Hiked Saturday, November 27. 4.5 miles. Late start, and feeling cold, so I wanted something low-altitude. That took me to Puente Hills Landfill Native Habitat Preservation Authority lands, in Hacienda Heights. I used the Seventh Avenue trailhead, at the south end of Seventh Avenue (south of the Pomona Freeway, CA-60).
It was a blustery day, so the air was clear. Great visibility in all directions.
The trail map is here.
I headed on the main trail, which heads south from the trail head, for .3 miles, then turned left at the Coyote Trail, for 1.2 miles, until it meets the Skyline Trail. Along the way, I gained altitude, and could see the white roofs of warehouses and manufacturing facilities in the City of Industry. The Pomona Freeway was visible before that, and the San Gabriel Mountains were beyond that. A scatter of snow had fallen on the higher reaches of the San Gabriel Mountains.
At the Skyline Trail, I headed right (north), and took the trail to the Nike Station. You pass between eucalyptus trees and some pines, which are on the boundary between the old landfill and Rose Hills. There are then switchbacks up towards the station.
As you approach the Skyline trail, you pass under a set of power lines, then approach a fence. Beyond that fence is land owned by Rose Hills; they are grading that land and preparing to expand their cemetery further into the hills.
As I approached the top, I noticed that a trail I had previously seen sign, but had not seen the trail, had been cleared. This added a little juke down to the west, and got a closer view of the cemetery. Maybe an extra 200 yards?
The trailmap does not give a mileage total to the actual Nike Station. However, I would suspect it's at least an additional .5 mile past the Native Oak trail, so figure about 2.3 miles to the Station, then 2.3 miles back. Slightly over 4.5 miles, roundtrip.
Near the Nike Station, and along the Skyline Trail, there are some nice views towards Downtown, and also towards Griffith Observatory and the Hollywood Sign. It feels like this is about 180 degrees opposite Baldwin Hills from Downtown.
The previous shot and the last one are at full zoom (300mm, or 450mm 35mm equivalent). The middle shot is a 50% crop of the one before it. That's just to get a closer view of the Observatory.
Good day to hike.
Unfortunately, I worked last night outdoors, and it got pretty chilly by the end of my shift. Not feeling so hot today, and I have another night shift coming up. Not looking forward to that.
Many hikes to blog, still. This is my last. May try to fit another hike in tomorrow.
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