Dry Times: East & West Forks Lions Creek

East Fork Falls

As the drought has unfolded I've developed a curiosity about which of our backcountry water sources   are still producing some flow. Granted, most drainages out there are stunningly dry, but I've seen a couple places lately that have withstood the trend to a degree. With a half day of free time on my hands I decided on a quick circuit between the east and west forks of Lions Creek. 

In a normal year there are pleasant falls up both forks, happily little gushers crashing into turquoise pools framed by cobbled conglomerate rock. Both falls are sheltered by magnificent old sycamores which caste a deep and dappled shade over the bubbling creek as it descends the rocky drainage. On a warm spring day each of these becomes an Eden of sorts, beautiful little gems of the Los Padres. 

I was hoping. But it was not to be. As a man once said, "Wish in one hand and shit in the other and see which one fills up first." So no, there isn't any water at either falls. Immediately below East Lions there were a few stagnant pools of buggy water. The story at the West Falls was little better. No flow over the falls, but in the forested creek below there was a stretch of trickling ground water, feeding several shallow pools. A six inch trout swam unhurried laps from from one end of his 15ft puddle to the other. Water walkers, dragonflies, butterflies, and an itinerant Anna's hummingbird completed the scene. In the overhead canopy a gentle breeze ruffled the leaves, a dove flapped from branch to branch. I leaned back against rough bark and listened to the forest for a bit before gathering myself for the return trip. She told me she is thirsty.

East

East

The Creek descending from East Fork Lions.

This is the time in summer when the prickly stuff blooms.

The creek below West Fork Falls (and below).

Thorn Point from the Lions Connector Trail

Lions Canyon Run, 04/18/2011 (a bobcat, a buzzworm, and a busted digit)

What the hell happened to the beautiful, sunny weekend we just had?!? You know, the one that I spent on-call and at work. I got a chance to leave work in the noon hour and bolted out the door, only to be reminded that getting out from under the marine layer would involve some driving.

My first thought was that Matilija might be sunny...wrong! I just kept driving up the 33. The fog and cloud parted at the crest and I drove down into a green and bright Rose Valley. With the limited time I had due to the late hour I opted for a quick circuit of the Lions Canyon and it's east and west fork falls. I took the connector trail that starts just at the entrance to the Rose Valley campground.

West Fork Falls, Lion Creek (above)

I remembered why I liked the connector trail. I takes you up over a ridge and down into Lions Canyon. It's an interesting and varied trail and right now is the time to see it. All the little watercourses are streaming and everything is green.

The West Fork falls are kind of fun to get to. Taking the creek upstream from the WFork camp is pretty and shaded. There are a bunch of old sycamores just before this neat 12 foot falls. Of the 2, the West Fork feels a bit more remote.

I was leaving the falls when I messed up and crashed head-first down some largish rocks into the creek. Yeah, I ate shit. Bashed my knee pretty good. When I could stand and knew that the knee would hold weight, I addressed a corona of pain blossoming in my right hand. I realized that, not only was my right pinky finger not working, but it was also facing the wrong direction. Without giving myself a lot of time to think about what I was doing, I grabbed that digit and yanked hard, added a twist at the end, and felt it pop back into place. A few minutes later I headed over to the East Fork.

The East Fork is more of a collection of waterfalls, most of them less than 10 feet in height, and did I say pretty? Yes, this is a very pretty place and well worth visiting. I think I was 11 years old the first time I saw these falls. It's funny how I forgot how much I like this hike.

A couple other interesting things occurred in addition to the manual, on-site dislocated finger reduction. I pissed off my first rattler of the season. He was in the brush and grass a few inches from the trail and the warning buzz convinced me not to investigate. And to put nice little bow on the day, I spooked a healthy bobcat who had been hiding under a tree full of chirping birds. I guess I wrecked his shot at an early evening snack. All in all, it became a very eventful unplanned afternoon. The 6 mile hike took me 2:45 minutes with stops at both falls. And yes, the finger hurts like hell.

Below: a fat & happy horned toad