An Unlikely Waterfall Discovery

Hidden in (nearly) plain sight

Like many other Medium readers, I’ve had the pleasure of reading a number of excellent short stories about visits to waterfalls this month, courtesy of the Globetrotters monthly writing challenge.

There was Oksana Kukurudza's Sunflowers Rarely Break’s discovery of fjords along the remote and very wet southwestern coast of the New Zealand’s South Island, the photos spectacular:

I also read about the seasonality and sheer power of Mosi-oa-Tunya (aka Victoria Falls) in Zambia — and the thrilling whitewater rafting just downstream — in a piece by Ronald Smit.

And from The Travelling Programmer, I learned that legendary Niagara Falls actually features three different falls: the American, the Bridal Veil and the most famous, Horseshoe Falls.

My unexpected waterfall find was to be much less spectacular than these, but a personal discovery nonetheless.

In my travels, I’ve been to some pretty amazing waterfalls. As a kid on vacation in Oregon, I’d made the hike to Proxy Falls with my dad, sister and grandpa.

Years later, frequent trips to Hawaii enabled me to visit Akaka Falls on the Big Island and ‘Opaeka’a Falls on Kauai, among others.

But more recently, I’d become a bit bored with my winter exercise regimen and hadn’t done anything really fun or particularly exciting since a hike to the Hollywood sign last November.

So, I found a site called Hikespeak.com and began browsing, on the lookout for some new and interesting terrain. One hike really stood out: Paradise Falls, part of Wildwood Regional Park in Thousand Oaks, California.

Excited, I laced up my shoes and filled a water bottle. The trail was 2.5 miles roundtrip, with the falls representing the big highlight.

Less than 45 minutes later, I pulled into a parking lot at the trailhead. The first thing I noticed is that the city in which I’d arrived may be called Thousand Oaks, but there were no oaks in sight… in fact, there were no trees anywhere along — or near — the trail.

With the temperature only in the upper-50s(F), I wasn’t worried about exposure, although I knew this was not a place I would want to be on a hot day in August.

The air was fresh and clear following some abundant winter rainfall, but in no more than five minutes I found myself hiking past large outgrowths of cactus — scenery that was the exact opposite of the lush, wet landscape one might associate with a waterfall.

I grew a bit skeptical that this dusty trail I was on was eventually going to lead me to an active waterfall, but after about 20 minutes of short climbs and descents, I arrived at a teepee with a sign pointing toward the falls.

The teepee pays tribute to the Chumash tribe of Native Americans who originally populated this area, as well as much of the central and coastal regions of Southern California. After admiring the teepee, I hung a right onto a steep, half-mile trail to Paradise Falls.

While carefully working my way down switchbacks, I heard the water before I could see it. But eventually, I rounded a corner and found myself nearly directly above the falls.

Everything down near the falls was much greener, with healthy trees providing shade above a couple of picnic tables, and other hikers relaxing and snapping pics with their phones.

In less than one mile I had traveled through an arid environment full of cactus to this leafy micro-climate, nourished by the consistent flow of water.

I took a seat and began lining up some photos, while glancing up at the tough uphill trail that awaited me on the return. I rock-hopped across a stream for a close-up view of the falls and was so pleased with this waterfall discovery that it didn’t even bother me when my foot briefly slipped off a moss-covered rock, soaking one of my socks.

Even though all the world’s information is seemingly just a Google search away, there’s something really satisfying about finding and exploring brand new places.

My “discovery” in what’s essentially my own backyard not only enabled me to escape a bit of a rut but made me want more.

Turns out there’s another, larger (300 foot!) waterfall in the Upper Ojai area of the 805.

Hmm, that’s just an 80-minute drive away…