Hikers' Gold Opportunity :
New Trail Brings Back Memories of Prospecting in Lucas Canyon
SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO — Tony
Forster, a member of the prominent San Juan Capistrano ranching
family, first heard about the legend from his father, Judge Thomas A.
Forster, who probably heard it from his father, Frank.
It's the story of Lucas
Canyon, whose mere mention to South County old-timers stirs a
California craving for gold as old as the state's ancient oaks.
According to the legend, it
was in this narrow, rocky canyon snaking south of what is now Ortega
Highway where prospectors turned up several good-size nuggets in the
late 1800s.
"I can remember as a
small boy riding around the rim of the canyon and looking down when
my father pointed out the old gold mine," said Tony Forster,
whose family used to own the largest ranch in these parts--about
250,000 acres. "My brother, Pancho, had some gold pieces that
were pulled out of there. It was placer gold, like the kind someone
probably panned out of the creek."
This month, when the U.S.
Forest Service opens the new seven-mile Lucas Canyon Trail in the
Cleveland National Forest, the old legend will be rekindled. But
hikers must be willing to endure a sometimes steep, narrow trail that
rises 600 feet above the canyon floor.
It was along the base of this
shaded canyon that the legendary Maximo Lopez made his home from 1886
to 1940. Each time he made the 10-mile trek into San Juan Capistrano,
Lopez helped stoke the gold fever by tantalizing the local merchants,
said local historian Pamela Hallan-Gibson. "Lopez would never
discuss what he found, but he used to pay for his supplies with gold
nuggets," Hallan-Gibson said. "A gold scale was kept at
Rohmer's General Store or Ferris Kelly's store, just for him."
These days there is no trace
of Lopez at the foot of the deep canyon, where sycamores and oaks
line the creek. But there are still reminders of prospectors and
miners who sought the canyon's promised riches.
Buried in heavy brush are the
foundations of one residence that was destroyed in a 1958 fire that
swept through the entire wilderness area, devastating everything in
its path.
There is an old brick well
that still holds water, although it is stagnant and full of bugs. A
couple of makeshift, man-made bridges consisting of only a few boards
span the rocky creek.
Two other remnants of
residences still stand in an offshoot canyon removed from the main
trail, said Lee A. DiGregorio, an archeologist for the U.S. Forest
Service who has hiked the entire trail.
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"There is a mine shaft
behind one of the houses that goes only about eight feet into the
side of the mountain," said DiGregorio, a resident of Anaheim.
"It's very difficult to get to because everything is so
overgrown this year because of the rains."
The Lucas Canyon Trail
actually runs along the ridges of the adjoining mountains and only
drops down into the canyon for about two miles. The trail head is at
the Candy Store near Ortega Oaks Park, which is 19 miles east of San
Juan Capistrano.
Another entrance is at the old
San Juan Hot Springs site, near the San Juan Station of the forestry
service. Hikers may leave their cars at either place and shuttle back
and forth, DiGregorio said.
But be prepared for long,
difficult inclines entering and leaving the canyon, DiGregorio said.
"There is a lot of
steepness, but from either end it's a good hike with a lot of
variety," DiGregorio said. The wildlife along the way is similar
to that found in nearby Ronald W. Caspers Wilderness Park: deer,
coyotes, skunks, opossums, mountain lions and bobcats.
Signs are posted at the trail
heads warning hikers to beware of some dangerous wildlife. DiGregorio
said she has seen lions in the area during her 12 years with the
forestry service.
"This is a wilderness
area and this is their home," DiGregorio said.
The trail is for the most part
exposed to the sun. The best times to hike are in the fall, when the
weather is cooler, and the spring, when wildflowers are in bloom.
For as long as anyone can
remember, Lucas Canyon has been associated with gold prospecting.
And at the turn of the
century, the old Santa Ana Bulletin published reports of tin and
copper deposits in the canyon, which sparked similar rushes to the
remote site.
While none of the reports ever
turned up any finds of great value, DiGregorio speculated that the
canyon's size made it a prime candidate for a valuable mother lode.
Meanwhile, the forestry
service has yet to solve one of the canyon's main mysteries: Just who
was Lucas and why was the canyon given his name?
"To both questions,
history has palmed an ace," said Orange County historian Jim
Sleeper. "The canyon showed up on maps of the 1880s, but of Mr.
Lucas there is no trace at all."
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