Hiking in the North Etiwanda Preserve

After a year struggling with the effects of long Covid, this year began with a modest goal of getting healthy. Tagging Natalie to join me is this quest, we set a January goal of walking 40 miles through the local neighborhoods. The first walk was a mile loop up through a tiny walkway snuck in-between the 210 freeway and Highland on land donated to the city by the Sam and Alfreda Maloof Foundation. 

Within a couple of weeks, we were walking a minimum of 2 miles, with a couple of Disneyland trips (for Natalie's birthday) adding 13.4 Disney miles to jumpstart our mileage goal. By the end of January 2024, we had walked 66.11 miles. Natalie has also been training to do a half marathon with Tessa this year, so as time goes on, Gideon, our Maltipoo puppers has become my most constant walking buddy. 

Gideon in his full winter coat

February began with a days long down pouring of rain. There were a few thunderstorms tucked into the wetness, as well. One particular thunderstorm included hail while Natalie and I were out walking. Just as we reached out halfway point, and as far from home as we would be, thunder and lighting started crashing all around us. Fortunately, Greg was home and drove up the hill to pick us up. 

With a lake of water, 4 to 6 inches deep, in our driveway, and already soaking wet shoes, our second month of walking began slower than we hoped. With a successful goal of doing a 5K at least 3 days a week, we ended up walking 94.73 miles for the month of February. Planning for our March goal, the idea of walking up the North Etiwanda Preserve to the waterfalls sparked our interest. 

The official goal we decided on was to make it to the waterfalls before the end of March, using the time before then to practice a few times. Our first practice up the mountain was on February 11th. Etiwanda Falls Trail Just the day before this hike, we went out whale watching off of Balboa Pennisula near Newport Beach. 

Newport Landing Whale Watching

After a very cool day out on the ocean seeing hundreds of dolphins and a handful of sea lions, we definitely dressed way too warm to walk the Etiwanda trail. Though the temperature was not much different between the two days of adventuring, the standing the still on the breezy deck of a whale watching boat was much colder than the get hot fast physical energy of mountain hiking. A good lesson in the art of layering on our first official mountain hike of our healthy quest.

Etiwanda Falls Trail

Our first attempt at reaching the falls stopped at about the 3/4 mile mark. So just a tad short of halfway to the waterfalls. With the little Bibbles leading the way, we discovered many amazing rocks (because nothing is as thrilling as glorious rocks when you are two) and the joy of just sitting on the warm dusty trail drawing pictures in the sand.

The hiking trail itself is a bit rough with lots of loose gravel and fist size rocks creating a slippery surface. We have had a few rainy winter/spring seasons in a row creating the slippery pathway due to washout crevices and crack in the dirt pathways, created by these rain storms.  That having been said, the Preserve has many tables spread around to make great place to rest on the hiking trail. The table we stopped at was just beyond the 1/2 mile marker plus a quarter mile off to the right. 

  

There are covered tables along the trail, but this was not one of them. With it being a pleasant mid winter day, the bright sunshine was pleasantly comfortable. Just a few yards off the table was a small canyon with the East Etiwanda Creek bubbling through it. The Bibbles loves "wa-wa" just as much as she loves sand, hearing the water splishing and bubbling along the creek bed far below was too tempting for the little girl to ignore. We walked over close to but not too close to the edge to watch the water flowing past far below.          

After a few more sandbox moments on the way down, we completed our first hike of 2024 up into the North Etiwanda Preserve. 

It took almost three and half weeks to return to the mountain. On March 7th, we heading up the Etiwanda Trail for our second test run up towards the waterfalls at the top. The day was very cool, with the threat of rain hanging heave in the air. We knew before the hike began that the time we had available, just under an hour, guaranteed this was not the day we reached the top. Still, with March slipping by already, we needed to get some more actual hiking completed. 

 

Sadly, dogs are not allowed inside the North Etiwanda Preserve, so Gideon waits at the dog with Greg on this hike. Even with the "No Dogs Allowed" policy, we see many different types of pupperdos along the way.  I think it is nice to see dogs out walking with the rest of us. What I hate, however, is the intentional laziness of dog owners who refuse to police their animal's poo. Either piles of poo poo in the middle of the pathways, or worse, doggie bags of poop tied up and dropped along the trail. 

We make it up to the mile marker before having to turn around to get Greg to work on time. It is only the 7th of March. We should have plenty of time to hike up to the mile and a half on the next hike. And then, ultimately the waterfalls before the end of March. Life, however, has a tendency to muck up the "best laid plans". 

With less than a week to go, we decide to give it one more try. On March 25th, the three of us, husband, daughter and myself, decide to try for the top one more time. We again have the issue of time working against us. Going to the Preserve in the middle of the day made parking difficult. After waiting a a few more than a few minutes, we parked. 

  

With under an hour and a half to reach the top and get back down, we didn't wait for Greg to pay for parking. Expecting him to catch up some where on the trail, we started hiking. At about the 1/2 mile mark, we got a phone call saying he headed up the wrong trail. 

 

This was his first time climbing Etiwanda, so he didn't know the path. Thus, he walked around on the North Etiwanda Preserve Loop while we went up the Etiwanda Falls Trail. While he has walked that trail, it is still on my TO DO list.

Assuming that it would be quicker walking back down the trail than heading up, we planned out our time accordingly. The plan of 40 minutes up and 25 down was completely false. Natalie and I did reach the top, YAY!, in the planned amount of time. A few minutes spent enjoying our success, and we headed back down. We rapidly learned that speeding down the slippery sandy rock trail would not be a fast descent.

By the time we made it back down, it was obvious Greg was going to be a few minutes late for work. Calling work and getting that part straightened out, we leapt in the car and headed back. Getting dropped off a half mile from home, Natalie and I walked so Greg to take the shorter route. 

We completed the hiking Etiwanda goal and, and since we had also decided to turn our walking a 5K three times a week to every day in the month of March, also succeeded at our 31 days of 5Ks goal. 

Just over a week later, on the 4th of April, Greg and I repeated the hike up to Etiwanda Falls. Climbing the 1 and 3/4 miles to the top was moderately difficult according to Alltrails. We walked up to the waterfalls when we first moved out to Southern California in 2012. At that time, people were posting that it was an easy trail to walk. We choose poorly, trying this easy trail in the middle of a 90 degree sunny day. We made it to the top back then, but it was very much a struggle. 

With it more appropriately list as moderately difficult, and our former experience, we prepared much more successfully. Purposely going on cool rainy days, bringing water along and and allowing ourselves rest time on the hike, it was much more enjoyable than 12 years ago. The completion of tis hike set us up for our April 'healthy' goal of a hike a week. 

Probably a 100 feet from the end of the trail near the parking area, a mother with two young teens asked us how much farther it was to the top. When we told her she was at the very beginning, she looked at us and then turned to her kids and said, "If they can make it, we will be just fine." We just smiled at her and walked on. Yes, us old people, who spent three months preparing for this walk, are a sign that they will make it up to the top on their "very first hike," according to the mother. I hope they did.