Katie Clary
Living Editor
A rare event is taking place. As fleeting as an exotic flower that blooms once every decade under a full spring-time moon, the Winding Way waterfall is in full blossom. The typically wimpy falls started thundering almost overnight after the recent rains, giving Malibu its very own mini-Niagara Falls until the rainwater subsides.
This hike is more than a good study break; it’s an opportunity that won’t happen again any time soon unless Southern California develops a regular monsoon season. One Malibu hiker, while stumbling through the mud puddles, said he has never seen the falls look like this before.
But you’d better be ready to get wet.
The trailhead starts in a parking lot on the east side of Pacific Coast Highway four miles north of Pepperdine. The trek begins deceivingly mundane with a laidback one-mile walk through a neighborhood before the trail truly starts. The pavement transitions to a dirt trail at the bottom of a short downhill on the left side. Survey the sweeping view of the Santa Monica Mountains, smell the sagebrush and nearby horse farm and descend into the unexpectedly first-class SoCal adventure.
The basin next to Latigo Canyon is typically almost dry, but all that is changed. Mind you, the water level has probably dropped, but a week ago the hike required not one, but five stream crossings. The highest stream washed over my knees.
The trickiest part of the whole hike is figuring out what to do with your feet. In this instance, hiking boots or running shoes aren’t the most convenient unless you plan to untie and retie your shoelaces 20 times total. Instead wear Teva or similar sport sandals if you own them. Or for the hippie at heart, brave the hike barefoot. The dried out mud patches feel like velvet underfoot and there’s something delightful about mud between your toes. Just be warned, the entire hike is not foot friendly. There are small pebbles and sharp rocks in places and be particularly careful of broken glass at the base of the waterfall.
The sight will be most impressive for folks who’ve hiked Winding Way before and were disappointed by the sulphur-smelling trickle that normally graces the hike’s green-walled destination. But now you can hear the falls tumbling before you see them. Look for the cascades between the overhanging branches; at one point the waterfall is framed like an Art Wolfe photograph.
For the curious and I hope appropriately cautious, a steep trail to the right of the waterfall leads to where the water takes flight. But don’t climb too far beyond the top of the waterfall, or you’ll wind up navigating loose hillsides and a hairy climb that drops you in somebody’s backyard in the wrong direction. If you feel like you’ve gone too far, you probably have. Trust me.
The 4.2- mile roundtrip jaunt ends quickly, taking about two hours for our lazy exploration. Even so, the nearby walk feels worlds away from Pepperdine.
01-20-2005
