Bailey Trail recon via Slide Mountain

 

Historic Bailey Homestead as seen from afar (center disturbed area beyond the ridge)

As far east as one can venture into the Los Padres (Sespe Wilderness) on the border with the Angeles National Forest is the seldom used Bailey Trail 18W02. According to former maps along this path approximately here N34° 38.912' W118° 48.200'  was the historic Bailey homestead site. Since the closure of Hardluck Campground this area has been notoriously hard to access and as such the trail gets almost zero use and has fallen into complete disarray. Historically 18W02 ran southeast from the junction with Buck Creek Trail past the homestead, down Beartrap Canyon and terminated at Lake Pyramid. I'm guessing actually at the time perhaps Piru Creek before the lake was installed. Another prominent feature at this terminus was what Lopez described as Bridgeport Flats #4. "A high terrace on the west side of Beartrap Canyon Creek where it flows into Piru Creek. 16 bedrock mortars" I feel comfortable disclosing this as I'm certain the feature now lies forever hidden under the lake. Perhaps time to dust off the old scuba gear.  Bailey has been on my mind for several years, why it has taken me this long to begin recon I don't know, but better late than never.

Frenchman's Flat

Slide Mountain Trail 18W04

I don't have an FS gate key and I despise the road walk to Hardluck, so much in fact I vowed not to do it anymore. I've done it on a bike and on foot, it's a pain in the ass. So with that said I decided to give it a go from Frenchman's Flat. Spoiler alert we did not quite make it to the old homestead nor the terminus of 18W02 At Pyramid. We were very close but no cigar. No matter though we gathered excellent intel for the second attempt and there will indeed be one. Perhaps I can beg a kind sole who has access to drop me at Hardluck. 

Jeff and I rode the 1.75 miles along the paved road from Frenchman's Flat (2095') to the Slide Mountain gate then proceeded to push our bikes the next 3.75 miles up to the Slide Mountain Lookout (4631'). After a brief visit we locked our bikes and set off afoot down the northwest ridge dropping approximately 1700 feet in elevation into Beartrap Canyon. The switchbacks leading down that once was is no longer. Forget about even attempting to try following that old trail. While we pushed through brush the entire time down the ridge it wasn't terrible. Being non old growth and mostly Chamise it's actually quite forgivable. 

 Looking back toward Slide Mountain

Surprising small flow in Beartrap Canyon

As you can see from the map above the old cut in red that once connected with the Bailey Trail took you about 0.3 of a mile downstream from where we dropped in after which gaining the western bank and bringing you right back,  just much higher up. We made the mistake of trying to follow this. In hindsight we should of just tried to climb it from there and push on toward the homestead but it looked steep and impenetrable. So with that we continued on downstream. All things considered we were moving along pretty good at first but just under a half mile to the lake progress came to a grinding halt. The canyon is chock-full of deadfall and poison oak. You know that couple hundred feet in an hour kind of pace. We didn't have the daylight for that. The realization quickly set in that we were not getting to the homestead nor the waters edge. Neither one of us had any interest in riding back down Slide Mountain in the dark. After acknowledging defeat we sat for a bite to eat adjacent the god awful black tubing that runs from the spring toward the lake. Yet another Beartrap littered with this shit. 

So close but yet so far.

And that's about where our day ended - N34° 38.872' W118° 47.301'

Pot Grow - N34° 38.816' W118° 47.319'

The Climb out.

Total mileage was around 15 but felt like twice that. My legs were torched from what was essentially climbing Slide Mountain two times in a day. For a novice mountain biker I will say that ride down was thrilling and totally worth dragging the bikes to the top. 

Knapp Ranch Via Old Ridge Route

Looking up Cienaga Canyon toward Knapp Ranch

While I am glad we are currently getting a much needed nice wet winter the current snow and rain situation has been making it more difficult for me to visit my usual Los Padres stomping grounds. In thinking of places I could visit a bit closer to home  I remembered Back in July of 2018 I attempted a run up Cienaga Cyn From Templin Hwy. For  reasons beyond my control I did not make it near as far up the Canyon as I would have liked. I vowed to go back and today felt like a good time to do that. This time however would be from the top off Old Ridge Route heading to Knapp Ranch formerly known as Kelly Ranch and possibly even earlier being the physical site of the Pre-1811 Tataviam village of Cuecchao. Inhabited by the Chumash Indian sub-tribe Tataviam, or Alliklik as they were called by locals. (See photo below for supporting evidence).

