Joshua Tree Willow Hole

 

 

 

 

This 7 mile roundtrip hike is well worth it. I found the trail to be very level, but there were some extremely soft spots in the narrower wash areas. The "Hole" had quite a bit of water in it, but you could see the water line was about 12 inches above it's current level. The peak was probably during that late January period of rain when we got 4 or 5 days of rain in a row.

We were not fortunate enough to see any wildlife, but there were conducting a SAR training mission down through Rattlesnake Cyn. That canyon is in a separate drainage from Willow Hole, but since the hole is at the end of the drainage, it's only a quick climb to Rattlesnake Cyn.

The SAR guy told me that they had already gone on 20 rescues this year (as of Apr. 10). He also mentioned that most of them were rescues and not recoveries. The fact that he said "most" made me want to ask if there had been any fatalities this season, but I refrained. They pretty much form a relay system from their team in the field back to the nearest trailhead, which in this case happened to be the Boy Scout Trailhead. One funny thing I noticed was that the SAR vechicle was a Lexus. Looked like someone's private car and my guess is that these guys are volunteers.

After the wet winter, all of the desert flora was either blooming, or getting ready to bloom. The yucca, joshua tree, and one of the cacti with stunning red flowers were just beginning to bloom. Don't do this hike if the temp is over 85 degrees. We had a nice cool day with some high clouds blowing in from time to time. I am personally not a person who likes to torture myself by hiking in hot weather, especially in the desert, so this trail is better done in the winter/spring. Especially because the willow hole would not be as full in the summer.

Deep Creek via Hooks Creek Rd.

 
 
 
 

Getting There: Get to Lake Arrowhead and then head toward Cedar Glen. When you get to the gas station at Cedar Glen, turn right onto Hooks Creek Rd. Continue to follow this road until it dead end's into Splinter's Cabin Trailhead. Part of the road is dirt, but 4x4 isn't required.
Minus the poor fishing, this hike was amazing. The hike follows a section of the Pacific Crest Trail and offers magnificent views of the creek from above. Heading downstream, the trail is ever so slightly downhill, and easy on the way back. This area appeared to have recently been burned (i think it's been about 5 years as of this post, but that's a guess) therefore, there is very little shade. I don't envision there would have been much more shade anyway because the ecosystem is pretty desert oriented, with the occasional oak, but mostly scrub oak and high elevation drought tolerant plants. I would estimate that we only hiked 2 miles from the trailhead. The one problem I saw with trying to fish on this hike was that the trail was high above the creek, so access was a bit limited, as we only crossed 3 footpaths leading down to the creek on our hike.

I managed to get an aeriel view of Aztec Falls, said to be the best swimming hole in CA. It looked like you could have jumped, but with the water being high, it was hard to see the bottom, in case a new boulder has been submerged by the storms/runoff this season. Also, the water temp was in the mid 50's, so even though it was a warm day (about 75), I would probably want to wait until later in the season.

Fishing: Mike and I did not catch any trout, nor did we get any bites. The creek was appeared to be flowing very high, but being that this was my first visit to the area, I can neither confirm nor deny that statement. I used a super duper, panther martin rooster tail, and the tried and true bubble fly method (my prefered method). This creek is filled with great runs and a number of slow moving pools. The water had a brown tinge, but was still quite clear (if that makes sense). Mike was fishing with artificial worms. This area is a wild trout stream, so you are only allowed to use lures with barbless hooks. No bait fishing at all. The limit is 2 fish and they must be at least 8 inches long. This is definitely somewhere I will return to fish.

Jed: He did very well on this hike, except I have determined that dog's and fishing don't mix. He gets very instinctual when I fish, and wants to chase my lures, or any animals that might be nearby. He would clearly make a great bird dog, but not so much when it comes to fishing. I think I will leave him home on fishing trips from now on. There were a courting pair of mallard ducks that he kept harrassing, but I have to admit it was pretty funny. The ducks kept coming up to us thinking we would feed them (of course we wouldn't, this is one of my biggest pet peeves when people feed wild animals) and Jed would chase them back in the water and swim after them until they were far enough away to satisy him.

Black Star Canyon Falls

Okay, since the OC Register already did a huge Sunday front page article on the falls, I figure why not. These falls are amazing, yet having them go "mainstream" means more people will be attracted to attempting this hike. It isn't overly difficult, but one mistake and it's a long way out, especially with the lack of meadows for a heli transport.

We all have Dave Whiting to thank for the article, not sure if you've seen it, but the guy who wrote Whiting the letter to promote the falls and ultimately ended up with his name in the paper, looks like quite a tool. I guess it was only a matter of time, but damn, it's unfortunate to see it exposed in such a manner.

2010 in February was a solid time to see the falls. The flow was very strong, being that the watershed isn't all that big for these falls. A week of rain in January, followed by consistent rains for the next month or so contributed to the solid flow at Black Star Cyn Falls this year.

Side Note: Jack Tuttle is the world's angriest man. Those of you who have encountered him know what I'm talking about. When we were almost back to the car, past the locked gate, he was chatting it up with some other hiker (quite a rare sight from what I understand) when he noticed that we had wet feet. He proceeded to provide us with his usual accusatory rhetoric. I mean, the funny thing is that he tells people the same thing and after some time, it gets quite old. He claimed to be taking a photo of my car, but the funny thing was he was holding the camera such that the lens was facing him, and I was staring at the viewfinder. Never listen to this guy, he thinks anyone who goes on the road is trespassing, when in fact, the road is public, as well as the creek once you enter the Cleveland National Forest