Today consisted of snow play and a hike to the San Antonio Falls, located in the "Mount Baldy" area of the San Gabriel Mountains. I had never been to the falls during the winter, so this day was very exciting and beautiful for me. The hike to the falls from the parking area is less than one mile, and easy going up a paved road, until the end where you will take a small dirt trail. According to the internet, these last tiers are 75 feet tall. In 1992, a friend and I climbed up the left side of the falls to get a better look up above. Realizing we could not make it above the second tier, we decided to head back down, taking the right side this time. I lost my footing and began to quickly slide down on my "back side" while grabbing onto anything I could to stop. I finally came to a halt just before going over, thanks to the Yucca plants and roots that I was able to hang on to. I sprained my ankle, had various cuts, scrapes and Yucca tips embedded into my arms and legs, and my shorts were completely torn apart beneath me. Long story short, my friend got help, somehow we got off of the waterfall, and I was aided by a forest ranger who offered to have me helicoptered out for a measly $800 or I would have to hike it out. I hobbled the mile back to my car with what felt like a broken leg and have decided to leave the climbing to the professionals.
