"A Nice Blue Weekend"

4-February 2023: However, as we skirted around and down the familiar scrambling paths at the start, there was one dicey sit-and-scoot obstacle that Tahia had already descended with her nimbleness (and showing off), but with Julie and Mom, we had to be more careful.

This also tested my Achilles, which was still recovering from nearly 3 weeks ago when I injured it, so I had to take it slow though I made sure to be ahead of them so I could help them position their feet on the slippery rocks (or hold them in place).

It took some time to get past the initial obstacle (knowing that we’d have to go back up that thing), and then we had to traverse a makeshift wood “bridge” that someone put there to avoid wading in the narrow and deep pool below.

The wood there seemed rather flimsy, and there were three of them (one of them tended to get submerged), and it required balancing on the wood while using our hands to hold onto the rock wall adjacent to it…

It was about 6am when we awoke to our alarms.

Having not done a hike last weekend due to a combination of Tahia being busy with an exam that took place on Saturday and rain that hit the area on Sunday (plus giving me a chance to rest my Achilles a bit), we targeted today to do a waterfall hike.

Julie had spotted some photos of The Grotto Falls (which I also refer to as the Circle X Grotto Falls) on the socials by some people we were familiar with.

And I guess knowing how timing is everything with this waterfall, we figured that we mind as well go for it since nearly a week had passed since the last rain, which might make the timing perfect for a visit today.

So Mom agreed to meet us at home at 7am and we’d carpool together to get all the way to the Circle X Ranch (hopefully beating traffic along the way).

In the meantime, we spent a frantic hour or so getting ready (as it was always hard to get Tahia up out of bed), and I was breaking my fast with a kefir brekkie.

Mom was running late, and we weren’t exactly prompt either so it wasn’t until around 7:25am when we finally carpooled together and headed back in the direction of the Santa Monica Mountains.

The drive out towards the Santa Monica Mountains this time around took us west towards the 405 and then the 10 Freeways before getting onto the busy yet scenic Pacific Coast Highway going through Malibu.

The oceanfront stretch was already pretty busy this time of the morning (by then it was around 8am or so), and we could see Southern California already starting to come alive.

There were heaps of surfers out in the ocean taking advantage of the pretty high swells creating some big wave splashes (though not enough to threaten the PCH on this day), and there were already some morning joggers and strollers on the beach.

Throughout the drive, there were also lots of street and mountain bikers essentially riding not only on bike lanes but bleeding into the rightmost road lanes (I guess so it’s easier to have a conversation side-by-side as opposed to front-and-back).

Despite the fairly heavy traffic on PCH for this time in the morning (having to get through a series of traffic lights), there was one bad stretch near the Duke’s Malibu, where traffic narrowed to a single lane.

When we got to where the police cars were at, we saw that there appeared to have been either a long pile-up or maybe some car hit some parked cars along with some rear-endings that went on.

You know, this stretch of the PCH tends to have pretty narrow lanes with no shoulders along with some twists and turns, and I know for sure lots of people road rage it so this is certainly a very accident-prone area.

We also noticed how fragile and crumbly the cliffs overlooking this coastal stretch of Malibu tends to be, and yet you’ve got these multi-million dollar homes perched right atop and beneath these non-permanent features of the landscape.

After what seemed like at least a 15-20 minute delay, we finally got past the incident, and then continued another 13 miles or so before eventually reaching the Yerba Buena Road (right behind the Neptune’s Net).

Julie’s iPhone navigation actually sprung the turn on me very quick so we actually overshot the turnoff and had to backtrack before getting onto the twisty road climbing up into the southern slopes of the Santa Monica Mountains.

At this point, the road followed a familiar narrow and twisty route shared with mountain bikers, which made things a bit tricky considering that we had to go around them with blind corners looming on the passing.

As we got higher up the road, we started to see some attractive rocky mountains at the top reminding me of something you might see in Sedona.

Hard to believe that you could have this kind of scenery in our very own backyard in the Greater Los Angeles Area, and with the nice blue skies behind them, it certainly added to the visual effect.

I believe one of those mountains up there was perhaps Boney Mountain, which was something we saw from the other side near Newbury Park a couple of weeks ago when we did the Chinese New Year hike to Sycamore Canyon Falls.

But on the south-facing side, the mountains definitely looked way more dramatic (assuming that we were witnessing in fact Boney Mountain or if we were really looking at Sandstone Peak or Tri Peaks or something like that according to Gaia GPS).

