Sunday, September 23, 2007

Waterstone Hiking Club

Today the Waterstone Hiking Club headed out to Cleveland National Forest on a brand-new hike. The hike was named after Holy Jim, an inhabitant of the canyon which now bears his name. Holy Jim was also called Cussin' Jim for his rather raw temper but government officials went with the sanitized version as the official canyon name.
For those of you that live in wet, lush areas that have plenty of rainfall, you might thumb your noses at this pitiful trickle of water otherwise known as a creek. If you live in the Pacific Southwest, however, this water is a miracle. This weekend we had our second significant rainfall event of the entire year. (Please note the emphasis). We in southern California are desperate for water. I simply can't express how much I miss streams and lakes. If you've grown up near lakes, the ocean isn't comparable.
Anyway, Bailey was jazzed about the water too. Holy Jim trail is remarkable because it's so unlike anything that is currently present down here in the OC. Frankly, it looked like Washington. There were trees, shrubs, vines, and it was all green, not brown.
Holy Jim Falls is also significant because it's where the last wild grizzly was shot in the state.
Ok, so the actual Holy Jim Falls isn't really much to look at.
But we had fun anyway.
Of course, this post wouldn't be complete without some strange plant or animal pictures....

Ready for home.