I’ve spent so much unplanned time out of town in Bend, Oregon, that my legs have fallen into sad shape, some disrepair and in need of moderate day hikes down here in the golden California backcountry.

My interest in local geology began when my middle school assigned “Earth Sciences” as the science course I would teach the eighth-grade students. This meant resurrecting my Geology 1 class notes plus plenty of Carl Sagan and some videos of his great docu-series “Cosmos.“ Naturally, I included exploration of and study in our local geological zones.

My dear geologist friend Helmut Ehrenspeck worked for some years as a cartographer for famous geologist Thomas Dibblee Jr., and Helmut taught me about some of our interesting local rocks.

The well-known Cozy Dell Shale formation falls into the middle Eocene Age — 40 million to 50 million years ago — and does “crop out” in our local Santa Ynez Mountains as well as the Topatopas down Ventura way.

These outcroppings, visible in this eponymous canyon near Ojai, are exposed bedrock and quite informative for trained geologists (4.1.1. Dibblee).

I’ve examined marine fossils over in Mono Canyon (near Blue Canyon) likely from the Miocene and similarly “exposed” by tectonic shifts and severe erosion.

You will catch some outcroppings of this unique shale in the short riparian canyon of the same name located just north of Ojai on scenic Highway 33, that lonely Maricopa Highway.

After driving 34 miles to the well-marked Cozy Dell Trailhead via Highway 150, make sure to park on the same side as this prominent sign (and not in front of the green packing house opposite).

The actual Cozy Dell Canyon “hike” is not very long, and it ends at Cozy Dell Creek, where it ties into the Foothill Trail at Cozy Dell Road.

At first, you follow the narrow and winding path with some gentle ups and downs. You can see hiking partner Ryan along one section of the trail in the first photograph. This path meanders on for almost a mile before the switchbacks become more difficult and you emerge in the open.

This venture is all about the views and enchanting landscapes, which are spectacular. Looking back down into the Ojai Valley area, you can see interesting landscapes formed by the Ventura River. Ahead of us we could see more low foothills, mostly clad in low chaparral as you move along.

Moving your vision around you should be able to see the various orchards planted in the river-valley plain below: Left in the distance you can make out the useless Matilija Dam, which is begging for removal since it is completely full of mud and debris.

In the same photograph, the Topatopa Mountains rear up, and if you squint you can also make out a portion of the Maricopa Highway (33) leading out toward Pine Mountain and Reyes Peak.

Ryan and I roamed about with no specific trail goals in mind, and when we got to the top of the second “hill,” we encountered this solitary and well-made bench.

The trek required about 55 minutes with some harder switchbacks, but it was generally easy enough. We wandered about on the top and then sat on the bench for a five-minute water break. We observed at least three “smaller” trails spreading out from this small “view” summit and explored two of them.

While the trail we ascended had been well manicured up to this bench, each of these smaller ones appeared overgrown, so we were pleased we had worn long pants and donned heavy boots (very slippery in places). I wielded my hiking poles, and they proved crucial on the return hike.

In about one more mile, the hiker will encounter Cozy Dell Road, and turning around at this juncture is a good idea. The total hike and Wanderung covers about 3.5 miles, so we only needed two hours.

Despite the drive down to Ojai, as an inveterate hiker I occasionally tire a bit of our over-crowded (and beautiful) Santa Barbara frontcountry trails. Readers will know that most of these columns focus on trails in our backcountry, partly by my choice but also to draw hikers a bit farther away from the coast.

We did not encounter any other hikers, and I could see that poison oak is beginning to spring up lustily. We were a bit early for spring wildflowers but could detect that they will burst out soon, surely by mid-April.

Don’t go on hot summer days — leave early in any case — and bring water. There have been reports of bugs out there, but none bothered us.

There is no need to make the full hike since the views from the twin knolls make it worthwhile, and you can slowly explore the smaller offshoot trails at your leisure.

4.1.1.

Driving: It’s 34 miles if you take Highway 50 then join the Highway 33 and drive through Ojai, remaining on Highway 33. The sign for the Cozy Dell Trail is about four miles north of Ojai proper.

Tom Dibblee reclassified some of the Tejon Formation in the 1960s as “Cozy Dell Shale,” with the underlying Matilija Sandstone and overlying Coldwater Sandstone.

Dibblee also named the formation after its “type locality” right there in our very own Cozy Dell Canyon outside Ojai.