![Image](https://eispiraten.com/images-archived/uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170914/14ed4d24420248c741f816f46036541e.jpg)
The sign said 5.1 miles.
![Image](https://eispiraten.com/images-archived/uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170914/a27a0a764c2a0b47e606741c1796a271.jpg)
But I clocked it at 5.5 miles. We started from the free parking lot instead of the fee lot at the picnic area. Maybe that makes a difference.
I wasn't familiar with the area at all. So I got to say things like, "I think this is the right trail," and "Maybe we're lost." I don't get to say such things very often anymore, so I take advantage when I can.
I insisted on doing the loop counterclockwise, because I had read that it was the easier direction. First we went up Towsley Canyon on a road, passing the picnic area.
![Image](https://eispiraten.com/images-archived/uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170914/f93e95c92dc4c5af0d08b99907c70952.jpg)
The road became a double-track before becoming a single-track through the rocky narrows, where we climbed up to a cave feature.
![Image](https://eispiraten.com/images-archived/uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170914/75ce3b3d29bc6c14472dff0375b79dec.jpg)
Some more rock stuff...
![Image](https://eispiraten.com/images-archived/uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170914/b5bddb4a3aeab5606102ea1c751263eb.jpg)
![Image](https://eispiraten.com/images-archived/uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170914/e2037056c379853145ce5231ec5f231f.jpg)
The narrows ended too soon. But Willie enjoyed the trailside tar seeps while I struggled up the switchbacks.
![Image](https://eispiraten.com/images-archived/uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170914/9c231a72a65fa9eb4ee733a19bd50521.jpg)
![Image](https://eispiraten.com/images-archived/uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170914/685f07d3314bca4b62ef4a361f9e9353.jpg)
We hit the ridgeline and started dropping down the other side.
![Image](https://eispiraten.com/images-archived/uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170914/e4bf98b1b10d621615461cd73c3cbdda.jpg)
The map showed a couple side trails to vista points, but somehow we completely missed them. At an unsigned trail junction, I chatted up some runners to make sure we were still on the right track. The descent into Wiley Canyon was a bit on the steep side, and I was glad we didn't come up that way.
I recommend this popular loop for the rock formations in the narrows section of Towsley Canyon and the bubbling tar pit in Wiley Canyon.