Hike 2011.046 -- Mt. Williamson from Islip Saddle

(View from summit, looking west). Hiked Sunday, July 17. I actually had another hike planned, but it appears the road to Buckhorn Camp is closed, and I was not sure if I could walk in. Probably could have, but it wasn't signed so I figured on passing for today. Might try accessing Cooper Canyon Falls from the Eagle's Roost picnic area next. Definitely running out of hiking opportunities, so it will have to be soon.

(View from summit, looking southwest). After passing on Buckhorn, I was thinking maybe Mt. Williamson. Nice hike because I figured I could not miss the trailhead. It's right where the old CA-39 intersected with the Angeles Crest Highway.

To get to the trailhead, take the 210 Freeway to the Angeles Crest Highway exit and head right (north). I did not precisely measure the distance, but I think the mileage markers were in the 50s by the time I got there. Figure on roughly 60 minutes of driving once you leave the freeway, and have a highway map to mark your progress.

Incidentally, there were two spots where the highway is one-lane, with a traffic light.

(View from summit, looking towards Mojave Desert). Pulled into the lot (on the left side of the road, opposite the CA-39 stub that intersects with the ACH), hung my Adventure Pass, and studied the map. I was a little confused, because there are two trails heading out of the northwest side of this lot. On the map, the one on the left is labeled as the Pacific Crest Trail, and you would follow that for 1.6 miles (according to my Tom Harrison map) before the trail to Mt. Williamson splits off, to your right. Meanwhile, the right trail on my map was labeled as being the South Fork trail, which heads down towards the Mojave Desert 5.2 miles to South Fork Camp. From there, it would be 2.2 miles further to Devil's Chair, in Devil's Punchbown County Park.

However, on the ground, there are currently (July 17, 2011) no mileage, destina-tion, or trail name signs on either of these two trails at Islip Saddle. What's more, the right trail (South Fork Trail) currently has several PCT shields at the trailhead, indicating THAT is the PCT (pictured above). Thing is, this detour is no longer the "official" PCT route. With the exception a a very brief detour near Mt. Pacifico, the PCT has returned to its former route through the Angeles National Forest. Of course, most through-hikers probably already know this, but I can still imagine a number of hikers taking an unnecessary detour as a result of this, and many day hikers wanting to go to Mt. Williamson being misled by the shields.

(View from summit, looking south). Quite a lot of prologue, but I think it's important to let you know that, while your map may accurately show you as taking the PCT towards Mt. Williamson, the shields on the ground will suggest the PCT is actually heading someplace else.

Once on the "real" PCT, heading north from the ACH, the path is pretty steep. As you begin your climb (and for much of the first 1.6 miles of this hike), you can look back towards your car, and see Mt. Islip, rising directly to your south. Incidentally, from Islip Saddle, had you crossed the highway and started up the trail on that side, you could have gone up to Windy Gap, then on to Mt. Islip or any of the peaks surrounding Crystal Lake.

However, today, I was heading towards Mt. Williamson. Starting at 6670, you're at 7900 feet above sea level just 1.6 miles later, when you're supposed to leave the PCT and take a spur trail to the right (north), to Mt. Williamson.

This spur is unsigned, however, so it could be easy to miss. The good news is that it is at a crest, so when your trail is not longer climbing (and, again, as of July 17, 2011, there are small PCT shield decals on plastic stakes facing either side as the ridgeline intersects the PCT here), it's time to make your right turn and pick your way through the manzanita bushes on your way to Mt. Williamson.

(Approach to Mt. Williamson summit). Several paths of equally apparent-correctness make their way up the steepest portion of the climb to the higher ridge line. From there, you trend northwardly 1/2 mile to the unmarked summit of Mt. Williamson. There are several false summits (meaning, "slight bumps in the ridge line) along the way. Near as I can tell, the "official" summit should be the last one, before the trail drops noticeably downward, and with a pretty open view in most directions. Some sections of this final run take a bit of care to negotiate.

Mt. Williamson, at 8214, is a bit under 1,600 feet above the trail head altitude. Good views in most directions, although other tall peaks in the San Gabriel "high country" partially obstruct some directions. For example, in the picture at the top of this post, only a sliver of the ridge line that includes Mt. Wilson is visible between a break in the foreground mountains.

This picture here is a close-up view through that notch. It's close enough that you can make out the antenna and observatory domes.

Once at the summit, I noticed a clear use trail making its way down this summit and up the next (lower) rise. With a bit of time, I decided to head down this steep and gravelly section, losing about two hundred feet elevation, in the process. Then I headed back up the next rise (another 100 feet or so altitude gain). There actually isn't much of a peak to this next rise, and I continued from the crest an additional 200 yards or so. From there, I could see the trail continuing down, then back up over NEXT little rise. But, with time running short (I needed to get my car started down the mountain by 3pm), I had to turn around then. Back along the flat portion, then down the 100 feet I just gained, then back up the north face of Mt. Williamson. The picture above was on my way back, looking at that north face.

On my return back up the north face of Mt. Williamson, I looked back and saw several large, and numerous small, metallic objects reflecting the sun back at me from the ravine to my north. Those are the remains of a plane crash from back in the 1960s. The pieces were more visible in real-life than they appear in this picture. In the picture, the largest piece (about 1/3 from the left, near center) appears as a white rock rather than the metallic reflection it actually was. The smaller pieces are nearly invisible in this shot, but are scattered below and to the right of the large piece.

An extremely faint use trail also makes its way to those remains, but I chose to let the dead rest in peace.

