Skip to content

Details

https://photos4.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/3/f/d/f/global_13696351.jpeghttps://photos1.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/3/f/d/a/global_13696346.jpeg
The weather is cool off and it may be a great time to explore Black Star Canyon!
Thanks Jessica for recommending: "Black Star canyon has miles of trails and open parking. Great walk that challenges everyone from beginners to advanced. I love it. I go to hike and to pictures. I highly recommend. Black Star Canyon - Silverado, CA 92676" Tyler used to organize this all the way to Beek's Place. I don't know if my time permits today and if I have a group of great pace hikers, we'll time to turn back.

About the hike: We will meet in the Black Star trailhead parking, the shortest distance to cover in 3 hours will be 7 miles RT. Depending on if we have a group of fit hikers that can make the 8 mile hike up to Beeks Place in 3-3.5 hours, so RT around 16 miles in 2000ft gain for 5-6 hours.

ESSENTIALS: Water, snacks, Hiking Boots and a hat.

Black Star Canyon, originally called Canon de los Indios (Canyon of the Indians), was renamed after the Black Star Mine during the mining boom in the 1870s. Black Star Canyon is perhaps best known to historians as an important archaeological site as much information concerning the daily lives of the Gabrielino or Tongva people has been uncovered through studies of artifacts found in the canyon. It is known that many of the native Tongva people fled to the mountains in the summer, searching not only for relief from the heat, but also for acorns, their main source of food, which were easy to find among the canyon's many mature oak trees. It is very likely that the settlement - located in the upper part of the canyon - was inhabited for only part of the year. The site of the settlement is now California Historical Landmark number 217. Indian settlements were very sporadic, as the grizzly bear population of the Santa Anas was comparatively high for such a small mountain range [1]. Signs of Indian habitation, such as the pothole rocks, are found only in canyons, such as Black Star or Bell Canyons, where grizzly populations were known to have been low. The canyon to the north, Fremont, has just as many oak trees and forage sources as Black Star, with no archaeological traces of any human habitation, likely because the canyon was home to many bears.
The canyon is celebrated in Orange County myth as the site of a massacre of Indians by Spanish Conquistadors. In truth, the actual historical event, according to a story recounted by early settler J.E. "Judge" Pleasants, involved an armed conflict between American fur trappers, led by William Wolfskill, and a group of Tongva Indians in the year 1831. The altercation may be one of the most important and overlooked episodes in early Orange County history.

Direction:
From I-5 take Lake Forest Exit East for 4.5 miles. Take a right on Portola. Then Take a left on Glen Ranch At the T-intersection, Make a left on El Toro Road. About a mile down the road El Toro turns into Santiago Canyon Road. Take Santiago Canyon Road about 5 miles north. Turn right on Silverado Canyon Road. Take the first left which is Black Star Canyon Road. Drive about one mile to the gate and park

From the 55 take Chapman east. Keep going, it turns into Santiago Canyon rd. Go past Irvine Lake, hang a left on Silverado Canyon. Another left on Black Star Canyon. At the end is a large fire gate. This is where the trail starts.

Beek's Place is a location marked with a geocache (GCPJPQ) in South Eastern Orange County California, elevation 2820ft. Several feet from the cache is a concrete slab that says 'JAB 9-26-41'. This was a footing for one of the wind generator towers.
Beek's Place located near some ruins near the junction of Black Star Canyon and the Main Divide Truck Trail. It's about 8 miles from the Black Star trail head, or about 6 miles from the Skyline Drive trail head in Corona.
These ruins are what's left of a building belonging to a Mr. Joseph Beek ("Joe Beek"), who served as the Newport Harbor Master for a short time. In 1919 he obtained the franchise for the Balboa Island Ferry which remains in the family to this day. He also served as secretary of the CA State Senate for a few years, until his death in 1968. The main cabin was built during the 1930s, and the smaller one shortly thereafter. They each had one room. The smaller one was built for a caretaker. Although the family only used it on weekends, sometimes a caretaker would live there for up to a few months at a time. The family still goes up there occasionally, but due to constant vandalism and theft, it became impossible to maintain. All the coniferous trees were planted by the family. A system of cisterns can be seen around the area for water storage which made it possible to grow the trees. One cistern a little ways down from the main cabin was used as a swimming pool

REMINDERS:
By joining the meetup, you agree to Meetup Terms of Service releases the Organizer and Assistant Organizers from any liability related to incidents that occur at Meetup gatherings
> YOU acknowledge THAT WE ARE NOT PROFESSIONALS.
> YOU ASSUME RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOURSELF AND YOUR SAFETY
Hiking is a rewarding and pleasant activity in nature, but there are certain dangers you should be aware of. Those include, but are not limited to, trip and fall injuries, bee stings, poison oak exposure, ticks and snake bites. By signing up for this event, you agree to hold harmless the hike organizer, assistant organizers and other participants for any injuries sustained during this hike***

You may also like