Sandstone Peak is the highest point in the Santa Monica Mountain Range (3,000 ft). This was the most beautiful and most rewarding of all the hikes/climbs I've been on since moving to California. The first few miles are a steady incline--gaining roughly 1,200 feet in about 45 minutes. While climbing to the summit, we could see the entire coast to our left and well over 100 miles to the east--passed Mt. Baldy where we hiked the previous weekend.
We stayed on the trail for most of the hike, only going off to climb Sandstone Peak (see picture of compass, which points toward True North) and then traversing the ridge to the next peak where Steve is shimmying a 15 foot drop and where we ultimately climbed the second highest peak in the Santa Monica Mountains at 2,900 feet. 
n this hike! Beautiful, beautiful views!!
tions back on the East Coast. On a scale of 1 to 5 (5 being the most difficult), this hike was rated a 3 by enthusiasts. The first picture is of Brent's Mnt. The red circle is pointing out a 40 foot cross located at the zenith. When we first got out of the car we started laughing hysterically--we were looking for the cross so we knew exactly which mountain to climb and in fact had to get out my binoculars to actually know for sure which mountain it was.
