Treasure chest hidden inside Pacific Palisades’ Skull Rock persists through fire, brings hope to hikers

By Luzdelia Caballero, Skull Rock in the Pacific Palisades

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    PACIFIC PALISADES, California (KCAL, KCBS) — A treasure chest once hidden by a father and son years ago inside Skull Rock in the Pacific Palisades persisted through January’s devastating fire, now giving hope to hikers who stumble upon the symbol of hope and resilience.

Blake Mallen and his son Greyson lived just hundreds of yards from the popular hiking trail before their home was destroyed in the Palisades Fire. They returned to the area to see if their secret slice of joy survived, surprised to find that despite the scorched earth surrounding the rock, their treasure chest made it.

“We hid a treasure chest, physical treasure chest, inside the eye of what is known as Skull Rock, which is a unique location, because it’s not something you can see unless you crawl through a hole and look to the left,” Mallen said.

Since they hid the chest three years ago, dozens of hikers have stumbled upon the chest, leaving messages of love, hope, grief and healing, lending to the tiny community built through anonymous gestures of kindness.

Even on Jan. 7, the day that the Palisades Fire erupted to quickly torch more than 23,000 acres and destroy thousands of buildings, an eerie message written in a notebook inside the chest. The blaze was fueled by an extremely powerful windstorm, causing embers and flames to whip through the area.

“May the wind blow gently on your back,” the note reads.

“I had no clue if it was going to make it or not, but nothing burned,” Mallen said about the chest, which contains a notebook and other items left by visitors.

The notebook entries then stop until Jan. 22, weeks after the fire started and people began to make their way back to the area.

“And then the story continues. Now you have people after the fire finding their way to this chest, leaving amazing messages,” Mallen said.

Those messages include some from local firefighting crews and out-of-state firefighters who rushed to help Southern California crews battle the fire.

Now, the Mallens see the chest as more than a symbol of kindness, quickly turning into one of resilience, like hope rises from the ashes.

“There’s just something about this place that brings the best out of people,” Mallen said. “One thing that has come from the ashes is a realization of what a fire can never burn — community, love and connection can never be burned.”

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