Point Mugu State Park

Oh, to have a grand valley in which to wander and unwind after hiking up a steep canyon trail for 45 minutes. And were it not for the thunder of big guns, a stream of cougar paw prints on the trail or the curious coyote in the brush, my recent Saturday afternoon journey would have seemed downright idyllic. But so it goes at the north end of Point Mugu State Park, at the extreme north end of the Santa Monica Mountains, in close proximity to the Point Mugu naval base.

Point Mugu State Park, 60 miles north of downtown L.A. but a world apart, is so rich with natural attractions that on most days it gives white-knuckle mountain bikers an outstanding adrenaline rush, beachgoers seaside seats to see seals frolicking and campers scads of gigantic sycamores under which to picnic and play.

If it weren't for the parched hillsides, strolling through Big Sycamore Canyon might seem a little like strolling through a Bolivian jungle. The wild parakeets, after all, lend an exotic flavor to a tree-lined fire road that delves long into Point Mugu State Park. In fact, with the surrounding landscape so brown, the communal birds provide a stark contrast as they swarm about in lustrous green flocks.

\o7My shadow's the only one that walks beside me... \f7 -- "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" by Green Day \o7 ---\f7 Ever have the feeling you're the only person on Earth? Or the only \o7being\f7 on Earth? It's that kind of afternoon, eerily so, in the southwest portion of Point Mugu State Park. The Green Day song floods my mind as I do indeed walk a lonely road, or in this case a lonely Fire Road Overlook Trail. Not a creature is stirring.

Point Mugu: An article in the Sept. 9 Travel section about Point Mugu State Park reported that it is north of downtown Los Angeles. The park is west of L.A.

The mountain trail soars for the first two miles, switching back and forth above the beach to the sound of pounding surf a thousand feet below. "The second time I ran here, I fell -- because of the view," Mohan Bhasker says, moving fast through the chaparral in Point Mugu State Park about 15 coast-hugging miles south of Oxnard. "You'll see." Bhasker, 52, is director of gastroenterology at Gardena Memorial Hospital.

Randall Friesen West Hollywood ... with my fiancee from our first visit to the La Jolla Valley loop trail at Point Mugu State Park, enticed by your March 15 cover story "10 Essential Hikes." We were awestruck by the vistas above the canyon. Will Campbell Los Angeles

The fatal shooting last year of a distraught woman at Point Mugu State Park by a sheriff's deputy was legally justified, the Ventura County district attorney's office said Wednesday. Deputy Jason Stephens was faced with a "life-or-death decision" when he fired on Nancy Pearlman, who was armed at the time of the March 20, 2003, incident, according to a 42-page report issued by the prosecutor's office.