Balanced Rock. Just one more earthquake...

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All Locations > California > Los Angeles Basin > Santa Monica Mo… > Echo Cliffs

Balanced Rock. Just one more earthquake...

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Sunrise on the Mishe Mokwa trail. Hiking in early to beat the heat.

From the main trail, head down the steep gully. Will be wet after the rains.

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4.0 from 1 vote

Bill Olszewski

Mar 17, 2009

“Balanced Rock. Just one more earthquake...”

3 Comments

Benjamin Chapman
Small Town, USA

Benjamin Chapman Small Town, USA

Well, it's survived many shakers, so if your premonition is to come true it'll need to be a big earthquake in order to bring Balanced Rock down. Mar 1, 2013

maratumba

maratumba

They actually use these rocks to figure out what the largest earthquakes in the area could have been.
unr.edu/nevada-today/news/2… Oct 13, 2014

Alex Fletcher
Anaheim, CA

Alex Fletcher Anaheim, CA

What are you guys talking about? Looks bomber May 21, 2016

Nearby Photos

Map of Echo Cliffs and its climbing areas. April 2017

Nearing the end of another fine day of climbing at Echo Cliffs.

Climbers at Echo Cliffs

Echo Cliffs from the Mishe Mokwa approach trail.

Echo Cliffs, as seen from the Mishe Mokwa trail. The approach trail reaches the Grotto first. The other walls are approached by hiking right (south) along the base of the cliff.

Expect to find this rope/rebar ladder after Treasure Towers. After the ladder, you'll find The Alcove, Kamikaze Cave, Dream Street, and Easy Street.

Dudleya pulverulenta, or chalk lettuce, photographed in The Grotto area.

Joe Wysznski keeping cool on Crash and Burn, 5.12d

Photo of Echo Cliffs without the map, April 2017

Litter recently gathered from the base of Echo Cliffs. Please help keep our crag clean.

Sunrise on the Mishe Mokwa trail. Hiking in early to beat the heat.

Balanced Rock. Just one more earthquake...

From the main trail, head down the steep gully. Will be wet after the rains.

The Echo Cliffs

kamakazie cave 12d

Looking down the ladder - now that's an approach!

Views from the Wasteland

Echo Cliffs from Sandstone Peak.

A party of 45 hikers checking out the climbers at Echo Cliffs.

New signage at the Mishe Mokwa Trailhead.

Echo Cliffs, with climbers visible on Easy Street

What wall is the one at the left?

Where are some serious groves of poison oak surrounding the approach to Echo Cliffs. Be careful out there!!

A busy afternoon on the upper tier. Climber is Cory on Welcome to Echo.

The approach slabs to the Grotto in the rainy season.

The streambed of Carlyle Canyon, in the Grotto, at Echo Cliffs in full flow after a week of wet weather.

A view of Echo Cliffs (with Balanced Rock looming overhead), as seen from the descent gully.

Looking down the re-bar ladder, en route to Easy Street.

Humboldt Lily, photographed along the trail to Echo Cliffs (listed rare or endangered by CNPS)

On the road to Echo Cliffs. Turn right and up the hill at this sign.

The often maligned sign at the junction of the Sandstone Peak connector trail and the Mishe Mokwa/Backbone Trail.

VCSAR Copter at Echo - Be careful out there.

What wall is this? It appears to have 3 routes on it and it is before the rebar ladder

Local climbers collaborate with NPS rangers to clean up Echo Cliffs.

New NPS signs near the Grotto as a result of a rash of parties camping and building fires at Echo Cliffs.

Looking down the valley to the northeast? from the trail. Beautiful country.

Busy Day on the Mishe Mokwa Trail

After the ladder, the trail leading up to the tunnel.

Trail sign on the way to Echo Cliffs.

Looking down Annihilator, 5.11d. The chalked holds (left) are on Immaculate, 5.12a. Both are just past the Kamikaze Cave on the next section of wall called Dream Street. The sharpness of the holds on upper Annihilator made me think Immaculate looked a lot nicer.

Tired climber relaxing after a long day at Echo Cliffs??

After the ladder, go through a narrow tunnel to enter the Kamikaze Cave. Once through the tunnel, I felt we had entered the real climbing of Echo.

Sunrise by Yerba Buena Road in the summer.

Ventura County Search & Rescue buzzing the "White Wall."

Wildlife on the Backbone Trail.

The final descent to the cliffs.

Left end of Echo Cliffs, with some climbs on the Left Flank marked.

The hanging draw garden of the Kamikaze Cave.

Morning mist below the Mishe Mokwa Trail

A really busy day at the parking area for Echo Cliffs and the Mishe Mokwa Trail.

The right way to go! The sign off of Yerba Buena Rd

It is a long way from The Grotto over to the Kamikaze Cave. You're getting close when you reach the four rung downclimb.