Hike Report: Tom Lucas

It's Thursday, which, under my new schedule, means another article from me. However, it's also Spring Break for my family, which calls for a different sort of article this week, although the format is certainly not unprecedented on my blog. It's a hike report of a hike I took with my friend David last weekend.

We drove up Big Tujunga Canyon to the trailhead that leads to a backpacking campsite named after Tom Lucas--"Barefoot Tom" as he was known--who roamed these parts some years ago. Despite the nickname, we did not hike barefoot; nor did we even take off our shoes at the waterfall. On a warmer day, I probably would have jumped right in, but the cool weather we've been having the past week kept me from doing so this time.

It was a beautiful waterfall, one of the most beautiful in southern California.

After taking quite a few pictures, we went further up the trail. Waterfall season is also wildflower and blossom season, and on our hike we encountered a lot of colorful displays.

The camp itself was not all that spectacular. It was on a slope and overgrown with weeds that tangled around the picnic tables and seemed to be in the process of devouring the tables altogether. Nevertheless, a group was setting up camp when we arrived. After lunch we headed back down the canyon, encountering many more backpackers intent on staying the night. Where they would all pitch their tents was anyone's guess.

Retracing our steps led us back through a grove of dogwood trees, where I experimented with some of the color settings on my camera to achieve this shot:

Here's David. The foliage is beautiful, but don't touch it; it's poison oak.

If you'd like to see more, clicking on the image below will lead to my photo album of the hike.

Tom Lucas