Santa Clara Truck Trail: Tough Course for Fun Times

Imagine running hard on your favorite course, doing peachy keen. But at the end, there's a foreboding climb into the mountains. The signs say, "no traffic," the tarmac declares rough times ahead, and the guardrails do not exist. However, good views and fun times are ahead if a brave driver is willing to grab their reproductive organs of choice and head on up. At first, everything seems fine, but the road begins to encroach on the driver as lanes become nonexistent and rocks and rubble mock the driver with loose grip and light scratches against the car's body. Finally, it all clears up, and there's nothing left except a fantastic view. Oh, and the way back down with gravity shooting seductive eyes is a real femme fatale. This is the Santa Clara Truck Trail.

Black Canyon Rd: Where Are the Guardrails?

The locals whisper about the treacherous road that has claimed nearly a dozen lives, and even at night, a driver could see the ghosts of those who have fallen to their death on Black Canyon. Ghost cars would drive up and down the road, seeking revenge on the tarmac that spanked their rubber and has no guardrails to hug. Aimlessly, these cars would wander, and at the dead of night, they may strike the late night touge driver with a fearsome visage of someone who doesn't know how to brake properly around corners.

Black Canyon sits on top of a little mountain where Boeing does something secret. It lies between Woolsey Canyon and Old Knolls Rd. in Simi Valley.

Sand Canyon: Braking to Go Fast

Sand Canyon is the great little downhill course that requires great footwork on all the right pedals. Imagine going to the water park, and the park has that one water slide where they drop people at steep angles. That would be Sand Canyon as gravity will be the driver's number one friend or number one foe.

Sand Canyon begins (or ends) where Little Tujunga Canyon begins (or ends). It connects Little Tujunga Canyon with the 14 and Placerita Canyon. It's only about three or so miles long, but going downhill all the way is a load of fun.

Placerita Canyon: Whip Out Those Huge Displacements

If Upper Big Tujunga Canyon is where the driver can whip out some American muscle; then, Placerita Canyon is where you can shoot straight NOS into the throbbing power of double-digit cylinders. Placerita Canyon is a short little touge that runs between Sand Canyon and the 14 freeway. The only point I can understand from this piece of asphalt is that it connects one part of the 14 with another part of the 14. Oh, sure, there are some buildings and things on the road, but it's only a few miles long.

Placerita Canyon is little touge that cuts through some of the mountains, but it really doesn't go up or down anywhere. There is a little challenge when it comes to the corner, and the straights on the touge are incredibly straight. Unlike Live Oak where the driver has to pay to subtle differences in the road to stay on track, this touge has none of that minutia. There's a corner; then, there's a long straight with plenty of visibility up ahead.

Little Tujunga Canyon: the Tire's Barbershop Quartet

Little Tujunga Canyon is the little runt of the three Tujunga brothers. Alongside Big Tujunga Canyon and Upper Big Tujunga Canyon, Little Tujunga Canyon (LTC) is the littlest brother who got all the hand-me-downs and got stuck with his uncle's rustbox, but that's all LTC ever needed to be fast. LTC is a touge that stresses good driving, following the perfect line, and keeping up the momentum around corners. Going fast isn't how much a driver has under the hood, it's how well they can keep up a consistent speed through a technical course.

Mulholland Drive: Rich-snob Edition

Mulholland Drive, not to be confused with Mulholland Highway (more on that later), is a thrilling drive for all the wrong reasons. Mulholland is a twisty snake where wheels love to squeal around every corner; however, it's not the corners that cause the thrills, it's the possible chance of some Prius coming around a blind corner, splitting lanes, and swerving out of the way while imitating the Roadrunner. Despite how fun the road looks, it can never be fully pushed because of the traffic on the road, and the homes that dwell in the hills.

Mulholland Drive runs between Cahuenga Blvd somewhere near Hollywood and Skirball Cultural Center (and a little beyond that). Keep in mind that in the middle, Coldwater Canyon connects Mulholland together.

Mt. Wilson

The intersection of ACH and Mt. Wilson

Mt. Wilson is like the kid who invites you over for a summer pool party, but when you get there, all he has is a bag of opened Cheetos and single Slip 'N Slide. At first, you may not know what to do: join in on the fun or call your mom to take you back home. However, closer inspection of that Slip 'N Slide reveals that it's actually 100 of the slides put together that stretches out to about five miles. Once you get on, the fun never stops until some asshole comes around a blind corner and pushes you off a cliff.

Upper Big Tujunga Canyon

Intersection where ACH and Upper BTC meet

Imagine the two Big Tujunga Canyons (BTC) as twin brothers, but Upper BTC popped out of the womb two minutes early and staked a claim on the best tit. Throughout Upper's life, the big brother felt like it had it made. Upper had everything handed to it: well-paved roads, plenty of scenery, and long stretches of road where it can flaunt its American muscle.

Upper BTC stretches between Angeles Forest Highway and Angeles Crest Highway, connecting the two. There are some auxiliary roads on its long stretch, but its only purpose is to connect the two highways and nothing more. The road does not connect to "Lower" Big Tujunga Canyon in any way.

"Lower" Big Tujunga Canyon

Dam Overlook about 2/3 Uphill

This is one of my favorite roads; although, not my number one favorite of all time (I'll talk about that later). For now, I wish to speak of "Lower" Big Tujunga Canyon road. Keep in mind that there are two Big Tujungas (that I know of) that are adjacent or close to Angeles Crest Highway (ACH).

The lower part of the touge starts from Foothill Blvd, up to Oro Vista, and then finally onto Big Tujunga. It connects to Angeles Forest Highway which connects to both Upper Big Tujunga and ACH. While the name "lower" in the title is not official (that I can find) it definitely fits the bill because there's definitely an "upper" in those mountains that's higher up.