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Welcome to the California Travel Stories. Within these pages, you can read selected stories and musings about our waterfall-themed adventures in California. Hopefully, you'll find these stories entertaining and educational. Perhaps you might get a good laugh at our expense, or you might find some nuggets that you can apply to your own travels.
Thumb through the travel stories below. They are arranged chronologically with the most recent escapade at the top. Enjoy :)
 El Escondido del Escondido: I couldn't help but think how Mom and I missed out when we tried the scramble but didn't quite make it three years ago. Still, Julie and I relished this experience - the scenic allure, the adventure it took to get here, the ability to finally see what just about everyone else (it seemed) was able to see...[read more]
 "Eese-ing" Towards A Fun Easter: That didn't go unnoticed by another lady who was amused by what Tahia was doing, and was quick to point out to us that our daughter was well aware of the falls. It's times like these where waterfalling truly is a gratifying family activity. It seemed like everyone here was having a good time (except for some ladies who anxiously saw their sons climb up the rock besides the falls). Even Julie and I felt that the waterfalling experience today was closer to the way it was supposed to be - uncrowded, laid back, and enjoyable...[read more]
 Cooler Heads: ...it became apparent as we waited until about 9:15am that no HiPos from work were going to show up. I knew one guy (whom I had coordinated this event with) had to attend a funeral so that was anticipated.Still, I was a bit disappointed given how many other verbal commitments I had received, but I figured people might flake given the pattern of this kind of behavior for a while at work now...[read more]
 Slim Pickings: And so with that we finally completed our three-point turn and quickly tried to retrace back to the lower car park in search of this elusive parking spot. I was getting worried that after having paid the $5, we still might not have a spot and be out this amount of cash for nothing...[read more]
 The Old Reliable: As we got closer, it looked like someone was getting a citation. And when a cop handed a lady a slip that prompted her to say, "Oh my gosh!" (probably a reaction to the fine), we knew it wasn't cheap. Julie and I weren't sure what they did wrong considering other folks also had dogs on a leash but all we could do was speculate...[read more]
 Under the Moonlight: I think what sealed the deal about us stopping here was that we felt pretty frequent wind gusts that might've been coming from the mountain passes further up from us. That meant the mozzies wouldn't be as bothersome as long as the air was moving. And so it was. We unslung our heavy packs and called it a day. We were still probably at least 2 miles from Topsy Turvy Lake (our originally intended camp spot), but at this point, we were all exhausted and were ready to stop....[read more]
 This Time It Counts: They had a bench facing a nice view of the Los Angeles basin under the May Gray. So that made for a pleasant feeding experience for the both of us (not that Tahia noticed the view though she did notice the surrounding mountains and even a helicopter). The only thing that made me a little nervous was a loud buzzing bumblebee that wouldn't leave us alone...[read more]
 No Respect: As I was stumbling along the bouldery wash, I quickly found out that I wasn't alone on this excursion as there were a handful of families and youngers going back the other way. I asked one mother how the falls was, and she said it was beautiful. That was very encouraging to me as I had worried that I might have been a month too late for this excursion especially given the heat wave we had this past week thereby melting away all the snow. The mother did warn me about some kids throwing rocks from the top of the waterfall indiscriminantly. So I considered myself warned...[read more]
 Ad Hoc Earth Day: I guess also setting the mood was the dark gray skies on this late April Saturday. The weather certainly reminded me of June Gloom where the deep marine layer would burn off some time after lunch. Sometimes it would drizzle. But then with Climate Change, the June Gloom became May Gray. And now that it's happening in April, I wonder what kind of name they got for it now?...[read more]
 Not Quite: So I stole another glance at the Ann Marie Brown book and that was when I realized that it was an additional 1.5 miles from the gate to the campground. That meant it was 3 miles round trip, and when you add that with the 2 miles round trip of scrambling, it would be a 7-mile round trip affair!...[read more]
 Just Like Old Times: But perhaps more practically speaking from a pricing standpoint, $12.50 per person was one of the cheaper alternatives considering that most visitors to Palm Springs could blow off a lot more money on spas, golf, shopping (at the nearby Cabazon outlet), or trying their luck at one of the casinos, among other things. Day trippers like us (from nearly two hours away) didn't fit their typical profile of a visitor. From the literature, we learned that they did clean up this trail from graffiti and transients using the canyon illegally as well as maintain the trail. Before 2001, this trail was closed to the public...[read more]
 Back to Basics: It's funny how selective our memories are or how much we take for granted when it's just us two on the trail. All we recalled was that the trail was paved and easy, and there was no reason why we couldn't take Tahia in a stroller this time around when the time came. But little did we realize that there were parts of the trail where the road was beat up a little and mud inundated some parts complete with little ponds. Our stroller was taking a bit of a beating, and with the bumpiness of the ride, it must've felt like Tahia was offroading in a 4wd. Julie and I began to wonder if Tahia would even make it to her first waterfall... [read more]
