Leisa Falls, Kimba Falls, Elizabeth Falls

Hiked: 4/5/2019
Distance: 3.4 miles round trip cross country
Elevation Gain: 885'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 0.7
Round trip time: 4 hours 50 minutes
Recommended water: 64 oz.
Parking/Fees: N/A
Difficulty: Moderate

Jim Sugel from The Hiker's Way discovered a majestic multi-tiered waterfall deep in the Santa Ana Mountains in Orange County. He named it Elizabeth Falls after his mother. He did not want to reveal the location because there was no legal parking nearby and he wanted to keep the location private. I commented on his blog that I would not publish the location if I ever found it, and today I found it. It is in a remote location and not easy to reach. I discovered two more notable waterfalls upstream from Elizabeth Falls. The next multi-tiered waterfall I named Leisa Falls after my beautiful and supportive wife. The final multi-tiered waterfall I dubbed Kimba Falls.

The trip to Elizabeth Falls was slow due to all the water in the canyon. A lot of the trip was rock hopping upstream, but there were a few places I felt compelled to climb up the side of the canyon to bypass a pool. On the banks lurked deep grass, tangled brush, and poison oak. It was also starting to warm up so I tried to avoid the snaky brush. An occasional pile of large boulders created some class 3 scrambling. I passed a wide slab of granite that had sheets of water pouring over it. An unusual sight in the Santa Anas. I hiked past many small falls and pools, finding frogs in a couple. As I started to doubt that Elizabeth Falls was in this canyon, it materialized. It is probably the second most impressive falls I've seen in Orange County (after Tanriverdi), and maybe the most elegant. There are at least half a dozen cascades, some as high as 20'. More class 3 scrambling was necessary to make it to the top of the falls, but exposure was minimal. After enjoying the moment, I continued upstream in search of more.

Elizabeth Falls

One of the middle tiers

Upper tiers

Looking down from the top of Elizabeth Falls

After ten or fifteen minutes, I came to a large pool fed by another multi-tiered falls. This one I named Leisa Falls. Water had carved several channels in the gray and white granite that formed the top of the falls. After a short break for an apple, I continued upstream.

Leisa Falls

Top of Leisa Falls

The final multi-tiered falls I found was another long cascade like Elizabeth Falls, but with less dramatic tiers. I named this one Kimba Falls. There was a large truck sized boulder at the bottom of the falls. Also at the bottom was a damp sand bar. I thought I could just walk across it, but my feet sank in about 4 inches, covering my boots with sand. They were already wet, so no harm done. I stopped at the top of Kimba Falls for a lunch break. The terrain upstream was open enough to continue, but I had found what I came looking for and then some. The way back was no faster despite the gravity assist. It was the same combination of careful rock hopping, bushwhacking and scrambling. On the way back, I stumbled on an abandoned illegal grow camp. Sadly, the lower part of canyon was littered with plastic tubing from whenever it was in operation. When I got home, I did a thorough dish soap rinse as posion oak prevention.

Kimba Falls

Top of Kimba Falls

Illegal grow camp

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Mount Minerva Hoyt and Quail Mountain

HPS Star Emblem Peak
Hiked: 3/29/2019
Distance: 10.8 miles round trip cross country
Summit Elevation: 5405' (Minerva), 5813' (Quail)
Prominence: 2293' (Quail)
Elevation Gain: 1935'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 1.5
Round trip time: 6 hours
Recommended water: 72 oz.
Parking/Fees: $30 National Parks (per car, good for 7 days)
Difficulty: Moderate

Mike Martin invited me to Joshua Tree to hike Mount Minerva Hoyt and Quail Mountain. Quail is the high point in Joshua Tree and a P2K. Both are HPS peaks. It had been four years since my last visit to Joshua Tree, sweeping up LPC peaks. We left early enough to start at sunrise. Every camping spot was full and the park was very crowded. But, we didn't see anyone once we started cross country toward Minerva Hoyt, named after the "Apostle of the Cacti" and key person to get Joshua Tree declared a national park.

We parked in a paved turnout just north of Cap Rock. It was 37F at the trailhead and there was frost on the plants. We started west across Lost Horse Valley, flat for the first couple of miles. The valley was filled with tiny wildflowers and knee high grass and scrub. Joshua trees were scattered and blooming, but cactus was sparse. In the distance, a wall of rock towers and boulders stood between us and the direct line to Minerva Hoyt. We aimed for a low gap in the wall. When we arrived, we scrambled through a couple of boulder filled gullies, emerging at the base of the mountain. Part way up the ridge, we noticed a faint use trail that led up to the top. The final bit was quite steep ending in what looked like dark volcanic outcrops near the summit. We found multiple small registers in a glass jar, full of recent visitors. The views into the park were exceptional, maybe the best of the day. Quail Mountain rose several hundred feet above, and looked to be only a mile away, though the connecting ridges were not direct. The wind had picked up on the higher slopes and kept me on the uncomfortable side of cool. We rested behind some boulders and had a few snacks before pushing on to Quail.

From the turnout

Flowering joshua tree

Mike scrambling through the wall of rocks

Minerva Hoyt

Minerva Hoyt summit view

Quail Mountain from Minerva Hoyt

We dropped off Minerva Hoyt to follow the connecting ridge to Quail. The 15mph wind was blowing steadily north to south and we were pelted on the ridge. We got some respite on the final approach as Quail blocked the wind. The summit was long, with the high point and HPS register on the south side. The benchmark (stamped Jo) is on the north side. We went to the high point first and signed in, then sat below the rocks for a break. The filled register books attested to the popularity of Quail, just not today. Minerva Hoyt looked small from this vantage point. Juniper Flats stretched out to the south. We walked to the benchmark where another register lived in a white can. We signed in again, then packed up for the descent. We took the long east ridge all the way down to a wash that we followed a good distance, eventually veering back into Lost Horse Valley. Returning this way, we completely avoided the wall of rocks. Another idyllic day in JTNP.

Quail summit

San Jacinto in the background, hard to see

Airplane wreck pieces collected on the summit

"Jo" benchmark on the north summit

In an unnamed wash on the way back

Wild Things Anza-Borrego v1

For a six week period, I had a trailcam set up by the Blue Spring guzzler in Anza-Borrego. It can be reached from Bighorn Canyon about 8 miles south of highway 78. If you want to visit the area, take highway 78 to Pinyon Wash and drive south on the jeep trail about 2 miles. Take the side trail into Nolina Wash about 2 more miles. High clearance vehicle recommended. You can park anywhere along Nolina Wash and hike up Bighorn Wash or cross into Bighorn Wash from Nolina Wash. Because of the large concentration of bighorn sheep and deer bones, I was hoping to capture a cougar and was delighted to get one. I also got a grey fox and my first ever ringtail. Ringtails are strange animals related to raccoons and can survive with little water. I had no idea they lived in such a desolate part of the desert. I was sort of surprised to NOT get a coyote, deer, or bighorn.