Holy Jim Falls - local hike and offroad drive (photo heavy)
 

Today Sohrshah and I went for a hike. We selected Holy Jim Falls in spite (or perhaps because) of the warnings about the road to the trailhead.

First off, the road... the warnings in the "reviews" section of the site I linked to don't do it justice. But it's worth reiterating that you *cannot* and *should not* even attempt it in a 2WD passenger car. Stick to SUVs or other high profile vehicle or you WILL be sorry (Hey Nirvanaman, are you excited yet? Meh, you probably already know this road) I took about a minute of video on the drive back from the hike. You can't see the road detail that well, but you get an idea of how much the car bounces around. And this wasn't even on the roughest part.

Anyway, it's about a mile and a half to the falls. There is some lovely scenery along the way - hard to believe we were still in Orange County! There are actually quite a few privately owned cabins along the "road" from the "parking lot" to the official trailhead (you think it starts at the parking lot, but there's another sign after the bulk of the cabins). You cross the stream several times along the way, but there are usually enough rocks or fallen trees to help you keep your feet dry (I eventually got my feet wet, but more on that later)

Here are some pics I took along the way:

It looks like such a nice, easy road at first...


Look at the front bumper and try to visualize how big those potholes actually are


Water crossing!




The path ahead includes this cool archway of branches just tall enough to stand upright under






Any idea what these flowers are? They weren't as abundant as the dark purple flowers, but pretty, no?


Okay, this was pretty damn cool. At first we thought it was graffiti, but upon closer read it says: Fuel Break Crews I-II (something) 1974. So apparently they were up there working on fighting a fire and did that.


Lots of stream crossings


In the background, you can see what may have been a bush, but more likely a bush manipulated into a sort of lean-to. Certainly would have worked as one


Okay, maybe someone can tell me... are these grapes? They had grape-like leaves and the little spiral things like grapes. Hard to imagine them in the wild here of all places, but they sure looked like it.


Not one picture captured the intensity of the color in these purple flowers that were all over the place. They look much more muted here. Also, that other plant growing in with them seems like its being attacked by a spotty fungus. We noticed a lot of that too.


Old oak


Learned something new today. This... is a weir.


Umm, yeah. Us.


That's not "the" waterfall. Actually, that's your trail. No really. Keep going.


The walking gets a little more challenging near the end


But here's the payoff






This is actually how I got my feet wet. The waterfall doesn't look all that "splashy", but as I was waiting for this picture to get taken, my heels and calves got splattered.


It's not as short as it looked in that last pic, btw


Oh yeah, on the way up one of the marked stops is "picnic rock". FYI in case you want somewhere to stop and dine al fresco.


When you come back out of the thick foresty part, there's a pretty nice view of the tops of the mountains


For being so local, I was impressed by how cool this hike was. Okay, so we've seen bigger, badder waterfalls in Sequoia and King's Canyon, but this is a pretty darn good waterfall for being just a few miles from home. And as the reviews said, the drive WAS half the adventure!

On a side note: we didn't know this going out, but you're supposed to have and display some kind of wilderness pass. Apparently it's available from the ranger station or local sporting stores (my guess would be the Sport Chalet in Foothill Ranch would have it). It's like $5.

Love the photos! We've been out there but haven't done the trail hike (yet!).

My love for offroading is all about stuff like this... seeing things off the beaten path, being an explorer, feeling like you are one of the "lucky ones" to be able to experience these things that a lot of people don't even know are around (and in a way, you hope they never do so it can be "yours".)

There are SO many places like this in So Cal! When will the Lounge of Tomorrow Off Road club get started? :)

I haven't done this hike in ages! The falls look pretty good this year. They become more of a drizzle later in the year.

Jeebus, that looks great and loads of fun (and a hike even I could manage).

The flowers look like cyclamen to me, but I am sure I am totally wrong-O.

:snap: great pics!

"Bike UP a waterfall?" [/esoteric Disney reference joke]

Thank you so much for sharing and taking us along on your trip. I would have never guessed this was Orange County if you hadn't said so.

Thanks to you, I am adding that area to my list of places to visit.

Very cool! Thanks for sharing with us! :snap:

Ah yes taken the various Land Rovers here over the years. Just past my favorite local steak joint and past a cool model airplane runway. It's soft roading at best, but still good fun. That said I do see folks do it in civics and the like and wonder what they are thinking. It isn't intense, but rough enough that it would not be wise to travel in such vehicles very far along this path.

Oh, and never did the hike. Unfortunately, I'm fresh out of Range Rovers at the moment so my options are limited for the time being.

The Porsche could handle it...

I'll just add that to my journal of Bad Kevy Ideas. This entry will immediately follow "Just close your eyes and open your mouth, this will be a fun surprise".

How did I miss this thread?
I loves these pics!
:)

LOL Kevy, the Saturn Vue barely made it.

NM: Next time you have a high profile vehicle at your disposal, I highly recommend the hike

Of course I meant passed. Too many martinis or not enough?

Not enough: there's no such thing as too many martini's

Saw the thread title and thought I'd fallen down a ravine again.

That's what I thought!

Great shots! Cool hike, too. How long did it take? And, the VUE, only 2WD? I have a 4WD but it is built like a VUE, so, what do ya think? How far do you think it was from where you parked to start hike to the part where you have to hike up the falls?

So many quesitons! Can't believe this is so close, too! And, that there is water!

My first thought, too, ABG, was if bikes were allowed! The rocks of the fall gave me moment to pause but they can be locked up I reckon.

Mmm....mountain lions?

Thank you for sharing these and your experience!

Your nickname is Parmesan Jim, not Swiss Jim, so I am not sure why you thought the Holy Jim applied to you

You could probably park out where the bad road starts and ride bikes in from there, but there are parts of the hike (nearer the waterfall) where bikes would not be practical. However, it would be a good option for people who don't wanna risk their vehicles on the 5 mi of bad road.

Cool, it sounds like a great afternoon. :0)

You've never tried a SwissKrisp, have you?