Black Star Canyon Falls

Ku‘uipo checked out AllTrails.com for a waterfalls hike last week, and found Black Star Canyon, where a waterfall would conclude the trail.  On June 2nd, Mike felt like going for a hike and asked Ku‘uipo if she wanted to check out that waterfall.  She had to get back on AllTrails to find out the actual location, and by 10:30am they were on the road with GPS leading the way.

After passing a Christmas tree farm at the corner of Santiago Canyon and Black Star Canyon Road, Mike and Ku‘uipo took a sharp left down Black Star Canyon Road till they found a parking lot.  There was a gate that blocked the parking lot from the rest of the road.  To the right was a sign talking about the dangers and what to expect:  mountain lions.  Ku‘uipo was instantly afraid.

Once on the other side of the gate was the trailhead, the road was gravel, and Mike was capturing pictures of the foothills in the distance.  There were hawks flying above, the sounds of woodpeckers in the distance, and blue skies.  Ku‘uipo still had the mountain lion sign on her mind and everything began to become a weapon (rocks, glass beer bottle seen on the ground, sticks).

Ku‘uipo leading the way.

The gravel road eventually brought them to a dirt road.  On the left of the road was what appeared to be a junkyard or a dumping ground for cars and trucks.  On the right was a sign regarding private property of Edwards Ranch.  The genealogist in Ku‘uipo made her want to research that particular Edwards name to the Huntington Beach street with the same name (soon).

Electrical fencing and barbed wire blocked off each side of the road and Ku‘uipo was openly grateful for that, still thinking about mountain lions.

They came across two bridges.  The second bridge passed by a private wooden cabin and you could hear a peacock making a kazoo-sounding "cock-a-doodle-doo." After passing the residence, and walking further, there was a fork in the road.  The one on the left led to tall brush and up a hill.  The one on the right led to a small crack down the side of the foothill.  They didn't know which way to cross, but Mike saw a wooden post with the faint hand-painted words Falls and an arrow pointing to the right.  They heard voices on the right, so walked down a rocky and narrow crack in the ground and made a sharp left.  It took them to a rocky area with shrubbery.

An old man walking in their direction asked them if they were heading to the falls.  And they told him they were, and he said, "There's no water there."  They thanked him for the heads up and continued their trek to the falls.

After crossing their first few rocks, a few young men were walking in their direction and mentioned to beware of rattlesnakes; they spotted four.  Going further in, Ku‘uipo and Mike heard their first rattlesnake, to where Ku‘uipo panicked and Mike hushed her and told her to keep walking, as the rattle was far enough in the distance there shouldn't be any fear.  A few more people were coming from the falls and warned them of more rattle snakes, and slippery rocks, and poison oak.  Mike told Ku‘uipo to put her long-sleeved jacket on.

Continuing on the rock-jumping and the zig-zagging from dry dirt to rock to hopping over mud and water, they came to large boulders.  The boulders always led upward and over.  The tiny creek would sometimes have more water, sometimes there would be no water, but they followed the water.  They came across boulders with water flowing from beneath it, and assumed that must be the waterfall or a part of it.  Mike headed up the boulder to take pictures, and turned around to tell Ku‘uipo, "This ain't it.  There's more trail ahead."  Ku‘uipo would have to climb the boulder as well.

They came across salamanders or newts (slimy lizard-looking creatures hanging around the water), actual lizards, plenty of bees, butterflies and dragonflies.  More boulders, and more boulders.

They heard people catching up to them and turned around to hear them complain they were exhausted and needed to drink water or eat.  Ku‘uipo and Mike climbed a few more boulders and found shade, where they decided it was a good time to have a seat, cool down, and drink water.  The people behind them never caught up and it was assumed they turned around and headed back to where they came from.  Mike and Ku‘uipo continued climbing boulders and came to an area where two young men in their twenties mentioned the falls were "bone dry" and "not even a puddle" was left.  They told Ku‘uipo and Mike that they were almost there, and the men disappeared around the corner.

Mike watching a timed hiker climbing over a boulder.

Mike led Ku‘uipo to an area where even larger boulders were, and Ku‘uipo told Mike to go ahead and go up, because it looked too scary for her.  She thought that was the end of the trail.  As Mike stood there trying to figure out the right steps to take to climb the boulder, a hiking jogger ran up behind them and said he was on a timer, and would like to try and get ahead of them.  They watched the way he did it, and Mike followed suit.  Mike turned around and said, "Ku‘uipo, this is not it.  There's still more trail ahead.  I can't leave you, so you need to climb up."  Ku‘uipo thought since the falls were so close, that she would stay behind, when another girl and guy jogged up.  

Ku‘uipo was not about to let a girl outdo her, so she climbed up and they followed suit and then ran ahead of Ku‘uipo and Mike.  More big boulders, and Ku‘uipo was out of breath.  She was swearing like a sailor and said, "All I wanted to do was find a waterfall.  I didn't think I'd be climbing a goddamn mountain."  The couple ahead heard her and laughed out loud.

What is left of the Black Star Canyon Falls.

The rock climbing continued for a little longer and then they found it, the mining area of the mountain where the waterfalls would have been.  The side of the mountain where the falls were grew moss on damp walls.  To the left was a quarter-moon-shaped cave above a ladder man-made by people who chipped stepping stir-ups into the stone.  The couple that hiked to the end with them climbed to the cave and began to take pictures.

Mike climbed up to the cave, entered the cave and took pictures.  There was a tree trunk in the cave with chips cut out of it for stepping and climbing to the hole in the ceiling of the cave, that would lead to the top of the mountain.  Ku‘uipo said, "No, thanks.  I'll stay down here."

The trek back to the car was much easier, as they slid down the big boulders like children on a playground slide.  Both Ku‘uipo and Mike fell on the way back to the car at some point.  Ku‘uipo on her knees, Mike on his ass.  They etched their names into tree bark where other hikers had etched their names into the same tree bark.

After hiking Black Star Canyon Falls and the environment around it, there were plenty urban legends and myths about the canyon, everything from little elves, to ghosts, to murders, to Ku Klux Klan, and Satanic rituals.  For Ku‘uipo and Mike, it was a beautiful nature walk and a learning experience.