Anyways, we ultimately got to the familiar Circle X Ranch entrance, where sure enough, there were lots of people trying to park and walk from the visitor center there.

However, having been here twice before, we knew that we could drive down the unpavd road past the gate, where there was another intermediate parking area next to the old Boy Scout facility.

When we went down there, we had to get through one rut that was a bit deep, but since we were in Mom’s high clearance car, we were able to get through that no problem.

There happened to be quite a few cars parked down at the Boy Scouts lot, which indicated to me that we might be seeing quite a few people down here on a Saturday morning.

However, we didn’t stop there.

We then drove the narrower road descending even further down a switchback where we saw some signs indicating that there was another day use parking area at the end of the switchback as well as the Circle X Campground parking at the end.

I was a little thrown off from the signs since we weren’t here to camp, but at Julie’s insistence, we went all the way to the end to park the car and start the hike.

I didn’t want to get Mom ticketed while we were the only car parked down here (aside from one pick-up truck that looked like it belonged to someone local).

Anyways, it was about 8:55am when we started to gear up, and just as we were doing this, we saw one white SUV driving down and then making a circle before starting to head back up.

The guy said that he was the local ranger for the area, and we asked him if it was OK to park where we were at.

He did confirm that this was typically parking for the campground, but he also said that the campground had been closed since the fire so we should be fine.

That was a relief to hear, and it was also a nice bit of information to know considering the confusing signage along the way.

It took us a bit of time to get ready (not surprising since both Julie and Tahia take the longest amount of time), and so it wouldn’t be until about 9:15am when we finally got our start.

There was one Chinese group that went in front of us, where we briefly spoke to them after they asked if they were going the right way.

I guess it was their first time.

But regardless, they headed down at a faster pace than we did, and we went along the familiar downhill path that already started to encounter some minor creek crossings as well as water in the creek this early in the hike.

That was already a good sign that there should be pretty decent waterfall down at the Grotto (hoping there wouldn’t be too much water that it would be a bit too dangerous to go down there), but it also meant that the intermediate waterfalls should flow, too!

And sure enough, after a few minutes, we went past a signed trail junction (leading to or coming in from an alternate trailhead), and then descended to a crossing right above one of the more prominent intermediate waterfalls.

In each of the previous two times we were here, this waterfall never had a prayer of flowing, but on this day, it was definitely flowing.

After a brief rock hop to go across the stream, we then resumed the trail to get to a decent view back at this waterfall backed by some nice sandstone peaks.

Now that this waterfall was flowing pretty decently (though not gushing nearly as much as what Julie saw in the socials), this was now more of a compelling stop instead of pressing on like we did in the past.

It took some time to pry ourselves away from this first waterfall before we proceeded with the downhill hike.

But then it didn’t take but a few more minutes (getting around one muddy patch and ascending up and over a hill before going around another muddy patch) when we then encountered a second intermediate waterfall.

I recalled how in the past it wasn’t anything remarkable given that they were nothing but streaks in the cliffs, but now that we can see an actual waterfall down there, it was yet another compelling stop!

In addition to this second waterfall, there was a third one that had less flow but was also able to be seen.

So it took a few more minutes to document this spot just as people were passing by (one guy who annoyingly had country music blaring out of his speakers).

I never understood why you need to fill Nature’s subtle sounds with music and making everyone else hear it (something I have to deal with on the Metro).

That makes it harder to appreciate things like birdsongs or even the odd wildlife sightings like a possible coyote or snake (the latter of which you really want to pay attention to anyways so you don’t get snake bit).

Anyways, after eventually leaving the second and third waterfall sightings, we then pretty much descended a mostly non-waterfall stretch though we did get to appreciate the neighboring mountains and the creek down below.

Of course, we were looking against the morning sun so it didn’t make for the greatest photographs along the way.

Nevertheless, the presence of water here really did make it take on a whole different character, and for that it certainly made this experience all the more rewarding instead of a re-hash.

So hike continued with some familiar descending and skirting of some seasonal gullies with more views back towards the scenic sandstone peaks in the distance.

Then, the path ultimately descended right down to the level of the creek again, where we made one intermediate crossing, skirted more of the drainage (and some other hikers noticed and commented on Tahia’s Wolf Alice hoodie), and then got to the bottom.

At this point, the trail now pretty much followed the creek and crossed it a couple of more times before we finally got down to the bouldering part at 10:10am.

There were already people here doing the scramble, and from the looks of things this high up, we could see that the scrambling should be possible.

