Easy hike leads to oaks, cave, pictographs

Birthing cave at Chumash Interpretive Center Hidden behind the sign on Lang Ranch Parkway, just off the northern stretch of Westlake Boulevard in Thousand Oaks, is a tranquil, historical open space area that contains a cool cave, vivid pictographs, Chumash village replicas, a thick oak grove, a museum and a variety of animals. Visitors may enjoy the Oakbrook Chumash Interpretive Center through a guided tour given by a well-versed docent.

The four-mile round-trip walk through a portion of the Ventura County-owned 436-acre park is an easy one, much of it shaded by large, lush oaks. Although the park is open to the public, a portion of the park, the site of a former Chumash village, including the cave, is only accessible with a docent. Fencing and gates were installed years ago to prevent vandalism of the cave and pictographs.

On a recent weekday morning, 16 members of the Hiking Babes, a local hiking group, enjoyed a prearranged tour given by docent Wendi Boudreau, a former teacher who lives in Simi Valley. Boudreau, knowledgeable in Chumash history and lore, provided a variety of information.

"Haku," Boudreau began, explaining that this is the Chumash word for hello and goodbye.

The tour began beside a replica of a tomol, a wooden canoe built by the Chumash. A tomol took several months to build, was often made of redwood and could carry about five people. Although the trees don't grow in the Conejo Valley, after a storm redwood often washed up on local shores, Boudreau said. The vessels were used by Chumash to travel up and down the coast, often to trade with other tribes, and to the Channel Islands.

"Can you imagine going out to Catalina in this?" Boudreau said, indicating the replica.

Boudreau provided the following facts: Chumash ancestors arrived in the area about 10,000 years ago. When the California Mission period began there were 20,000 Chumash Indians along the south and central coastline- today there are 4,000. Spanish conquistadors built missions in Chumash territory, subjecting the natives to authoritarian rule and European illness.

"The padres saw the Chumash as children and treated them that way," Boudreau said. "Many died from disease."

Boudreau led the group through a protected oak grove that is home to redheaded woodpeckers, deer, bobcats and squirrels, as well as a replica of a Chumash village. Along the way, the hikers passed a fireplace standing alone in a field, all that's left of a home built by the Lang family, early settlers who ran a cattle ranch on the land.

At the village, Boudreau discussed the ap, a Chumash domeshaped home built using willow branches, and the sweat lodge, in which the Chumash created a saunalike environment by covering the structure with animal hides, bringing in hot rocks from the fire and pouring water on them to generate steam. The sweat lodge, built near running water with separate structures for men and women, is still used today, Boudreau said.

"The chief of the village could be a man or a woman. How progressive is that?" she said.

A small field filled with stumps and benches was the site of games, such as throwing a spear or shooting an arrow through a tiny hoop. The games were often geared toward teaching hunting, ethics and life skills to the young. The Chumash also loved games of chance, which were sometimes used to choose political representatives, Boudreau said.

During the hike, the guide would pause to point out plants such as sage, used to ward off evil spirits, and coyote brush, known as "cowboy cologne" for its use as a scent by cowboys who had not had an opportunity to wash. Boudreau also pointed out smooth flat rocky outcroppings filled with mortar holes where the Chumash would grind acorns and other nuts.

A highlight of the hike was the cave area. Located on the side of a picturesque mountain with sandstone ledges, the cave is accessible by crossing a bridge over a stream and ascending a short wooden staircase. The long, sheltered space was used by the Chumash as a birthing room. Two red pictographs are painted on the cave wall, one depicting a hunter.

"The hunter represented food and sustenance," Boudreau said.

A third pictograph on a rocky outcropping near the cave features a red swordfish, which the Chumash believed brought good luck because it was thought that the swordfish drove the whale toward shore, providing the Chumash with food.

The images are hundreds of years old, Boudreau said.

After the hike, the group visited the museum filled with authentic Chumash artifacts, including intricately woven baskets, beaded jewelry, clothing and tools.

"The tour was so enjoyable, and the fact that we live so close is amazing," said Grace Mayemura of Oak Park.

Private hikes can be scheduled anytime with a minimum of $100- $10 per adult and $5 per child. Hikes at the same price but with no minimum are available on the first and third Saturday of every month. The center is at 3290 Lang Ranch Parkway. For more information, call (805) 492-8076 or visit www.chumashcenter.org.