Sturtevant Falls

A few months ago a friend of mine on Facebook who happens to be a photographer, posted beautiful photos of his hike with some friends to Sturtevant Falls. I became curious and decided to find out where it was. I was happy to learn that it was not too far from where I lived. In fact it’s safe to say it’s right in my own backyard! So when my friend Rachel texted me last week to find out if we could meet up again, I was reminded of this place and asked her if she was up for hiking. I thought it would be a great way to indulge in the final days of summer since the weather has been terrific. We originally planned to go in the morning, but due to some obligations we decided to postpone it in the afternoon. It was a good thing because I was still pooped Sunday morning from spending a day at Universal Studios with Karl.

Rachel arrived at my place around 3:3opm and we left a few minutes after that in my car. We got to the actual site at around 4:30pm. We had to drive about 28 miles to get there. Upon reaching the base of the mountain which was a residential area, we had to drive up on Santa Anita Canyon Road all the way to the end. About half a mile away from the entrance, one of the hikers who was getting ready to leave offered to give us his $5 parking pass. Rachel and I looked at each other and thought, “It must be our lucky day!” Then when we reached the main parking area another person was getting ready to leave as well and told us that we could take her spot. Cool! We didn’t have to park very far.

We packed water, sunscreen, and our cameras to document everything that we saw along the way. Too bad the stench from the restrooms was the first thing that greeted us as we walked toward the start of the trail. It looked like a very popular spot as there were many hikers there. There was a mix of children, young adults, and seniors present. Some of them brought their dogs with them, even the tiny ones. I’d read on this website that this was going to be an upside-down hike which means we’d be going downhill first and on our way back that’s when we’d be going uphill.

I would say that it was a very relaxing hike and although I came prepared with a hat, I really didn’t get much sun because the trees carpeted the sky. Majority of the time Rachel and I were walking in the shade. We walked down a long winding road with a glorious view of the mountains until we crossed a green bridge and came upon a stream. We saw several dams along the way. For me the stream one of the most interesting places on the trail because the reflections on the water were glorious. However, right along that area, as we stopped to take some pictures, we were attacked by a swarm of bugs and mosquitoes. We had to keep moving to keep them away.

Along the route, we noticed some cabin homes. Some of them were occupied while others weren’t. We saw an old man setting up dinner on a round table in his patio and an old woman reading a magazine on a rocking chair outside. It made me and Rachel wonder what it was like to live there, how they got their groceries and just other logistics that came to mind.

We had a lot of fun balancing ourselves on the rocks and planks while crossing the shallow stream. I almost slipped at one point because the rock that I was stepping on looked steady but it actually wasn’t.

The start of the trail.

There were several trails to choose from.

That way!

Time to head downhill. This was the easy part.

Crossing the stream via this green bridge.

Stopping to enjoy the glass-like reflections in the water.

Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate!

Rachel actually did a split on this log. But she is too shy to show her skills!

Perhaps, Goldilocks and the three bears used to live in there.

Rachel breezing through the wooden plank.

Walking down a very narrow path.

Rachel and I sitting across the waterfall. We became very sweaty from the hike but the breeze cooled us down.

It

Rachel actually brought her swimsuit, but she agreed, the water was too cold!

Ah, such beauty!

It was my first time seeing a waterfall in the US so it was quite an experience for me. Sturtevant Falls is a hidden pocket of water in the Los Angeles National Forest. When we arrived there, we saw several people swimming and just taking a rest. I touched the water to check out the temperature and brrr…it was very cold. I thought maybe I could bring our dog here to swim since I didn’t see any rules posted that dogs weren’t allowed. Maybe next time. It was starting to get dark so Rachel and I decided to make our way back up. We were dreading it because we knew it would be tiresome going uphill.

Feeling happy and content from watching the scenery.

We saw this picturesque bench on the way back up.

Rachel is glowing from all the exercise we got.

Clouds hanging low create a blue hue.

Back to where we started. Whew. Going back up was the hardest part.

Rachel and I were laughing on the way back up because we were going really slow and several people had gone ahead of us including dogs. Haha. We decided to go out for dinner afterward since we were both hungry from the hike, albeit short. We settled on a Maki & Sushi Bar in Arcadia. I didn’t know that Rachel wasn’t a fan of raw fish, but somehow I sneakily convinced her to eat there. (wink, wink) She had broiled salmon with lemon but she did try some of my mackerel sashimi. Together we enjoyed coffee and green tea mochi. We left the restaurant just as this drunk woman was getting rowdy by the bar. Haha.

Thanks Rachel for the super fun day and great company. Until next time!