02-20-2011 Matilija Creek

It had rained intermittently the last two days. So we figured there might be some snow at the higher elevations. Frank really wanted to go check out Matilija, so that's where we went. As we came up the 33 we saw White Ledge Peak, and the Topatopa Bluffs blanketed in a light layer snow. All the hills surrounding Matilija Canyon were dusted with snow as well. It was an ice fest on the trail.

As the sun rose higher the ice started to melt away. It was kinda like walking in a cold rain.

My pants were soon soaked. The water level was much higher than it usually is. I liked this, as it made the route finding a little bit more challenging. I had to wade the last pool before the rope climb up the main falls. The falls were going off impressively. It was bit on the chilly side, so we rested up in the sun for a little while. Then it was back down the ropes.

That's me at the top of the the third "rope"

Action shot from the base of the first rope.

I have to say the ropes up there are in scary condition. The first one is old purple dynamic rope that's been there for several years now. I think it's two pieces of the same rope joined together with a bunch of overhand knots. The second looks like a 10.5mm static rope that was placed in the last year or so (it used to be more of the purple rope). The anchor is a pathetic little sage plant (I think it's sage).

Note the sandstone lip on the far left

This is not an adequate anchor

This is not safe in my opinion. Furthermore the rope passes over a abrasive lip when weighted. It's looks like the person who placed it tied a loop with a bowline then girth hitched it to the brush. This means there's also rope on rope abrasion (I didn't see any core shots, but that doesn't mean there aren't any). It looks like a disaster waiting to happen to me. If your going to use those ropes try leaning into to the rockface as opposed to leaning back. It will be slower, but you will have less load on the rope. If there is a catastrophic failure leaning back will result in uncontrolled tumbling down the rockface, whereas leaning forward you should just fall to your chest and hopefully friction will keep you from tumbling down to injury. The third "rope" is a piece of triple braided cord joined with a piece of accessory cord. It's just plain stupid. I saw scary abrasion on the tri-cord. I didn't use it, I used the natural hand holds in the rock, and friction to get up and down. Please be careful.

West Falls

We stopped by West Falls for a little bit. Then we headed back. The ice had all melted away by this point. So I got to enjoy dry pants for the walk back to the Jeep.

10-10-2010 Matilija

The weather looked like it was going to be great for hiking this weekend. My regular hiking buddy Frank was up north, so I was on my own. I thought about an off trail adventure near Rock Creek. But, I got a little spooked by a couple of things. First, it's harvest time, and I've been hearing about busts in the Los Padres for the last month. One of my biggest fears of off-trail hiking is stumbling across some illegal farm, and getting murdered while no one knows where I am. The second factor was a co-worker of mines younger brother got bitten (twice) by a rattlesnake near the Gridly Trail. He spent a week in the hospital, and is looking at another month in a wheelchair. It was a close call, but it looks like he'll pull through okay. So I instead decided to hit a trail that I knew would have some people on it, in case something happened. I went up to Matilija, there's always people up there. I was saddened to find the new Forest Service signs up.

It makes it pretty clear, you're trespassing if you use the trail up the main fork past Blue Heron Ranch. You can't play dumb anymore. There's a sign at the trailhead for the Upper North Fork, and another at the entrance to the Blue Heron Ranch. Bummer. It's funny, in my last post I found a old sign that was used to mark a private holding, and I was really excited. Now this week I find a new sign that shows a private holding, and I couldn't be more disappointed.

07-17-2010 Matilija Creek

I've been going a little stir crazy the last few weeks. I haven't done any hiking since early June. So, Frank and I decided we needed to get out this weekend and do something fun. We thought about heading out to Dough Flat, and going to Agua Blanca or Alder Creek, but with the forecast predicting 90+ degree weather we settled on the old familiar Matilija Creek.

There has been a lot of buzz in the local media about this area recently. One particular property owner doesn't want the public to use the trail that goes through his family's private property. Since there is no other way to get into the canyon, the public is denied access to this incredible place. To me it seems like this guy is basically trying to claim ownership of the 30,000 acre Matilija Wilderness because he owns the last plot on the road. This really irritates me. I've run into this same issue in Lake Piru as well. I think it's just fundamentally wrong for one property owner to block access to Federal, public land for no other reasons then they're cranky, and bitter. Thankfully, the good folks at the Blue Heron Ranch are still cool, and let people pass through their section of private property (I'm in no way speaking for them. I only say this because they have kept their gate open).

There are a ton of websites that will tell you all about the Matilija trail. The first post on this blog is about our hike up Matilija in January. So I won't bother with stuff that's been well covered before. We figured with it being summer time and all that there would probably be quite a few people heading up to the falls to swim. So we decided that to bring our rappelling gear, and drop down past Lower Matilija Falls.



