Hike 2015.086 -- Eaton Canyon

Hiked Tuesday, November 17. Got off unexpected early today, so I had time to get a hike in. This one was number 86 for the year. I still remain well behind on my blogging. However, I am more or less on schedule for my hiking. If the weather holds through November, I should manage at least five more hikes, giventhe holidays and weekends that remain. That would leave me with 9 or so to do in December. Given the weekends and formal holidays that remain, I should be able to get those hikes in, but it will require some discipline and some luck with the weather.

This hike's been done by me many times. But it's convenient--among the closest possible trailheads, and almost always with at least some water to give the hike some interest. It's also about four miles long, which means I can fit it in to any 3 or 3 1/2 hour block of time I may have. In this case, I arrived near the Nature Center (off of Altadena Drive, just north of New York Drive) about 2:30pm. That means about two hours before sunset. Given that the parking lot is supposed to close "at sunset," that meant there was some chance, if I got hung up along the way, of not making it back before the gate got locked (assuming it was locked on time). To be safe, I took the precaution of parking on the street.

It's another two days or so before the First Quarter moon, so there was a fair crescent visible from the start of the hike. As I entered the canyon, the sunlight still hit the west canyon walls, but the sunlight was well off the floor.

There are some powerlines that cross the canyon. I thought it would be fun to illustrate the cause behind the phases of the moon by shooting one of those balls at almost the same angle relative to the sun as the moon. And, as expected, the "phase" of the ball was, in fact, pretty much the same as the phase of the moon.

Not a lot of fall color down here, but there are a few sycamore. I shot some of their leaves, as well. And there are shots of the leaves of the ground, in front of the falls.

Pleasant weather. Funny thing about this canyon hike I've noticed is how, as you walk down the canyon, you may be periodically hit by warm, then cool air. Microclimates are a funny thing.

As for the waterfall, I also shot plenty of shots, including both the full falls and close-up details of the falls, themselves.

Because of my slow pace, with many stops for pictures, the sun set well before I got back. It was getting dark. I heard the sound of the gate being moved as I made my way past the parking lot. Not sure if they actually had it locked, or if they just close it, but allow late returnees to push the gate open to leave, while deterring late-comers from parking. Either way, I was happy to have parked on the street.

About four miles for the day. Well over 15,000 steps for the day, too. ;D