BK's drive was harrowing to read about. I've had far too many of such experiences, and know it all too well. I think I see the road BK turned on and had to endure until it reconnected with Nichols Canyon near Mulholland. And in browsing the maps and satellite images, I'm now amazed after all of these years to renew my acquaintance with how long (from north to south) those canyons are. Especially, say, Beverly Glen and Coldwater which are farther west where the mountain range is wider.
Anyhoo, my night driving in the year or so before my cataract surgeries was rather like that, and I, too, was keeping to the roads I knew best, just waiting it out till the surgeries could happen. Man, I wouldn't return to that for anything.