yesterday joey and i ventured out to Thousand Oaks in search of Paradise Falls. after the rain everything was newly green and fragrant, such a treat! we found an indian cave and some indian clay and ate a macrobiotic picnic near a teepee. part of the macrobiotic way is an awareness of nature and making sure you take time to reconvene and center yourself in an organic envoirnment. i must say i was truly revitalized after this hike, taking in the waterfall and avoiding all the coyote poop along the way.
if you are in the LA area, i totally recommend this trail to Paradise Falls. the way there/directions:
- take the 101 North/West past Calabasas etc. and exit Lynn Rd. in Thousand Oaks.
- take a right off the exit.
- a left on Avenida de los Arboles, follow this to the end of the road and park in the Arboles parking lot.
- take the trail marked Moonridge trail which snakes around for probably a mile and a half but it feels a little longer with the up and down terrain, etc.
- you'll get to a fork in the road but follow the trail signs that point to Paradise Falls and take you by the giant teepee on top of the hill.
- once you get to the falls, i highly recommend finding a path over the stream so you can view the falls from the other side from where the trail spits you out. that way you can see the waterfall straight on in all it's 70 foot glory.
- even though there are signs around saying no swimming or climbing/diving, the pool below the falls looks very welcoming and although it was chilly ish when we went in January, there was a guy that climbed to the top of the falls and jumped off... and survived! we'll definitely go back this summer and take a refreshing dip and maybe joey will take a dive... i'll be the cheerleader.
