomorrow.(stay tuned for part 2) 


Part 1 Photos Here