Found this stone along with others on the Knapp Ranch property about in the middle of all the structures

Frank Knapp purchased the Kelly Ranch in 1962 and mentions visiting as early as the 1930's. The historical record on who exactly Kelly was and why he sold the property seems to be a bit sketchy. From some accounts Kelly may have operated a gas station and restaurant on the nearby Old Ridge Route from 1915 to 1933. In the early 30's Knapp and his former boss King Gillette(of yes the famous Gillette Razor blade) were searching for the legendary Los Padres Gold Mine. (Spanish Monastery were said to have found an ultra rich gold vein using forced slave Indian Labor). Gillette was obsessed with finding this lost mine and sunk his fortune into doing so. According to a former Knapp employee from the 70's Kelly was supposedly beaten by some guys badly in a horse pasture in 1962. Rumors speculate that maybe it was for information on the whereabouts of the Los Padres Mine. I won't go into detail here about the legend but the history of it and its location is fascinating. To this day it still has not been found. To add to the Kelly mystery a 1983 article in SCV history notes they could find no reference to any Kelly at all, except for Allen Kelly who was hunting Grizzly bears in 1889. There is reference to Annie Rose Briggs though said to be living at the property in the 1950's. (Some photos below of what's left of the Knapp ranch structures, click on any picture to enlarge them).

Side View of the main Newer looking house

 Front View of the main house and a look underneath 

 Living room and the kitchen 

Outstanding view from the living room down Cienaga Canyon

The stables on the western end of the property

Lots of irrigation and sprinkler systems running through this field adjacent to the main house

Knapp spent many years living secluded on the ranch with his animals. He spent much of his time hunting, fishing, tending his vegetable garden and finding Indian artifacts. Frank loved his ranch, when he first saw it sometime in the 30's gold mining he knew he would own it someday. Frank Knapp passed away in 1988 and left the ranch to his brother Joe who held the property til his death in 1992. Relatives then sold the ranch to the organization Friends of the Forest bankrolled by Rosie Greer. The United States Forest Service would then go on to acquire the Ranch from Rosie in a 200 acre land trade. (There are multiple worn down structures still standing on the property see more photos below. To make these easy to identify on the included map I have attached my own label name to them).

The Third house

Third House kitchen

Small Cabin

First Ice can style stove I have seen of this size in the small cabin

Second really old looking house

Peak inside of the second house

The workshop/shed

Small Bunkhouse 

The Water Tower

While at the property we decided to add a few extra miles to our trip by heading deeper down into Cienaga Cyn.(This was a bushwhack). Below the main ranch are multiple fenced in areas that looked to be used for grazing. Even further on Cienaga Canyon trail passes nearby an Indian Burial Site. Stories of malevolent Indian spirits guarding lost gold mines in the area are not uncommon. The man who originally found the burial site was later severely injured in a motorcycle accident along the trail and Hugh Blanchard describes a report from a forest service worker and his female Native American companion about her insisting they turn back back from a hike toward the mines as she was getting a very uneasy and disturbing feeling of some sort of evil or unfriendly presence. 

Map of Structures on the property

If you found this write up interesting and would like to pay a visit to the Ranch here is one way you can do so. From the Santa Clarita Valley head North on the 5 freeway to the 138 East. Take Old ridge route for a little over 3 miles to its junction with Forest road 7N23 and park here. (N34° 42' 56.8" W118° 42' 39.1"). Warning be careful heading in on Old Ridge Route this time of year as you can see from the photos below the road can be icy and surrounded by snow especially in the morning. High clearance vehicle is best. (By midday when we left all the ice and snow had fully melted away).

Decent amount of snow and ice in the morning heading in

Park here on Old Ridge Route, your hike on foot takes off  between the 2 signs along Forest Route 7n23

Once parked leave old ridge Route and follow Forest road 7n23 uphill a very short distance to it's locked gate. Pass through the locked gate and continue along, at about .6 of a mile you will arrive at the junction with forest Road 7n22. Keep right and head onto 7n22. 

Keep right here and onto Forest Rd 7N22

Really neat Rock formation seen from along Forest Rd 7n22

Front gate entrance to Knapp Ranch

From the parked car to Knapp ranch is about 5 miles. Mostly downhill all the way in with some decent elevation gain on the way out. My day finished at just under 14 miles however we explored further down the Canyon. For an out back just to the Ranch you're looking at just over 10 miles. The entire Hike follows forest roads until reaching the ranch so the trail is in good shape and easy to follow. Get out there and have a look! Extra adventurous folks might even try finding Gillette mine which should be about another 2 miles further from the ranch. (KMZ file and GPS track available for download below the google map).

