We really need more girls like this so let’s all hope she’s a role model in Britain!

I was slightly bummed at the anti-climatic feeling seeing Jackson Hole. The rumors were how the entire creek flowed underground here so fiercely that it would drown grown men and pic them to the bottom. If it had that drainage power you would think that it would be a dry hole if no water flowed into it.

The best thing about this hike is that it covers two thirds of the way up the mountain. That’s where Last Chance Trail meets up with the Red Reef Trail and heads into Sespe. That’s a backpacking mission and a half…about fifty miles of wilderness, boulders and animals.

subterranean creek flow my ass

Ladybugs are kinda slutty

They were getting it on everywhere

The ladybug love train rolls through the mountains

I’m sure you guys figured out that no cliff jumping happened. I know you all secretly come here hoping to see ladybug porn!

Someone sandblasted the retard's graffiti away!

We gotta hurry or it's gonna be dark

Cut me a break guys it’s winter and the water is nut shriveling cold. Soon the action shots will come as the days get a little bit longer. It was a great day in the Los Padres National Forest.

Skorch is really awesome. That may sound concieted but it's a stone cold FACT!

It’s going to be a cold camping mission but anyone can survive 1 night in the wilderness, unless the animals get to you! It’s going to be a ten mile hike with packs and five miles with daypacks. Stay tuned and you’ll see the pics here and all over the web!

XX X is gooing to be a great year to be a cliff jumper in Southern California!

Finally we made the trail, which actually starts through the St. Thomas de Aquinas college. We hiked through the flat land, and by flat land I mean areas without out a steady incline or decline. Then we arrived at the mountain. We got 20% percent up and I was feeling very out of shape. We pressed on and I was doing the huff and puff. We reseted only a couple short times and took in the stunning ridge line. It truly is beautiful up there. We got to the cone camp ground and much to my amazement some awesome soul went up there and cleaned the whole place up. There isn’t much you can do about the tagging but paint it an earthy tone and that just gives them a fresh canvas.

Our group made it’s first descent from the mountain and came to the first water fall. It looked inviting and refreshing. I say looked cause we didn’t stop. The team marched on we climbed up a goat trail to the upper part of the falls and our favorite jumping platforms. We pressed on at this point there are no trails you either have to go with someone who has been or do your best to just follow the river upward, ( I use the term river loosely it was a flowing steady creek). We saw great rock over hangs that you could have camped 20 people under in a rain storm, more gorgeous water falls into crystal clear lagoons and did some slightly challenging rock climbs. Finally we got to a giant pond and natural water slide.

It was time to play. Being cautious, I checked the depth of the water having never been this far in, then proceeded to jump out into the water. Skorch was the first one down the slide and we all followed. It was worth it! There are some obstructions but if you stay left you should be golden. At this location there is a rope swing, suffice it to say it took me three swings out to finally man up and let go……It was worth it. There were some beautiful jumping cliffs there, but they were outside my ability to climb to.  Part of being safe and responsible is knowing your limits. Its no fun being air lifted out. Well scratch that a helicopter ride might be fun but you could be in serious pain at the time too. Back to the trip, we had a fire in a secure spot even though it was nice and warm the fire help raise the body temp after being in the cold water. My buddy being the most experienced out of the three of us showed us a great underground spring with the best tasting water I have ever had. I believe you can drink the flowing water but why risk the intestinal discomfort when you have a spring that has traveled underground and been filtered by Momma nature.

After replenishing our water reserves we hiked back to to the jump site. At cross camp we encountered a small city of campers. I couldn’t believe how many there were. They were everywhere.

My first jump was about 36′ and I got a confidence stealing smack to my neither region. Now 36′ is not an impressive height to jump from but its a narrow canyon and a rock pool. I decided to go lower to the log bridge and practice front flips for a while. During this time my buddy Skorch started swan diving. I manned up went high again. I jumped from a spot I didn’t jump from last time perfect entry…. Yea!

The most impressive jump of the day was a thirty foot swan dive. Now if you know anything about diving 30 feet is competition olympic height. Now throw in obstacles and rocks to smash your head on. Skorch stood up there like a man and without more time needed than to get the right camera angles executed a swan dive with perfect form. Props to you buddy!!!!!!

We jumped for a couple hours from different places and coaxed a few passerby’s to jump also. Then it was time to go back. Our plan was to stop and swim at the lower pool but it was getting cold and the sun was going down. We picked up trash left behind by other people and made our way home. On the way we saw a giant spider. Now I am not a creepy crawly expert so I cant say that it was a tarantula, but this thing was big. We also went passed a coyote. I didn’t see it but the group ahead of us did.  We got out without out a hitch just as the last of the light was leaving the horizon. I have been injured on the last 4 trips out so I was pleased to be sprain, twist, abrasion and laceration free. I thought it was a wonderful trip and plan to be back in the spring. Thank you’s go out to Amanda and Skorch for making trip awesome. You will hear from me again after Matilla Ja. Our next trip is a 3 day 2 night trip into the wilderness. Peace until then.

