Above Harding Canyon Falls
Posted: Sat Mar 31, 2018 9:47 am
Sean, Henry, and I had bigger plans, but were foiled by the USFS closing key roads. Our backup plan was to explore the Harding Canyon in the Santa Anas, and check out what was beyond the main waterfall. I had hiked to the waterfall once. This was a new area for Sean and Henry. This trip was a little more difficult than my first visit because there was a lot more water in the canyon (a good thing). It's a great time to hike Harding Canyon with all the falls flowing. Salamanders and frogs were abundant in and along the many pools. At the main waterfall, we took a break. The water was about knee deep to the base of the left side where it can be climbed. We spent about 20 minutes building a rough rock bridge to the base, then made the class 3 climb.
Salamander
Henry at the main waterfall
Climbing left of the waterfall
Above the falls, the canyon was narrower. It started with more rock hopping in the stream. The use trail was gone, the brush grew more troublesome, and the poison oak more abundant. In particular, there were a lot of downed trees, sometimes piled like pick-up sticks from run off. Many of the dead trees were crawling with ants and we had to brush them off frequently. We continued about a third of a mile beyond the main falls. We passed many more small waterfalls and large boulders. It was very nice, but we didn't discover any new spectacular attractions. We stopped at a fall where the scrubby continuation would have been rather unpleasant. On the return trip, Sean and I both found unattached ticks. With a warm afternoon, I expected to meet a snake or two on the way back. Sean was the only one who spotted a snake on the trail, but it slithered off before he got a good photo. I had thought about placing a trailcam in the upper canyon, but the lack of animal trails or signs of anything larger than a lizard dispelled that idea.
Small fall and pool where we turned around
Salamander
Henry at the main waterfall
Climbing left of the waterfall
Above the falls, the canyon was narrower. It started with more rock hopping in the stream. The use trail was gone, the brush grew more troublesome, and the poison oak more abundant. In particular, there were a lot of downed trees, sometimes piled like pick-up sticks from run off. Many of the dead trees were crawling with ants and we had to brush them off frequently. We continued about a third of a mile beyond the main falls. We passed many more small waterfalls and large boulders. It was very nice, but we didn't discover any new spectacular attractions. We stopped at a fall where the scrubby continuation would have been rather unpleasant. On the return trip, Sean and I both found unattached ticks. With a warm afternoon, I expected to meet a snake or two on the way back. Sean was the only one who spotted a snake on the trail, but it slithered off before he got a good photo. I had thought about placing a trailcam in the upper canyon, but the lack of animal trails or signs of anything larger than a lizard dispelled that idea.
Small fall and pool where we turned around
