introduction
scab island is located in the heart of topanga state park. there are many fantastic and beautiful sites on this trek - getting there is an awesome experience. the cache itself isn't hard to find - once you are in the general area. be prepared for a little adventure—this one is a lot of fun!
the journey
park your car by the trail head: N 34° 04.702 W 118° 34.043 it can be an adventure finding the trail head without a map. (see hints for location)
gps warning! your gps will only help you at the start and end of your journey. it is unlikely that your gps will get a strong enough signal to guide you all the way. get the general direction—it will be good enough. the route to travel should be obvious once you find it.
be prepared for some serious rock scrambling—you won’t need to bring any gear. this is the reason for the 4.5 rating. look for the easiest route—it isn’t always immediately obvious. think about going around when you can’t go through or over! you will be leaving the maintained trail. there is no bushwhacking involved on this trip! if you find yourself in the bush, then you have strayed too far. please do read the hints if you are concerned about the terrain.
the cache
the cache is an ammo box that was originally placed in december 2001.
the story of scab island
in 2001 a friend and i went on a small hike. it ended up being a little more than we had anticipated. on one section of the hike we decided to scale a wall. this was an example of: not thinking our route carefully! my buddy slipped off the wall (10ft up) and scraped off a large section of skin from his knee. i nearly fell off the same wall. on the journey back we found a way to just *walk* around the wall! hmm.
that nasty scrape healed very nicely. great care was made to not pick at the healthy scab that developed. when the right time came, my friend carefully peeled the scab off. he wove a thread through it and made a necklace. he presented this to his girlfriend—she thought it was gross but hilarious!
2003 update: the scab necklace must have worked. the happy couple are engaged to get married!
since the fateful journey i have called this section of topanga "scab island." after the original journey it took me many months to return (i couldn’t find the entrance!) now it is your turn to return to scab island...
gamemaster: snapplez / last update: 2024-02-20