Oak Oasis Loop: Choose Your Own Adventure!

         This hike is a bit like a choose-your-own-adventure story. Do you choose to go right and begin with a lush meadow, get shocked by a dry chaparral tunnel, and, generally, stick to steep declines and long, slow inclines? Or, do you choose to go left and follow the stream until you suddenly end up in dry territory? Do you follow this left path through steep uphill climbs that culminate in a hot, enclosed trail thick with the syrupy smell of chaparral only to suddenly be plunged into the shocking greenness of a miniature Ireland? I did both! In the spirit of full disclosure, I started out on the left trail and was treating it as a trail run. Running, of course, is always harder than walking. This might have colored my opinion of the hills.  However, I was so struck by how different this loop could be if I had started out heading right instead, that I walked it in the other direction after finishing my run. Ok, again, in the spirit of full disclosure, I didn’t bring my camera on my run and wanted to return to take pictures. But, my decision to walk it in reverse was founded wholly on my opinion that one loop could yield two very different hikes depending on which direction you start.

ADJACENT TO THE PARKING AREA, A PICNIC TABLE AND WELL-MARKED TRAIL HEAD

I WAS AMUSED BY THE "GEOCACHING PROHIBITED" SIGN

            If I was hiking this trail with Logan, I would likely choose to head right first. On my own, however, the left path felt more rewarding. Like I said, choose your own adventure. What are you up for? What is your goal? These questions always go into choosing an activity. Why should a loop hike be any different? The first section of this hike descends from the parking lot through chaparral so dense that it seems as if someone came through with a chainsaw to cut the trail.

Just as I was getting comfortable with the thick walls surrounding me, I turned a corner and spotted a hill too rocky and loose to safely run down. Ok, Ok, I didn’t know that it was too loose to safely run down on sight alone. Yeah, I tried, I nearly slipped, and then I slowed and carefully picked my way down the remainder of this slope. I know a few of you are reading this for ideas on where to hike with kids (hey, keep sending those emails, texts, and facebook messages that tell me why you are reading this). This hike is appropriate for kids, but, only if you are prepared to carry tired legs back up this slope on your way out.

WHY CAN YOU NEVER CAPTURE THE STEEPNESS OF A HILL IN A PICTURE?

 It is also appropriate for a mildly challenging trail run. If you count a mile of hills as mildly challenging, that is. 

            After descending this initial slope and working your way down into the Oaks that the preserve is named for, you have to choose which way to head.

THE TRAIL TO THE RIGHT IS ACROSS THE CREEK, THE GRASSY TRAIL IS THE ONE TO THE LEFT

 This description will assume you head left (west), but as I said before, hikers with children might want to head right (north-east). [OH, hey, those directions I include are based on my internal compass and should not, under any circumstances, be relied on. I did, after all, get us lost in the desert at night recently.] So, heading left, you snake alongside a creek (assuming it isn’t dried up), in the shade of fire-scarred oaks.

 At several points, the trail dissolved into creek bed and I was forced to hop on rocks while running, or, worse, resort to the new trails cut to the side of the water by hikers trying to avoid wet shoes. This, my friends, is a perfect example of what not to do. A little lesson on trail etiquette: Protect your trails, protect wildlife, protect yourself-stay on existing trails and do not cut new ones!

 On this particular February day, it was obvious, based on scat and prints, that I could come face to face with horses or coyotes. I also saw several smaller animals that rustled away into the underbrush as I approached.  Also, it was impossible not to picture the tan-white bellies of frogs expanding as they croaked out their serenade to me. Then, almost instantly, I emerged from the Oak Oasis into chaparral heat. Jerry Schaad claims that near this area there should be a “sagging” log house. I ran the trail once, and then walked it, and still never found that cabin. Maybe it has been removed since then, or maybe I wasn’t paying enough attention. I did, however, find this small waterfall as the creek diverged from the path (Yay! No more wet shoes!).

 As you switch from shady oaks to unshaded chaparral, the trail turns right to skirt the hill it loops around.  Here, the up and down switchbacks that are so common in the area begin. I might not have found that house earlier, I did find remnants of a paved road and a rusty bed frame. Those discoveries will probably prompt a google search into the history of the area, but they haven't yet.

To the left, there is a short side-trip to an outlook point with a great view of El Capitan Reservoir.

The hills continue through more tunnel-like chaparral until you come across this lovely halfway point sign.

I love trails that submerge you in wilderness and separate you from society, but there is a time and a place for a well-marked trail that keeps you on track and reminds you of the distance you have traveled. After running up those hills, I was pleased to see that sign!

            Shortly after the halfway point, the trail heads to the right. As you loop back around the hill, the chaparral suddenly ends and a stunning meadow awaits you. I was compelled to lay in the grass here, but my own aversion to mud and my stubborn need to finish this run without stopping kept me moving and away from that lush, soft, carpet of emerald. This stretch of the hike plunges you back into the serenading frogs and the feel of a Disney movie. In February, this place is pretty idyllic. Soon, the path dissolves into muck again. This time, instead of a moving stream, you are confronted with marshy terrain and mud holes hidden under seemingly safe footsteps.

THIS IS THE TRAIL...HAVE FUN TRYING TO STAY DRY AND CLEAN

 In addition to cartoon frogs and muddy surprises, this stretch of hike also offers fascinating boulder outcroppings for your little intrepid explorer (or you) to climb. A word of caution: even in February, I noticed poison oak in other areas of this hike. Keep your eyes open for the fiendish plant, lest you come down with exploding skin syndrome.

I WANTED TO CLIMB THESE, SO I'M SURE KIDDOS WOULD TOO!

Not long after entering the marsh territory, the place where the loop diverges becomes evident. Here, you climb back up the hill to the parking lot, and, if you are game, do it all over again in reverse! This is a short hike, between 2.5 and 3.5 miles depending on short side trips, and another idea is to couple it with the hikes in nearby Stelzer Canyon Park. Or, for the brave of heart, this area also boasts a link to the 110-mile Trans County Trail. Is anyone else sensing a challenge for 2012?