So we followed the familiar scrambling paths generally to the right side as we descended, and there was already one creek crossing though it wasn’t too bad.

However, as we skirted around and down the familiar scrambling paths at the start, there was one dicey sit-and-scoot obstacle that Tahia had already descended with her nimbleness (and showing off), but with Julie and Mom, we had to be more careful.

This also tested my Achilles, which was still recovering from nearly 3 weeks ago when I injured it, so I had to take it slow though I made sure to be ahead of them so I could help them position their feet on the slippery rocks (or hold them in place).

It took some time to get past the initial obstacle (knowing that we’d have to go back up that thing), and then we had to traverse a makeshift wood “bridge” that someone put there to avoid wading in the narrow and deep pool below.

The wood there seemed rather flimsy, and there were three of them (one of them tended to get submerged), and it required balancing on the wood while using our hands to hold onto the rock wall adjacent to it.

But right after this obstacle, then we got to the familiar “plateau” where I knew we could explore the Grotto underneath.

Well, both Julie and Mom weren’t keen on doing that so they kept going all the way to the bottom.

However, both Tahia and I were keen on going in there, but we had to wait for some of the folks from that Chinese hiking group that were just now making their way up.

Once that was done, then Tahia went down first (which looked dicier than I remembered), but then again, when I did it, I still managed like before.

And once we were inside that Grotto, we could see that the waterfall was definitely flowing better this time around, and there was even a nice little glow from the slivers of light making their way through the spaces between the huge boulders.

So Tahia and I spent some time down here documenting the experience and overall just basking in the seclusion since we were the only two left in here after one couple also left when we showed up.

After having our fill of the Grotto, we then headed back up the dicey scramble and back onto the plateau before resuming our descent to rejoin Julie and Mom down at the bottom.

Straight away, there was a familiar steep and slippery gully obstacle that the Chinese group was now making their way down so we waited for them.

However, after that passed, we then had to do some descending to finally make it down to the very bottom, where I managed to cut my hand on some of the low hanging branches.

Hey, what’s an adventure without drawing a little blood, right?

Anyways, after Tahia and I got past the climbing gully obstacle, and then descending and clinging to more rock ledges, we finally got down to the level of the creek where we saw both Julie and Mom taking pictures of the waterfall at the very bottom.

Actually, Julie in the midst of helping some other couple taking pictures of them since I’d imagine they had helped Mom and Julie take their shots.

And so it was about 10:40am when we made it down here, and the first thing I noticed was how the waterfall was actually on the wider left side of the large boulder concealing another small grotto behind it.

I knew with that second Grotto, we had to get wet to see what went on back there, but this time around, we were pretty content to witness this waterfall without going in.

Thus, we spent a pretty decent amount of time taking people shots and overall just documenting this experience as The Grotto Falls certainly performed in a way that we knew was quite rare.

I even overheard other people who were familiar with this place saying that this doesn’t happen often, and that was why we just savored this experience (even though we were starting to get pretty hungry).

It wasn’t until about 11:05am when we finally had our fill of this place and started making our way back up.

As expected, the climbing tended to be easier, but there were some tricky parts that required me assisting Mom (knowing that her knees don’t have the strength they used to have).

Only after getting back across the makeshift wood “bridge” obstacle and then back up the dicey bouldering obstacle with the large step in front of a 5ft intermediate waterfall were we finally home free.

On that one, I definitely had to help hold Mom’s feet when she was on one of the precarious footholds on the slippery rock, and then let her crawl her way up that boulder before being back on her feet.

Finally after getting up and over all the bouldering obstacles, there was one last one where the ladies seemed to have taken a more difficult return path rather than the one we took on the way down.

In this case, they had to sit and scoot down a steep-looking boulder and then get across the stream, while I did a much easier crossing and then dry bouldered my way to where they were supposed to be.

Anyways, aside from that, we were now back on flatter ground where we made two more stream crossings, and then got back onto the trail where there was one more stream crossing before it was pretty easy going from that point on.

Well, it was generally ascending at that point so we were working up a sweat and we had to layer off (Tahia took off her Wolf Alice hoodie and had to tie it around her waist).

It definitely now started to feel more like the temperatures were in the 70s, and we even started to see some attractive flowering blooms on the trees alongside the trail.

Indeed, Spring was already here, and it was just the start of February!

This was further confirmation that our Winters are continuing to get shorter, the Springs are getting shorter and sooner, and Summers dominate the year with the transition to Fall also being practically an extension of Summer.

