Here it is... the long overdue part 3! If you haven't already be sure to check out part 1and Part 2. On those trips I started at the lower end of the river just above the Seven Oaks Dam and explored upriver. On this trip I drove all the way around, up through Angeles Oaks and then back down the long dirt road to where Bear creek meets the Santa Ana river. I parked, got my gear together, tossed on my pack and started hiking down river. At the Bear creek/Santa Ana confluence there is a really cool old dam and also the begging of the long flume that used to direct water down to the Edison power plant that I hiked passed in part 2. Below that the canyon got narrow. It was rough, but really beautiful. With big rugged cliffs and crystal clear pools. I pulled out my fishing pole and started trying some casts in the many pools as I hiked down river. There are lots of trout in the river, but they are smart! So you gotta be sneaky and get them to bite quick before they realize you're even there. Luckily I'm not too shabby of a fisherman and I was able to catch a bunch of really beautiful fish!

Overlooking the Santa Ana river canyon from near Angeles Oaks

The dam at the confluence

Starting to hike down river

Flume cave

The Edison flume

Hiking down river

Passing Breakneck creek

Hiking down river

Where the canyon started to open up

Looking at the flume up on the mountanside

A beautiful trout

As I got down lower the canyon opened up and I could look up and see the flume up high on the mountainside. Then I got to a spot with a really cool waterfall pouring down the cliffs into the river. I decided to stop there and hangout for a bit. It was overcast and gloomy, but didn't rain, making it actually quite pleasant. After my break at the waterfall I continued on my way downriver. Eventually I arrived at the spot where I camped in Part 2 and I decided to setup camp there again. But this time I got there from above instead of from below. I got my camp all setup and it was still fairly early so I decided to take a short exploratory hike up a small side canyon near my camp. It was overgrown and rugged making it hard to hike up, so I didn't go far, but it was truly quite beautiful. Very quiet and serene. After that I headed back down to the river and did a little bit more fishing before settling into camp for the night.

The waterfall

Wildflowers

Hiking down river

Camp

Exploring the side canyon

The river by my camp

The next day I woke up to a beautiful morning. I packed up camp and started heading back up the river. I stopped by the waterfall again and of course caught a bunch more trout along the way! I ran into another Rattlesnake, which was really cool, and luckily it was on the far side of the river so I was totally safe. As I was hiking the sun was shining bright and it was starting to get really hot, but I was able to get back to where I parked at Bear creek before I got too badly toasted. I really enjoyed this trip and I definitely gotta go back sometime. Next time I want to climb up the dam at Bear creek and try to continue to explore up the river from there!