Nazi Ruins at Murphy's Ranch: 12.3.16

11/20/2020
Hiking

I will need to revisit this location to get specifics in terms of distance and how to find it. Really, that latter is most crucial because it was not easy to find. Firstly, just to get to the trail head, well, general direction of what we hoped was the trail head, was a bit of a mission. By that I mean this area is in the ritzier areas of Los Angeles. So much so, that there was no parking in the entire neighborhood. We had to park about 1-2 miles away and walk through the neighborhood and up a hill that looked into the backyards of so many people; one would wonder why they would go through all the trouble to keep people out, just to live in houses where folks can look into their backyards and even into their houses.

Secondly, once we made our way to what we thought was the trail head, we started our exploration. It wasn't until about an hour in and perhaps 2 miles through some serious butt-busting stairs pathway that were not only long, but each step was about 6-10 inches tall. By absolute dumb luck, we overheard another group wondering around and happened to cross paths with them. They asked us if we were going to or coming from the ruins and we quickly, almost in unison, told them we haven't seen jack yet. It was at this time that we learned that it does take a bit of work to get there. They gave us good directions that were anchored with landmarks to help guide us. The long of the short of it, we were in the general area, but, we overshot it pretty badly. Figures.

Once we got on track and finally arrived, it was overwhelming how interesting this abandoned Nazi sympathizer camp was. There was a main house, stables, a silo, and a grain storage unit. it was not very spread out nor was it particularly big. What made it interesting was the graffiti: vibrant, detailed, relevant, and in some ways, appeared as though the graffiti was holding the physical history together by stitching it together with a modern story embedded in the paint, colors, framing, and shading of the modern art contrasting with nature. I am not sure if there are those who would be considered curators that take care of the area or if there is an environmental factor that preserves the vibrancy of the ruins, but whatever it is, the paint looked as if it were new. Sure, some areas may have been newer than others due to different graffiti artists taking and reclaiming territory, that is of course a possibility, however, that aside, it was so unusual to see an area that appeared that intact considering it is absolutely exposed to every element imaginable. 

We were exploring the grounds for a good 1-2 hours before we decided to leave. Oddly, way easier to find our way back to the car than it was to find our way into the forest. 

As always, keep taking those deours!