 Slaying Demons: Ed got his question answered about whether Minaret Lake was doable as a day hike, which we were considering doing tomorrow to at least witness what we were supposed to be doing as a backcountry excursion before plans changed. The lady told him that it was 16 miles round trip, and that number alone made it seem like a day outing there was a bit ambitious, especially since we were at altitude. Her expression as she said it also kind of planted the seeds of doubt in us that maybe we should find alternatives... [read more]
 Against Instincts: Mom had already scrambled up the stream and around the corner. Julie had suggested that I follow her and either take photos of her or see what else it was that drove Mom to push further. I wasn't sure stream and rock scrambling beneath a waterfall was a wise move for I didn't think it was going to be worth it. The falls seemed like it was becoming more hidden the further up we went, trees were everywhere blocking the view, and it got increasingly steep as well... [read more]
 More Adventure Than We Bargained For: There was no obvious path to make it back up the vertical walls I had descended. When the father of the family saw my difficulties, he came over and we exchanged in a dialog as to how he was able to do it in the past (assuming he had done this before). Ultimately, he said I had the right idea on my approach to the scramble. Fortunately, I had found a foothold on the opposite wall where I could launch myself up and onto a real precarious ledge where I pushed myself up with my upper body before crawling onto the flat area above... [read more]
 You Are Your Environment: ...as we got into Big Basin Redwoods State Park, we noticed that the dark overhanging clouds had produced drizzle, and it eventually became rain! The weather forecast said the rain storm wasn't showing up until tomorrow. However, here we were about to park the car and go on a long hike under rainy conditions. To make matters worse, I managed to forget to bring our rain ponchos. Being prepared was something I prided myself in, but I guess I must've removed the ponchos from the daypack and left them home during one of our local excursions... [read more]
 A Whatever Easter Weekend: As we parked the car and got out, we could tell right away that we were in the mountains for the air was frigidly cold and there was a breeze that sent the temperature plunging even more with the wind chill. It didn't matter that all of us had windbreakers. The wind seemed to have knifed through their protective shells and straight onto the underlying skin... [read more]
 Exercise In Compromise: We weren't sure if there was a limit to the number of people on the trail at one time. So we asked one of the employees there if this was the case. He just told us that all they were just enjoying the trailhead, which sounded a bit strange to us, but different strokes for different folks, I guess. Then the curiosity got the better of me so I asked the same employee what they're quarrying here...[read more]
 March Gladness: As we got towards the middle of this stream crossing, there came a point where we had no choice but to wade through shin deep to knee-deep of water. Further progress meant resistance was futile. So we just sucked it up, got our feet completely wet as water was now coming in the boots through the top, and was squishing our way forward from this point on... [read more]
 Selection Sunday: Having lost an hour of sleep thanks to Daylight Savings Time, Julie and I awoke at 8:30am, which was late for us considering we wanted to get some hiking done today. We had a very pleasant dinner with a high school buddy of mine who we hadn't seen in years and our conversation lasted well past 11pm (before the Daylight Savings). I still am perplexed as to why we even bother with falling back and springing forward year after year when I have yet to hear a legitimate reason why we do this. Seemed like a silly tradition to me... [read more]
 32 Miles From Santa Barbara: We had actually visited both of the falls before, but our Newton Canyon excursion failed as we somehow missed that waterfall, and our Rose Valley experience happened during a pretty dry Winter. But today promised to yield better experiences given our pretty rainy Winter this year exacerbated by yet another Saturday rain storm yesterday... [read more]
 Adventure Always Finds Us: Today was supposed to be a quickie waterfall trip just to squeeze in one before Julie wanted to meet up with friends for her friend's birthday before noon. We didn't expect to take more than an hour or so, and it was a total last-minute decision. But that was when some unexpected things happened, and well, it just seems that adventure always finds us whenever we're alone... [read more]
 Return To The First: As we had re-crossed the creek on an easier path over some flattened reeds, we couldn't help but notice a putrid smell that seemed to emanate from the bubbly plunge pool right next to us. I didn't remember the pool being this dirty the last time we were here, but apparently Julie noticed this too as she pulled a face and gave me that look that something really stunk... [read more]
 Holy Jim Massage: We had only gone roughly two miles along the rough road, but it seemed like we had gone further than that. Mom was sitting nervously in the back (I could tell by her silence) as her car was jostling back and forth as we went over each rut, pothole, and rock that were in our way. Up ahead of us were two women leaving a mini-van in a spot that didn't seem to be a car park. Mom suggested that I pull up to them and ask if they were at the falls or not. When we spoke to them, they said they didn't want to push their mini-van further along this road. So Mom offered to let them hop on in with us as we were all going to the falls. And they accepted... [read more]
 Opportunistic: Continuing along the familiar trail, we noted that the trail was much softer and muddier than last year. However, it was disconcerting not to see or hear any stream. Still, we continued on, but all we could hear was silence broken only by our voices and footsteps. A little more than half-way there, we saw a hiker headed in the opposite direction. So we asked him how the waterfall was, and his reply was something like, "Well, I don't want to ruin it for you guys... [read more]
