Bonita Falls

Bonita Falls, Ca
Thursday we were looking for adventure. We have been working our butts off trying to catch up from February's month-long vacation and we just couldn't take another minute of yard work or school work! Time to get in our PE credit! We decided to go hiking.
Jeff came up with the idea of Bonita Falls because he hiked this particular trail when he was a kid.
We loaded some lunch in our backpacks, filled them with water, and jumped in the car.
Bonita Falls is located in the Lytle Creek area off of Sierra Ave and is the second largest waterfall in Southern California. The entire trail is only somewhere between 2 and 3 miles, but consists of rough terrain including and dry and very rocky creekbed.
After following the road up to the Lytle Creek Ranger Station, we stopped in to get our Wilderness Adventure Pass. You must have a Wilderness Adventure Pass to park along the roads to hike or play in the water. Unfortunately, the ranger station is closed on Wednesdays and Thursdays so we took our chances and parked without a pass. (We are such rebels!) Armed with only Jeff's memory (I won't say how old it is) we navigated the trail. By the way, I am using the term trail VERY loosely! The only thing we had to follow was the creek and we ended up hiking through the extremely rocky wash.

Here you can see the rocky wash area leading up top the canyon. The falls are located up the canyon between these two hills.

The kids were real troopers as we guessed the direction and crossed the creek several times blazing our own trail. I would recommend staying close to the south edge of the wash as the trail curves to the left and sneaks up on you before you know it. We almost missed it and would have if it were not for other hikers coming down from the area.
We finally turned off the wash and headed up the mountain a bit. There were many steep slopes and trees that blocked the trail that we had to either climb over or under. Although there were these conditions, it was still a trail that we could navigate quite easily. The main disappoinntment of the day was the amount of graffiti and trash in the area. It was difficult to take pictures because I did not want to capture the ugliness of the spray painted rocks and signs. If we hike in this area again, we will definitely bring a trash bag with us to collect the rubbish along the route.
We came upon what we thought was the end of the trail and sat down to enjoy a small set of falls, blocked by a fallen tree. we pulled out our lunches and the girls played in the water and among the rocks. However, the whole time Jeff was nagged by the feeling that it wasn't quite as spectacular as he remembered.

Our first stop. We thought we were at the end of the trail.

The girls and I were equally unimpressed so Jeff decided to go scout a little further up. It looked pretty steep to me so I agreed to "wait with the children" hahahaha! He came back down yelling for us to follow. We packed up quickly and scrambled up the cliff to see what he was so excited about.

 Now that is a waterfall! Finally we understood what he was talking about. 

We have had phenomenal weather here as of late and we were pretty sweaty by the time we reached the actual waterfall. The water was cascading off a cliff with tremendous force, misting us with water and cooling us off! It reminded me of a smaller version of Yosemite's Bridal Veil Falls. 
We thoroughly explored the tiny canyon and had we been better equipped would have jumped in the small pond that rests at the foot of the falls. The steep cliffs that are home to the waterfall were dripping with moss and plants, and water sprays up to ten feet away from the base. The sound of the falls crashing into the water was deafening and we could barely hear each other talking! Jeff said, "Now this is what I remember!"
After quite a while of playing on the slippery rocks, we decided we'd better head back as it was probably an hour and a half hike back to the car through the rocky wash. Natalie was starting to look a little wilted so I knew we had limited time before her feet stopped moving.
We headed back, once again blazing our own trial through the desert habitat and sediment wash alternately, avoiding cactus, hopping rock to rock, crossing the creek several times, and examining the patterns, shapes, consistency, and colors of the sediment. (We had to squeeze in a little school! We're calling it Earth Science)
We did hit a point on the return where the kids had had it, especially Natalie. We had hiked for about 3 hours in all on rough terrain and she was starting to mutiny. When we reached the driveway for Green Mountain Ranch (we had parked at the closest turnout to the Ranger Station) Jeff suggested that he get the car and meet us at the driveway. I consented and the kids plopped to the ground. While Jeff jogged further down the creek bed to get the car I "mentioned" to the girls that I was disappointed to have started the hike, but not finish it....well that did it! They were back on their feet and running after Jeff shouting to him to wait for them! Man, I LOVE a good guilt trip! Well, say what you want, but it worked. The girls not only finished the hike, but shed their shoes and socks to play in the dam at the end. The water was freezing so I decided to forgo that experience, but we had some wonderful moments sitting at the edge throwing rocks into the water and seeing who could throw the farthest or make the biggest splash. I smiled to myself when Katie said on the way home, "I am happy that I finished the hike."
What a fantastic day it was, full of sweet family memories and teachable moments. We learned to persevere, be patient with each other, and follow dad's directions. Best thing....NO PARKING TICKET! Yay! It was a successful day and so enjoyable.

Some of my favorite memories from our hike.