Lower Matilija Falls a.k.a. the main falls

We climbed up the river-right side of the main falls. There is usually a rope set there to help you get up. I set our anchor in a crack in the rock near the point that looks over the upper pool. If you look at the picture above there's a little bush sticking out into the blue sky. That's where we set our anchor. There's a smaller pool right above the main falls I call "The Trap", we dropped in right above it. My anchor got stuck when we tried to pull it, so we left it there, and Frank said he would go get it when we were done.


A view from above The Trap


Rappelling past the main falls

After getting past the main falls there is no trail. Sometimes we had to find our way through the growth by crawling, climbing, or bulldozing our way through. It takes only a couple of minutes to get to the next swim hole from the drop in point. We have called this swim hole "The Wedge" because of the dramatic geology around it.


The Wedge

It was really hot when we got there. 94 degrees to be precise. The creek however, was a cool 63. It's been about two years since I've been to this spot. This used to be a great place to jump into. We were able to jump from perches about 15ft up from both sides and not touch the bottom. I'd guess it was probably 12 feet deep. But now the water is only about waist deep. I guess it got filled up with rocks over the last two years. I was kinda bummed.


View of Matilija Canyon from above The Wedge

We climbed up the the steep rocks on the side to a similar, but more shaded pool right above The Wedge. It too is only about waist deep water. We hung out up there for about an hour then went back down and got ready to head back.


The Wedge's sister

A swift footed fellow named Matt had climbed down using my pull-cord, and had gone exploring further up creek. He returned to The Wedge at about the same time as we were getting ready to head out as well. Matt was able to climb hand-over-hand back up. I don't like climbing hand-over-hand, so Frank and I decided to hoof it out via a rocky slope on the river-left side. Matt was kind enough to throw us our anchor so we wouldn't have to come back for it. I really appreciated that, thanks Matt. The slope is a pain in the butt. It's really choked with sage brush and manzanita on the way up. And the way down is a steep scree run with lots of loose rocks.

The hike back was pleasant enough for how hot it was. I'd like to go back up there sometime, but I think I'll wait for it to cool down a bit before I try again. I like comments, feel free to leave one.

02-07-2010 Matilija Dam

This week we decided it would be best to take it easy, having just recovered from a bug that's been going around. That and the rain. My friend Don had been up to Matilija Dam after the last batch of rain, and was impressed by the amount of water flowing, so we thought we drive up to Ojai and take a look at it too.

The flood plain upcreek from the Dam is named Deserpa Flat. I can't confirm it, but I'm going to guess it was named after some settlers from the east named DeSerpa. It looks like at least some of the family still lives in Ojai.



The Dam itself was built in 1947. It was condemed just seventeen years later. Here's a timeline

Here's an old postcard dipicting the area before the dam was erected.



Hopefully someday we'll all be able to sit on Overhang rock again.

Matilija Dam Facts

Location: 15.6 miles from the ocean
Owner: Ventura County Watershed Protection District (VCWPD)
Date Constructed: 1947
Purpose: Water supply and flood control
Preconstruction estimated cost: $682,000
Actual total dam cost: ~$4 million
Constructed height: 198 feet (1,125 elevation)
Current height: 168 feet (1,095 elevation) (notched in 1965, 1977)
Width: 620 feet
Thickness: 8 feet at crest, 35 feet at base
Reservoir Capacity: Design: 7,018 acre feet
Reservoir Capacity: After notching: 3,800 acre feet (excluding sedimentation losses)
Reservoir Capacity: Current: Less than 500 acre feet (combined notching & sedimentation losses)
Reservoir Capacity: Projected: Zero capacity by 2020
Original Reservoir Area: 126.8 acres
Drainage area above dam site: 55 square miles
Original Spillway Capacity: 60,000 cubic feet per second at water elevation 1,137 feet

The walk is short, just a few minutes from the road and you're there. There are some old buildings on the spill side of the dam you can check out. There is also a road, which I assume leads down to the Matilija Hot Springs.





Here's an old picture of the Dam for reference. I don't know the date it was taken, sorry.

01-02-2010 Matilija

This was the first hike of the new year. The weather was pretty nice so we decided to head up one of our favorite hikes, Matilija Creek. We passed a couple of people early on, then had the canyon to ourselves for the next few hours. I've heard the the falls at the end of the trail called Arido Falls. I just call it "The Ropes" since you scale up the canyon on a couple ropes placed by previous hikers to get to the pool and falls. There's a spring right before the falls that you can refill your bottles at.

Photos: Frank Jones