"Hot Sweaty Mess in February"

8-February 2020: By the time I got back to the main trail, I then made haste as I looked forward to the mostly downhill hike while also trying to catch up to Julie and Tahia who had the head start.

I ultimately caught back up to them by about 12:25pm when they were pretty much taking a short break near the bottom of the long descent.

Along the way, I saw quite a few more hikers going up to the falls, including one couple where one woman really looked like she was struggling with the climb (it made me wonder if she had brought enough water or just underestimated the difficulty of the hike)…

It was about 7am when when both Julie and I awoke to our alarms as we determined a few days ago that we were going to do a hike today.

After all, it had been a month since our hike to Black Star Canyon Falls, which benefitted greatly from a heavy storm that hit on Christmas night.

However, we had gone through a dry January and even the first week of February started out dry.

So we were worried that this year might be the start of another prolonged multi-year drought after going through a few years of pretty decent rainfalls dating back to 2016 or so.

Given the continent-wide bushfires that have irreparably changed Australia, we knew that this was probably going to be our future at some point, and it might start with a dry winter like what we were getting so far this year.

Anyways, after taking time to get ready for the hike to Trail Canyon Falls, we figured that it was now or never when it came to doing a waterfall that we hadn’t done in a while.

And since it had been a while since we last did this one (about 7 years ago), we figured that we were due, but this time, we were bringing Tahia along.

That said, little girl was very reluctant to do the hike since she seemed to not want to go any waterfall hikes. But if her alternative activities involved playing on the computer or just doing nothing, well she was coming whether she liked it or not.

Nevertheless, I did have concerns about the scramble at the end of the hike to get to the bottom of Trail Canyon Falls, but now knowing how she was able to handle herself on the Black Star Canyon hike a month ago, I figured this obstacle and hike shouldn’t be nearly as difficult.

So it wasn’t until about 8:30am when we left the house to a rather foggy morning.

I knew that that fog would quickly burn off, and it would do so with a vengeance since we had been getting pretty dry and windy weather earlier in the week, but it had been getting warm over the last couple of days.

Sure enough, by the time we were approaching the 605/210 junction, the fog was long gone and it was bright and sunny once again.

As much as Julie’s iPhone wanted us to take the Angeles Crest Highway up towards the Clear Creek Station before backtracking down the Big Tujunga Canyon Road to the Trail Canyon Falls Trailhead, I knew that we would have a far easier drive going to Sunland and then going up Big Tujunga Canyon Road.

That just goes to show you that you can’t always rely on the auto-routing software on the iPhone or whatever other smart phones on the market.

When we got to Sunland, Julie’s iPhone had us turn left at the Oro Vista Ave, where there was a 7-11 store. We decided to quickly stop there at 9:20am and buy an Angeles Forest Day Pass (instead of the annual pass since we figured this year might be a bad year for local waterfalling) just in case we had to display it while parked.

Anyways, by about 9:30am, we ultimately arrived at the familiar turnoff for the Trail Canyon Road. However, unlike in the past where we were able to drive this narrow, rutted, and unpaved road to the day use parking and trailhead, now a locked gate blocked further progress.

So this explained why we saw so many vehicles parked along the Big Tujunga Canyon Road.

I didn’t recall that the unpaved stretch of road was a long drive, but regardless, we now had to walk it, and I knew that that would add a little more difficulty to an already moderate and hot hike. By my estimation, it was probably going to add about a mile or 1.5 miles to the overall hike.

After spending a few minutes getting ready, I noticed there was a Forest Service truck parked across the street. I wasn’t sure if she was checking for forest pass displays on parked vehicles or not, but right when I scratched off the month and day for today (February 8), then she drove off.

Next, we then proceeded to walk up past the gate, where the road went up a couple of switchbacks as it climbed towards its junction with the Gold Canyon Trail. Given how warm the sun already was as well as how dry it was today, our hike already started off a little uncomfortably.

Beyond the junction, we kept right and then the road descended towards the old car park and trailhead; getting there at about 9:55am. It was strange not seeing any vehicles here anymore, and I started to wonder if that gate closure was a permanent thing to guard against road congestion, and overcrowding at the parking lot.

In any case, we figured that if the Forest Service wanted to, they can have an easier time enforcing the parking display of the forest service passes instead of having to drive all the way into the lot inside to check.

Regardless, we then proceeded onto the familiar trail, which went past another gate, and then swung around to cross over an unbridged, unpaved crossing of a creek right before some private property.

Given the history of fires in this area (as evidenced by some blackened trees and even the blackening of one of the power poles), I was amazed at how these homes still managed to survive the fires over the years and remain inhabited.

Beyond the home, the trail then went alongside the creek and towards the foundations of what was once the last of the homes or cabins, but all that was left of that one was a couple chimneys (probably similar to the last time we were here in 2013).

At the next junction, we followed a sign that said to keep right to continue on the “Trail”. Then, we went past some small landslide-prone area going past a dry fall before hugging the cliff walls for a bit.

Eventually, the trail then descended past a huge boulder that must have fallen from the neighboring cliffs before going across the creek.

After this crossing, the trail then ascended briefly before reaching a narrowing of Trail Canyon, where we then had to go across the creek a few more times (I had lost count, but maybe there were at least a half-dozen of them or so).