Download GPS Track (GPS units)

Download KMZ File (Google Earth)

St Francis Dam Disaster Site

The St Francis Dam

The St Francis Dam was the brainchild of William Mulholland. General Manager and chief engineer for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (at the time named Bureau of Water Works and Supply). This concrete gravity Dam was built and designed between 1924-1926. The new Dam was to be a storage reservoir for the rapidly growing city of Los Angeles. Mulholland believed it was important to have this backup water supply should extended drought or damage occur to the Aqueduct. A site was selected 10 miles north of Santa Clarita in San Francisquito Cyn. Mulholland was a smart man and already famous for his design and construction of the 233 mile Los Angeles Aqueduct. An engineering marvel, and at the time the longest of its kind using gravity alone to propel water from the Owens Valley to Los Angeles. (This Aqueduct is still in use today). After extensive testing was done on the San Francisquito Cyn area final construction was carried out by Stanley Dunham and crew. 

The dam after the collapse

This section was named the "Tombstone"

Two and a half minutes before midnight on March 12, 1928 the 185-foot high Dam collapsed sending over 12 billion gallons of water roaring through San Francisquito Cyn and on through the Santa Clara River Valley 54 miles until finally emptying into the Pacific Ocean. Over 450 lives are estimated to have been lost in the flood. The destruction triggered numerous power outages and the shear force of the water destroyed anything in its path. Giving you an idea of the forces at work here A 10,000 ton piece of the dam was carried 3/4 of a mile below the site. First casualty was most likely the dam keeper caught in the 140 high initial wave that crushed his cottage just below the dam. His body and his 6 year old sons body were never found. 1.5 miles downstream Powerhouse #2 was hit and destroyed by a 120 foot wave travelling roughly 18 miles per hour, 64 men and their families who worked and lived nearby were killed as well. Extensive damage was done too Saugus, Valencia, Newhall, Castaic, Filmore, Bardsdale and Santa Paula. South of Ventura debris and victims were emptied into the Pacific. Some bodies were found as far south as the Mexican border and many were never recovered. A horrible tragedy indeed this was.

Concrete Block found half mile below the Dam

From investigative reports at the time I reckon that no matter how well the dam was constructed it most likely was gonna be a ticking time bomb destined to fail. In short Parts of the foundations were placed upon red conglomerate rock, much more easily erodible than solid bedrock. Below are the report conclusions word for word that can be found on Wikipedia. 

1. The type and dimensions of the dam were amply sufficient if based on suitable foundation.
2. The concrete of which the dam was built was of ample strength to resist the stresses to which it would normally be subjected.
3. The failure cannot be laid to movement of the earth's crust.
4. The dam failed as a result of defective foundations.
5. This failure reflects in no way the stability of a well designed gravity dam properly founded on suitable bedrock

Visiting what now remains of the Dam today makes for a great family friendly Hike. There are multiple mileage options to suit everyone's needs. The walk out and back from the upper parking area can be done in under a mile. From the Lower lot one can make it a 3.2 mile round trip or a 1.6 mile shuttle if you have a vehicle parked on each side. (See Map below for way-points and location).

Lower Parking Turnout 

Upper Parking Turnout.

St Francis Dam sits along an old abandoned  section of San Francisquito Rd. The photos above show the parking turnouts and white blockades that keep out vehicle traffic. Not interested in walking, no problem bring your bicycles the old road is still in good enough shape to ride on. 

Follow the debris field across the western section to the hidden register

My daughter standing atop the western Dam section looking toward where the "tombstone" once stood

Before Beginning the hike down or up the old Road I highly recommend walking across the top Western section of the Damn. This affords outstanding views of the surrounding area and down toward what was the curved section of the Dam that blew-out. It's also fun to explore the rubble up here and sign the hidden Dam register while your at it. (Please leave all contents you find in the metal box). To access the western section there are two turnouts off the main San Francisquito Hwy just before the  upper parking turnout. Both have spur trails that will lead you up to the top. The sections are very short but steep. After visiting the western section return to the car and proceed to either the lower or upper Parking area to begin your hike. (Again map below has all relevant way-points).

Hidden Register

Heading down the old road from the upper parking area

Besides visiting the old Dam there are other interesting features along this hike. Make sure to visit the flowing creek and large pool that sits hidden off the trail on the east side of the Dam. As you can see Lot's of disappointing paintings on the rocks next to the plunge pool. Please don't contribute to the vandalism going on here.

The Creek was flowing

secluded pool on eastern side of the Dam,

A short distance below the dam you will cross over an old bridge if you look west you can spot 2 white Memorial crosses near a big boulder section that broke off and was washed downstream. I reckon this was near the area where the Dam keeper once lived.

White memorial crosses placed near large boulder section of the Dam

Haylee with grandpa under the bridge

There are also two nice memorials to see on your drive up the Canyon, one placed at the Fire Station and one at Powerhouse #2. Stop in to see the old photos and read a little bit of the history if you have time.

Memorial at the Fire Station just below the Dam

Memorial at Powerhouse #2

This was definitely a nice little outing with the family, got some exercise and learned a few things. If your a historical nerd like myself I think you would enjoy this one. Lot's to explore and so close to home. Another fine outing in the Angeles National Forest.