Officers Review:  Big Falls Hike and Apple Farm

by 2009-2010 GEO Treasurer

And so it began, amongst the screams of shrill shock and happiness from the incredible cold of So Cal's largest Waterfall, the amazing enlightenment one can gain from GEO’s hikes. Big Falls Hike, a small and probably inferior hike compared to our other campaigns into the wilderness, but still, a great way to bring our members together and start off a jubilant year, was followed by apple “treats” and more smiles in the Los Rios Ranch and Apple Farm located in Oak Glen.

32 members journeyed with us that Saturday, with of course the awesome drivers, the ones who must endure never ending thank-you’s for their transporting of our members. This hike was special, and because of its sheer simplicity in comparison to the massive fear that one can feel to a hike such as Bridge to Nowhere or Tahquitz Peak, we decided that Big Falls would be more of a social event than hike. So in order to unify our “newbie” members with our proud, “veteran” members (the brave souls who have persevered through a GEO hike before), we teamed them up, prepared a newbie for every veteran

We met up on the chilly Saturday morning and drove as a caravan to the San Bernardino Mountains, passing Redlands and the small forest community of Forest Falls. Once we arrived, Beeken gave a short speech telling us the minor dangers of the hike, such as cracking one’s head open when tripping on the uphill rocks. Traveling into the areas leading to the waterfall, we were in awe of a Transcendentalist’s masterpiece - a beautiful (rather large and scary) stream that flowed next to our group, under a metropolis of trees.

Ivy stayed behind me closely. Kenneth Huang and George Amparon, armed with cameras, snapped multiple photos as they climbed up to an area where one could get a great look of the coming waterfall. Courtney Oates and Sunny Lyu lost their footing sometimes, but parallel to the power of the adjacent water, persevered onwards. After a while of slipping on rocks, collapsed trees, and uphill tribulations, we reached the glory of the hike - the waterfall. The entire time our group wondered who would have the guts of running into the frigid aqua beast. Yet, there were still those who had the bowels for adventure. What else is better than freezing yourself on a huge waterfall? You can’t do that in West Covina, that’s for sure.

James grabbed Carrie, Axel Ayala leaped from large rock to rock, Ben Lei and Kenneth climbed forth unto the zone close to the roaring water, and I, with Courtney close to me, followed the bravehearts to our liquid doom. Alone or two by two, people started running towards the cold waterfall, and finally, when I thought appropriate, I grabbed Courtney’s hand, and screaming like a little boy screaming like a little girl, we entered the foaming mouth of the Waterfall. The rest was history.

Wet, cold, half-enlightened, half numb, fully alive with the sting of spiritual renewal, we huddled in the rocky area next to the waterfall and took a group picture. Questions of “If it was hard getting up here dry, how am I going to get down wet?” flooded our minds. But conquering we were. We reached the cars still cold from our unchanged pants, and faced the challenge of changing in the smelly bathrooms.

We then took off to the Los Rios Ranch and Apple farm in Oak Glen. The market was a Mecca for apple enthusiasts - tons of people were there, listening to the tunes of a youth country group: The Wimbledon Bluegrass Band, and shopping for the most interesting apple delicacies (including pie ). We were able to eat many different types of apples, drink some natural (maybe too natural) apple cider, and apple treats, along with some meaty meals of American culture. Sadly, all the apples were picked already. Yet, we would be able to walk and experience the beauty of an apple orchard in a hiking region nearby. The area of walking was short, but just staying silent and listening to the calling birds, rushing creek, and sneaky grasshoppers made it an amazing place to be. Our group randomly split off from the others, and Shannin Poso, Don Pham, William Acosta, and I walked through the trails, paying attention to interesting plants such as “Our Lord’s Candle.” Unfortunately, we paid no attention to the LOOP TRAIL sign, and had to walk uphill (not fun).

After another hour of lingering in the apple orchard trails, we headed back to the apple market areas and the cars. One hike down. Next on our list: Bridge to Nowhere (uh-oh)