In between a couple of the crossings, there was even a picnic table, which I never recalled was there in the past.

Anyways, beyond the last of the creek crossings, we then noticed that the terrain opened up considerably before the trail veered to the left and started to ascend in earnest.

This was the long dreaded open and exposed mile-long climb that was probably the most taxing part of the Trail Canyon Falls hike.

I looked for excuses to check out some detours revealing a dry fall or two as well as some water breaks to ensure we were hydrated under the warm sun. It was amazing that we were already umcomfortably hot, sweaty, and messy on this stretch of the hike, and it was only February!

I’d hate to imagine how much more difficult this hike would be later in the Winter or even through the Spring. And forget about doing this hike in the Summer!

Eventually we’d ultimately make it up to the top of this climb, where we then went around a couple of bends. Along the way, there were hikers coming down in the other direction who must have gotten earlier starts.

Nevertheless, this hike felt somewhat refreshingly quiet compared to most of the other waterfalls in Los Angeles and Orange County despite the dozens of people we had already encountered along the way.

Soon enough, we rounded the last bend before finally seeing Trail Canyon Falls again. However, most of the falls still sat in shadow while the surrounding area was bright from the sun. So that made for taking pictures from up here a little on the difficult side.

We knew there was still more to go so we kept going a few more minutes before returning to the familiar start of the steep scramble down to the base of Trail Canyon Falls.

I swore in the past that the main trail used to skirt closer to the rim of the gorge containing the Trail Canyon Falls, but these days, we had to be content with the more elevated trail and slightly longer scramble to the bottom. I guess that’s what happens when fires de-stabilize the soil and causes the trail to be re-routed from how it was in the past.

It took some time for Julie and Tahia to go down the initial part of the descent to the gorge rim because of loose dirt. So even though I didn’t think it was necessary, Tahia was busy sitting and scooting and that took a little extra time (even though she wouldn’t need to do it until we got to the steepest part of the descent).

Sure enough, when we then backtracked downstream to the steep gully, we noticed there was a rope set up here even though we didn’t really need to use it. Nevertheless, we watched carefully as Tahia made her way down the gully slowly and surely.

Then, once we made it to the bottom, we quickly made our way to the last short descent before finally reaching the base of Trail Canyon Falls at 11:25am.

As we were enjoying the falls and taking pictures and such, there was one guy who had brought a plastic bag and picked up trash that he had found. That was a really nice thing of him to do, and perhaps that had set the example of what everyone else ought to be doing, including ourselves.

Of course, people shouldn’t be leaving trash here, and there sure as hell was nothing we could do about the unsightly graffiti that we saw down here.

Regardless, after having our fill of this spot and enjoying our short picnic before the base of Trail Canyon Falls, we then scrambled our way back up to the main trail at about 11:50am.

Upon returning to the main trail, Julie and Tahia headed straight back to the trailhead while I headed in the opposite direction in pursuit of the brink of the Trail Canyon Falls.

So I followed the main trail past the waterfall and a little further upstream before I saw a woman doing some kind of meditation while her son was busy playing in the water near her.

At this point, I could see that crossing the creek and getting to the other side was pretty straightforward so that’s what I did.

Once on the other side, I then briefly took the narrow trail towards the rocks perched right above the brink of the Trail Canyon Falls, and here’s where I got perhaps my most satisfying photos and videos of the waterfall from up here.

I got here at around 12:10pm.

There were a couple of girls playing music down by the base of the falls at this point, and they noticed me up here.

Anyways, after having my fill of this spot, I then scrambled down towards the creek, and I took a shortcut gully back up near the other side of the brink of Trail Canyon Falls, where someone had put some rope here as well.

By the time I got back to the main trail, I then made haste as I looked forward to the mostly downhill hike while also trying to catch up to Julie and Tahia who had the head start.

I ultimately caught back up to them by about 12:25pm when they were pretty much taking a short break near the bottom of the long descent.

Along the way, I saw quite a few more hikers going up to the falls, including one couple where one woman really looked like she was struggling with the climb (it made me wonder if she had brought enough water or just underestimated the difficulty of the hike).

Regardless, we continued our return hike together, which felt refreshing as waterfalls always do when we go on these outings (it’s why we always do it despite Tahia’s initial protests).

Ultimately by about 1:15pm, we finally made it back to the gate by Big Tujunga Canyon Road and our parked car.

We noticed that the vehicle parked behind us didn’t have a Forest Service Pass, and it made us wonder if we paid $5 for nothing and parked here, but then again, we didn’t want to chance it as we did see other vehicles with the passes on them as well.

There was one vehicle that did go by us as we were descending to Big Tujunga Canyon Road, and we figured that they were probably residents here.

Anyways, that was the end of our excursion, and we looked forward to having a lunch over at the Culture Club 101 in Pasadena.

After a rather expensive lunch, we finally left the restaurant at around 3pm and then we made it home at around 4pm. So this hike took the better part of the day, but despite us feeling icky from the hike, we definitely felt refreshed (and maybe a little sore in Julie’s case), but we’re already looking forward to the next hike next week.

Indeed, it felt like Spring had already started, but we’re not even close to the end of February yet! I guess it’s moments like these that we take our victories where we can, especially as the consequencese of Global Warming and Climate Change keep rearing its ugly head…