Skorch gets some airtime

80% of you were showed up by a girl

A Glimpse of Glory yet to come!

The First Source for Tap Water Creek

Condors are ugly!

Murph doing the Cliff Jump at The Condor's Roost

The Low Jump at Seventy Foot Falls

There’s more news coming but the biggest news is that after seeing the condidtion of Punchbowls I will be posting directions that consist of “Twenty bags of Trash…or Enjoy your day in the Sewers…”

What a rope swing

I want to re do my site being that my current site is years old. Lack of a personal computer and lack of a deep desire to acquire one will be the only thing that slows me down. I also did buy a year’s worth of hosting and domain name rights for 09 so Get Ready Because Here It Comes..!

I will be accepting laptop donations. Rides and hiking buddies are also massively appreciated.

Well I decided to find the second category of waterfall and immediately looked to the 1,134 miles of creeks, streams and rivers in the Los Padres. A quick look at a topo map and before you knew it dozens of places became possibilities. There are two designations of waterfall on a topo map with the most common being marked as “Falls” and the other is a uniquely named waterfall. I guess there is a third designation of no marking at all, being that I’ve seen falls that aren’t marked on a topo map.

That’s when I was passed along a link to a historic waterfall and a question. “What do you think the chances are of not getting caught?” I replied “Why, is it on private property?” The answer I got personally shocked me being that I know there is access to the area in question. “No it’s in the Condor Sanctuary.” This seems to be a bunch of bullsh*t to me because they let oil companies pump oil, even during flash flood closures.

Sespe River, Tar Creek and Squaw Flat are all in the Condor Sanctuary and we are allowed there so why are the deeper parts of it restricted? Are the Condor Keepers afraid of people looking at their birds funny? Are pictures of wild condors bad for business? I guess these self appointed lords of the wilderness granted us the privilege of enjoying small parts of the area. Public access to the waterfalls on the southern tributaries to Sespe is not allowed. If that’s the truth then I advocate the use of lead bullets and everything else that is bad for these birds.

The applicable definition of sanctuary is as follows

Sanc·tu·ar·y - A reserved area in which birds and other animals, especially wild animals, are protected from hunting or molestation.

I do not plan on hunting condors and I’m definitely not going to be molesting them so that means that I would not be violating the refuge of these wild animals. I do plan on taking some condor pictures though and I am going to have to go where condors roost to do this. I also want my condor pictures to not have lame skyscapes behind them.

I’m betting that we don’t get caught and if we do we argue our case.

• No Trespassing signs weren’t posted
• I’ve hiked in the Sanctuary before
• I wanted a Condor Picture not a Condor dinner
• I followed a road in
• Oil Companies are here, pumping oil

The worst thing I foresee happening is us being told to leave. This is more likely to happen when we’re already leaving so I don’t think it’s a big deal. I have not seen any evidence of the Condor Keepers accessing the fork of the canyon I want to see.

I know this post is long but the hike in mind is an 8-10 mile trip that should be evenly split between trailless creek bottom and fire road hiking, just like Santa Paula Canyon since ‘04. There are two big waterfalls that do not have pictures anywhere on the ‘net. The waterfall that has condors roosting is called Hole-in-the-Wall-Falls.

I’m going to call it Hallway Falls, with the lower waterfall called Gateway Falls. The rugged canyon these waterfalls inhabit will be referred to as Condor Canyon. This is going to be a new trend in how 12 Feet Under publishes locations. There will be no more directions and I am no longer calling places by their “map” names. It’s all to support the Los Padres Canyoneers and enjoy the wild horizons offered by nature.

The next week is going to be spent acquiring gear, even though the rappelling is going to wait for the rainy months. Then we’re practicing somewhere in Malibu State Park. I’m also buying the kindest rope money can buy, it’s minimum breaking strength is a whopping 9000 lbs. A new digital camera is the toy I’m looking forward to having again. I’m also looking forward to naming a waterfall after myself.

The first few months of fall are going to be full of trips for me. I’m going to take a few trips down Sespe Creek. The big one is a 30 mile tube trip because I have to try my luck with an old inner tube, my guts and Class V rapids. I also am going to explore the western edge of the Sierra Madres, though water is looking scarce. There is a 60 mile creek, with Class V rapids, that cuts through that range but it’s approached as two trips due to impassable manmade objects.

Why? How can I be a professional guide unless I’ve gotten lost there once? It’s kind of a joke but it’s intimidating to cross a mountain on foot and then come down the other side. I should be posting some awesome pics and we’ll keep our fingers crossed for lots of deep pools.