Julie and I worried that this might also be the end of any significant rain for the rest of the season (who knows if we’ll get another feast or famine Winter next year).

Regardless, staying in the moment, our uphill hike allowed us to re-experience the intermediate waterfalls along the way.

So that helped to give us some rest breaks while also enjoying the waterfalls in slightly more improved midday to early-afternoon lighting.

Indeed, there were more people heading down to The Grotto, which showed that this place definitely was popular (though not as crazy as the Escondido Falls).

Unfortunately, I did start to feel some soreness in my Achilles, and I had a feeling that this is a condition I might have to manage for the rest of my life barring surgery (which for sure would put me on the shelf for 9 months minimum)…

Nevertheless, we ultimately got back up to the trailhead at 12:20pm where we now saw that the lower lot was all full, and we certainly weren’t the only people parked down here anymore.

In fact, some were quite smart at finding shaded parking, and in hindsight, that was something we should have done at the start.

At this point, we were debating whether to make a to go stop at Versailles Cuban Restaurant or whether to do this French Crepe place in Westwood that Julie always wanted to try out.

We ultimately decided to give the crepe place a go because we don’t often go up that way, especially given how busy Westwood Village tends to be as well as how difficult the parking situation can be there, too (what with the aggressive parking enforcement).

It took us some time to get out of PCH as we followed the scenic stretch of the now full-blown busy weekend vibes of Sunny Southern California, but Julie did manage to take some pictures and videos of our drive along Malibu and Santa Monica.

Once we were back on the 10 Freeway, we then had to briefly go north on the 405, where there was quite the bottleneck near Santa Monica Boulevard before finally exiting at the busy and familiar Wilshire Blvd.

It didn’t take long before we saw that street parking certainly was difficult on the smaller streets fronting Le Table de Sophie creperie on Wilkins.

But we were fortunate to have scored a metered parking spot right on Westwood Blvd, and so we parked the car at 1:45pm and proceeded into the restaurant where it seemed like we were only one of two families sitting inside.

With the other family, by the way, we were overhearing French being spoken, and that had to be a good sign that the place we were eating at was legit!

Anyways, the server (who was Latino) was very friendly and patient with us.

After answering our questions, we ultimately ordered two half-dozen escargots, a bottle of their best hard apple cider, and we each got galettes (buckwheat instead of flour used for savory crepes).

The galettes that we got were the Forestiere, the Scandinavienne, the Sicilienne, and the special of the day consiting of venison meatballs.

We knew that we were getting the good stuff at this place, especially since galettes were something we haven’t really had since France.

Anyways, we enjoyed our late lunch, and Mom really seemed to enjoy the experience, especially since she hadn’t tried escargot before, and she certainly enjoyed both the galettes and the hard apple ciders as well.

I think she was starting to understand some of the things Julie and I enjoyed when we went to France multiple times over the past decade.

Regardless, we were quite stuffed by the time we were done with our meal at 2:50pm (which was right when their kitchen pretty much closed at 2:45pm).

And then we looked forward to making more room for Saffron and Rose, which was a Persian ice cream place right across the street.

We tried more flavors there, where I really enjoyed Julie’s jasmine and pink rose ice cream flavors.

Meanwhile, both Mom and I got saffron with pistachio while we each got different flavors of passion fruit and espresso for our second scoops.

Tahia got orange blossom and cucumber, which were unique though I’m not sure I’d do the cucumber ice cream again.

Anyways, we finally got back in the car at 3:15pm now fully stuffed from a great way to cap off our morning hike and now scrumptious lunch and dessert.

And now, we had to face the heavy weekend traffic to get home.

Sure enough, we had to go south on the 405 Freeway, which Julie derisively called the “4 or 5 hour freeway” and sure enough it was pretty much sluggish all the way down the I-10 interchange and even down to the Marina del Rey Hwy 90 interchange.

There was also more traffic around the 105, and it wouldn’t be until about 4:25pm when we were finally at home and then Mom had to drive back to her place.

And so ended another pleasant weekend that included Mom joining us on a waterfall hike, and we’d like to keep this momentum going knowing full well that the rains could pretty much be over and Spring is already here!

We’ll see what comes next as we try to prioritize the more temperamental waterfalls before hitting the very popular and familiar ones later in the season before hitting the international trips for the year.

For sure, it’s going to be a busy year again, and hopefully my Achilles can hold up and strengthen without any big time setbacks (knock on wood)…