Snow kidding!

It had hailed the night before our hike into Trabuco Canyon, temps were low and even lower by the time we parked at the Holy Jim Trailhead. So it was no surprise that snow lined the the edges of our hike trail and covered cactus, poison oak and low brush.The 4.7 miles of washboard road to the parking area had been a bit easier roller coaster than my two previous trips. I was thankful about that. Pothole dodging is not a sport I favor but sometimes one must sit down, strap in, and be quiet in order to get herself to the adventure portal! There is no alternative route. Holy Jim trail is a popular trail for both hikers and mtn bikers. It's actually a famous trail, but more about that in a bit. I prefer to hike it due to its constant uphill, technical tight turns and drop offs; those spots you're not supposed to look at while you ride but can't seem to take your eyes off ! The cold crisp mountain air had us hiking at a good clip to warm up the feet and hands, though we wore gloves. The trail has a turn off to a water fall but we only had time to continue straight up. As we passed its intersection we could hear the deluge 3 miles or so to the right. Holy Jim creek crossings numbered 10 each way. So 20 times we were carefully choosing our steps to cross. If it had been even an inch or so higher, avoiding wet shoes would have been impossible. If we had time we would have gone to the top which ends at Santiago Peak, over 4800 ft., the tallest point in the Santa Ana Mountains and one of the two peaks that make up Saddleback Mountain; the other being Modjeska Peak. In the one picture you can spot the snow topped peak with its antennae towers. But time allowed only an hour in and an hour out. Too bad for me because the conditions and views and temp were ideal! The canyon was named for James T. Smith, also known as "old cussin'Jim." Word is he could peel paint off a stove pipe with his cussing.He was a beekeeper and built a home in the north fork of Trabuco Canyon in the 1870's and planted figs.When government surveyors plotted the canyon they chose "Holy Jim" rather than "Cussin Jim." Looked better on the trail maps. The last wild California grizzly, an old bear named "the honey thief" was killed at the mouth of T.C. after robbing a string of beehives in 1907. (No wonder Jim was so cussin' mad.) check out pix of the times at http://www.trabucocanyon.org/ Jim and bear included!! It was a wonderful hike with the perfect hiking partner and perfect hiking poles. You can see how much we relied on them when creek crossing!

The last pic of the day was me sitting out front of my pretend mtn writing cabin we passed heading back to the truck. Yeah, there she is, "ol cussin Colleen!" "Get off my property dag nabbit, or I'll get out the ol' 6 shooter and give ya what for *%#!@!!

Something about being OUT THERE, always brings out the best in me~~~~