Summary: A hike up one of the most scenic canyons with year-round running streams. The first two miles are an easy walk on even surface with two easy water crossings. After two miles the trail becomes increasingly difficult to follow, with lots of boulder hopping and scrambling beneath overhanging branches. Numerous pools and a double waterfall make the scamper worth the effort.
To get there: From Ojai, California, drive up Highway 33 about 4.9 miles. Turn left on Matilija Road (called N Matilija Road on Google Maps.) Don’t get confused with South Matilija Road which comes first. Note that the first mile or so is along private road. Stay on the marked trail or you might wind up in someone’s barn!
Notes: Every hike has a theme, and today’s theme was conditioning for a three day packing trip at the end of the month. I packed 30 lbs. of gear and headed three miles up Matilija Canyon starting around 2 pm. The Yucca is in full bloom and Mariposa Lilies where scattered along the trail.
The main difficulty hiking this trail with a full pack were the places where the trail cuts through narrow corridors of Manzanita. At times I felt like Snow White running through the Spooky Forest, with trees grabbing and clawing at my gear. For the most part I managed to outwith them and make my way.
After two miles or so the trail becomes less defined. Trail ducks (or cairns)Â mark water crossings. Still there were places I lost the trail altogether and found myself doing a lot of rock-hopping. I got a little careless and rolled my left ankle at one point. Later I rolled the right ankle. Just to keep things even.
Quite a few dayhikers were up enjoying the many swimming holes. I marked a couple of Geocaches in my GPS and brought a rubber chicken by way of wampum. There is a string of seven caches running up the canyon but I’m not sure any have been found since 2006. I know I didn’t have any luck. The first cache had a village of college students camping on top of it. The next one was a microcache that I couldn’t find for the life of me.
On the way back down I noticed quite a few California Whiptail lizards scrumbling in the underbrush.