 Spreading The Love: There were a lot of firsts about today's hike to Eaton Canyon Falls. It was the first time I was leading a hike with co-workers to expose them to some of the local waterfalls as well as give them a glimpse of our world. It was also the first time we were visiting a local waterfall this late into the year (since we had also assumed that most of the falls here would be trickling or dry given how little consistent rainfall we get even during our Winters. We had a turnout of about a dozen people, which surprised me given most of my co-workers were more city slickers than nature lover. But alas, fires that started two days before the hike made the air quality real bad and we had to call it off... [read more]
 Mozzie Mayhem: I couldn't figure out what was causing the stomach discomfort, whether it was ingesting too much DEET, or from the filtered water, or what. In any case, my bowels were telling me it was time to go, and it seemed like I was the only one with this affliction. It didn't matter that mosquitoes were swarming around and biting me in places where the sun doesn't shine (and where I couldn't put on DEET). I wasn't about to go in my pants. And it was during one of the three or four trips did I also manage to break the fly on the zipper on my pants - further adding to the dustiness, the stickiness of the sunscreen and DEET, and the overall general discomfort of not having showered for a while... [read more]
 No Easter Eggs: And as we spoke with the ranger, she confirmed that we wouldn't be able to make it up to the falls. When Julie asked why, the ranger said, "I'll tell you why..." and pulled out a poster board with photographs of the Hwy 39. It turned out that the road was eroded and had fallen into the canyon. The ranger then went on further to say that when crews were hauling up more material to repair the road, one of the bridges en route had started to sink... [read more]
 Unrecognizably Different: It has been about six years since our last trip to Switzer Falls. Back then, it was during a disappointingly dry winter so the falls itself was disappointing despite it being February. Well, that was 2003 and this was 2009. Still, a month ago we were wondering if we were in for yet another dry winter and a nasty, prolonged drought. But then came a very wet February and that set the stage for today's short but sweet outing into the Angeles National Forest beyond La Canada/Flintridge... [read more]
 Failure To Be The Early Bird: It was a little before 9am when Mom, Julie, and I left the parents' place for Sturtevant Falls. In my heart, I wanted to leave earlier, but with a combination of a long week of work, wondering if I had to show up Saturday to work, trying to get caught up on sleep, etc., it wasn't meant to be... [read more]
 All About Timing: I was getting a bit tired of stopping at some unknown pullout, getting out of the car, inspecting the scene for Ortega Falls, getting back on Hwy 74 without getting in an accident (thanks to the high speed traffic), then repeat. After what seemed like at least a half-dozen attempts, I finally gave up and proceeded to head north back towards Lake Elsinore. It looked like Ortega Falls would defeat us again just as it did about 7 years ago. As I was zooming past the Ortega Oaks Candy Store, Julie read a passage out of the California Waterfalls book. She said something to the effect that the pullout was 1.6 miles north of the Ortega Oaks Store between that and the village of El Cariso. Well, I guess we weren't going to be defeated after all... [read more]
 Sandy Barber: But this time, we decided to go for some waterfalls that have always haunted us since they were tantalizingly close enough to us, but we always had something that kept us from going to "Sandy Barber" whether it was our fear that the falls wouldn't be flowing, we were busy doing something else, whatever... So this time, we committed to this little bit of an excursion by paying for an accommodation (not cheap) a little over a week ago. Back then, the weather called for cloudy skies, but as the week progressed, it called for rain on the days we'd be there. Doesn't it always seem like something is conspiring to keep us from seeing the best waterfalls here? [read more]
 Spontaneous Escape: It had been a very dry winter even despite some sporadic storms that showed up in November and December. But we knew January was unusually warm and was pretty much a dud in terms of rainfall. So when the last three days had been raining pretty hard and continuously, I figured this ought to revive some local waterfalls. After all, it hadn't been since around this time last year that we did a local waterfall. So what the heck? Why not go for it on this Sunday morning? [read more]
 Snow Good Valentine's Day: It was still rainy and chilly, but Julie and I were quite relieved as the only snow left was on our car. Both of us were also relieved about finally going to the restroom after the tense hour of driving only 20mph through snow. When I hastily returned to the car and its comforting heating, a big caucasian guy in a blue jacket knocked on my door and had me roll down the window."Did you just come down from the pass?" he said, pointing eastward."Uh, yeah," said I, thinking he must be going the other way."What was it like?" he asked."Uhh, well, it was quite slow. There were a bunch of cops looking like they're about to close to highway," said I. At this point, I wasn't sure where he was going with this.Sensing my hesitation, the guy then said, "I'm with Channel 8 News. Do you mind if I film you?" [read more]
 Marmots and Ticks: It quickly became apparent why some people put small wire fences around their vehicles while others left their hood open. There were marmots scurrying about looking to go underneath someone's vehicle and chew on the radiator hoses! My dad guarded the car armed with a trekking pole. He was determined not to let the radiator-hose-eating marmots underneath the vehicle and possibly disable the car... [read more]
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