Lost Valley Trail

View of Lost Valley from
Mt. Birkenstock, 2006

3.5 miles to the Pacific Crest Trail. Steep in spots.
Good views of camp and the surrounding area.
Side trip to Mt. Birkenstock.

The Lost Valley Trail was originally cut by the Bergman family in 1898, though portions of it may be older still. The Bergmans, a pioneer Aguanga cattle ranching family, had just purchased Lost Valley and cut the trail in from Chihuahua Valley to bring their cattle in and out of Lost Valley. The Bergmans used Lost Valley for summer grazing for almost 60 years, sometimes keeping as many as 200 head in the valley. Until the 1950s all the stock came in and out over the Lost Valley Trail.

The Lost Valley Trail had quite a reputation among the old timers. Evelyn “Ma” Smith (1897-1988), who lived in the Warner Ranch area for many years, once recalled:

“It was an awful hard place to get in in the early days when they went in with the cattle. It was nothing but boulders, you didn’t see any dirt. I went over the trail [and] I said “never again!” I just held my breath.”

After the completion of the Old Road from Chihuahua Valley in the early 1950s the Lost Valley Trail fell into disuse. By the 1970s most of it existed only as a dotted line on old topographical maps. In 1977 Irvine Commissioners Ralph Nordstrom and Mark Rodgers became interested in re-blazing the old trail. Using map and compass, Nordstrom managed to locate much of the trail, and work began to mark and rebuild it.

The original trail went out past Combs Camp into Chihuahua Valley. The modern trail grows faint after crossing the ridge out of Lost Valley, and disappears after it meets the Pacific Crest Trail on the next ridge. The Bergmans called the area between the two ridges the Little Rock Valley.

As work progressed on reopening the Lost Valley Trail, Nordstrom and Rodgers became interested in trying to cut a trail across to the rocky mountain face north known in camp lore as “Flame-Around-The-Ankles” mountain. Years earlier, Nordstrom had used the mountain as the setting for his weekly campfire story – a mock Indian legend about an evil spirit that was finally trapped inside the rocky peak. The story was popular with campers, and the name stuck.

From the top of the first ridge, they began a new trail towards the peak. After a little work, Rodgers says, they decided “it was probably possible [to get there], but it was more than we wanted to do in the summer.” Instead, they made for a small rocky peak just above the trail. They dubbed it Mt. Birkenstock, after the brand of natural sandals that Rodgers was fond of wearing. Despite rumors to the contrary, Rodgers maintains that “nobody really wore Birkenstocks” when out working on the trail.

Additional work on the Lost Valley Trail and the Birkenstock cut-off was done during the summer of 1978 and the first group reached the top of the 5,440-foot peak that August.

The trailhead is located at the north end of the dam at the bottom of Lake Virginia. The lower reaches run through part of the area burned in the Coyote Fire in 2003, and the terrain was greatly altered by the flash floods that followed in the first few years after the fire. As you climb up higher, more and more of the old trail becomes visible.

The trail follows a small creek nearly to the top of the first ridge. Even before reaching the saddle, there a good views back into camp and across the surrounding hills.

Mt. Birkenstock is located about half a mile north of the saddle. The trail winds through the rocks before the final ascent up the northwest side of the peak. The view from the rocky summit extends for miles in every direction. Looking east into Lost Valley you can pick out many of the camp roads and buildings. Turning counter-clockwise you can see in turn the Old Road dropping into the valley, the Lost Valley Road with the Santa Rosa Mountains off in the distance, “Flame-Around-the-Ankles” mountain, the Pacific Crest Trail, Palomar Mountain, the Warner Ranch in the Vallé de San José, and Hot Springs Mountain.

The Lost Valley Trail continues over the ridge and down into the Little Rock Valley. The trail is faint, but your ultimate goal – the Pacific Crest Trail – is almost always in sight on the next ridge. The Little Rock Valley offers some sandy bowls for overnight camping (but remember, no fires).

Turning right (north) on the Pacific Crest Trail will take you to the Lost Valley Road if you want to turn your trek into a loop trip. Turn right again on the Lost Valley Road, and after about a mile you’ll reach the Old Road, the quickest route back to camp.

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