When it comes to hiking, I'm usually reluctant to leave the Santa Clarita Valley. Why drive somewhere else when you can hit any one of dozens of trails right here in our own backyard?

I really started to question my judgment when we arrived at the Gabrielino trailhead off Angeles Crest Highway and the car thermometer reported 39 degrees. Don't get me wrong - I enjoy the elements - just a little more warmed up.

We leave on our extra layers, leash up the dog and brace ourselves for the cold. As the trail to Switzer Falls follows Arroyo Seco into the canyon, it's clear we won't see the sun for awhile. High walls block the sun, providing cover that allows oak and cottonwood to cluster along the creek.

The cottonwoods are bare and the sycamores, too. Winter winds and rain have stripped their leaves and blown them into tan piles that blanket the damp ground.

The trail starts with asphalt, which eventually fades away. It follows the flowing creek, sometimes on this side, sometimes on that side. The water crossings are easy, always rocks or logs where you need them to cross without soaking your feet.

Unless you're the dog. Tess, our German Shepherd mutt, never misses an opportunity to jump in. I think she does it just so she can spatter us with cold creek water when she shakes herself off.

Finally, we reach some sunshine when the trail leaves the narrow canyon bottom to trace a ledge along the cliff face. The granite crunches underfoot as we follow it higher. Yucca cling to cliff faces like tide-pool anemones. We're looking down into the canyon now, eye-level with the tops of pines bent toward the sun.

While the asphalt is long behind us, we find another remnant of past efforts to bend this wilderness to human accommodation. The chain-link fence guarding the trail's edge is fighting a losing battle against erosion and gravity. It is resilient in some places. But in others, where fence posts dangle and the woven wire dips toward canyon bottom, the mountain clearly has the upper hand.

We descend again, switch-backing our way back toward the creek and the shade. A left turn takes us upstream to the falls. They roll over a granite face and drop into a wide pool. It's a peaceful spot and well worth the effort to reach it.

We settle on the boulders to drink it in while enjoying a snack. We have the scenery to ourselves, but the rope swing hanging from a tree across from us indicates how popular this spot must be in the summer.

The trail continues beyond where we re-entered the canyon. We follow it for awhile until fatigue and hunger for something other than beef jerky convince us to turn around.

More hikers are headed into the canyon as we retrace our steps, making us appreciate our early start. It's not long until we're back at the car and heading down to Hill Street Cafe at the bottom of Angeles Crest Highway in La Canada.

A late breakfast is always a fitting reward after an early-morning hike, and the cafe delivers it for me with the machaca scramble, a heap of steaming hot eggs scrambled with shredded beef, peppers, onions and just enough diced jalapenos to keep things interesting.

After breakfast, we wander next door to Flintridge Bookstore & Coffeehouse. They feature an engaging assortment of books, puzzles, science kits and most important, an espresso bar. While April browses, I order a large almond milk latte for the trip home.

Between flowing creeks, splashing waterfalls, a hearty breakfast and a hot cup of coffee after a cold morning, I feel more than rewarded for venturing out from Santa Clarita.
Eric Harnish lives in Castaic, where he often hikes and eats breakfast.

Do It!
Switzer Falls insidescv.com/switzerfalls
Hill Street Cafe hillstreetcafelacanada.com
Flintridge Bookstore & Coffeehouse flintridgebooks.com