Hike 2011.045 -- Middle Altadena Crest Trail

Hiked Friday, July 15. I had originally planned a serious hike today, having had yesterday to rest up from my 11 1/2 mile or so adventure to Lewis Falls and South Mt. Hawkins. However, I forgot my wife and I had plans to see Harry Potter this morning. Then, after I got back, I was hungry and ate way too much for lunch. Too much fat, especially. So I wasn't up for a long hike. At the same time, I definitely wanted to get at least a little exercise to offset my caloric intake. Didn't want to just do Henninger Flats or Echo Mountain again, though.

Instead, I settled on the middle portion of the Altadena Crest Trail (ACT). I had hiked this section last year and thought I'd revisit it, to see if it had been extended westward any further.

This section starts near the corner of Lake and Loma Alta. From the gates of the Cobb Estate, head east. The Altadena Crest Trail crosses the Lower Sam Merrill Trail right at its start. Just when you get to the little ravine, you'll see several signs. If you go into the ravine and turn left, you're on the Sam Merrill. If you go into the ravine and go straight, then downstream, you're on the east section of the Altadena Crest Trail, and could take this all the way to Eaton Canyon (with a short section on surface streets).

To do the middle portion of the ACT, turn left just before you pass the drinking fountain at the edge of the ravine, and head uphill.

This trail heads more or less due north. If you continue about 1/3 mile, you'll reach a steel-covered reservoir. Extremely ambitious hikers occasionally continue straight up the hill after that. Others turn off to the right somewhat before the reservoir, and go into the ravine on your left. A trail will take you to a small waterfall, which is, unfortunately, defaced by the stupidity of SFB pinheads.

Another unfortun-ately is that the actual sign that would direct you off of the service road to the reservoir and on to the Alta-dena Crest trail fell down last year and has not been replaced. Basically, you just need to be looking on your left, and when you see a trail heading up and away, on your left, and at roughly a 120 degree angle from your direction of travel. That (currently unsigned) trail is the official ACT. Several informal access points are also possible with less climbing. However, since the only reason you'd take this segment of trail is to add some mileage to a too-short return from Echo Mountain or from the eastern ACT, or from the little trip to the reservoir or the waterfall, I'm giving the version that adds the most climbing and mileage.

The turn is before a water fountain that's under a tree, so if you come to this water fountain, you've gone too far. Of course, if you're coming from the uphill side, it's after the water fountain. The water fountain, incidentally, is well below the reservoir, so you definitely don't want to see the reservoir if your intent is to do the ACT.

From here, the trail heads southwest, giving you an overview of the Cobb Estate and views across the western San Gabriel Valley.

I saw some scarlet larkspur in the area, but my camera had trouble focusing on it. And, because of the strong sunlight from behind me, I could not easily see my lcd display to confirm the focus.

After a weaving and winding 1/2 mile or so, the trail drops down on to where Devonwood Road makes a sharp turn, from north-northwest to east southeast. At this point, the trail crosses Devenwood, then parallels it briefly before continuing to the west.

About 1,000 feet later, the trail crosses Canon Blvd. It then proceeds maybe 100 or 200 yards further before disappearing, near a section of private road called "Vinehill." There's an ACT sign indicating the trail makes a sharp right turn, but there is no obvious (or non-obvious) trail. Several faint trails seem to head into people's front or backyards, but none seemed likely to be actual public trails. So after a little exploring in the various directions to be sure I had lost the trail, I turned around.

When I got back to Canon, I just took it south, to Loma Alta. Heading east on Loma Alta, I came out near Loma Alta Elementary School. I was then surprised (again) by how quickly I got back to my car, at Lake and Loma Alta. The trail is obviously a much more weaving and scenic way of going a short distance.

Because it was only about an hour after I left and I was pretty sure I hadn't gone my requisite three miles, I continued past my car, headed back into the Cobb Estate, then made a loop among one of the paved roads in there, then back along a segment of the ACT heading to the east, then looped right back and got out.

Not much of a point to this hike, other than a stretch of the legs. At some point, it's supposed to continue west, eventually linking with the western portion of the ACT, which starts near the corner of Sunset Ridge and Loma Alta, heads generally northwesterly, crosses Chaney Trail, then peters out just 1/4 or so east of Chaney trail, near Alzada Drive.

Hike 2011.044A -- Lewis Falls, Angeles National Forest, CA

Hiked Wednesday, July 13. After completing my hike to South Mt. Hawkins, I decided to try doing this Lewis Falls hike.

This is one of the waterfall hikes listed on an Angeles National Forest handout (if I could find a link to it, I'd put it in here, but I can't immediately find that link). However, directions on that handout are skimpy, to say the least. Still, between that and some Internet research, I knew the hike itself was supposed to be quite short, and I knew about where the trailhead should be. As I drove up to Crystal Lake, I saw numerous cars parked at one point, where I already suspected the trail began. On my return trip, I stopped, hiked, and confirmed this was the place for Lewis Falls.

To get to this trailhead from the city, take the 210 freeway, exit at Azusa, and head north, past East Fork Road, past the OHV parking area, past the West Fork parking area, past the trailhead for Upper Bear Creek trail, and past the Coldbrook camp area.

Continue driving northward, paying attention to the white mileage markers on the side of the road. At the 34.5 mile point, there is currently a rusted sand dispenser that Caltrans used in repairing CA-39. The road takes you around that structure, and continues climbing. After a relatively tight right turn, it straightens out, and you'll see the road heading towards a ravine before it makes a hairpin turn to the left. Look for parking at that hairpin turn, on your right. There are small turnouts with additional parking on the other side of the road, either above or below this area.

There's no sign indicating Lewis Falls at this parking area. There is only a "No Fires" sign. A relatively clear trail does head past that sign, into the ravine. It climbs somewhat steeply, then bends sharply to the right, away from the water. You're not far from the water, but you don't need to approach the water yet, which is good, because the vegetation near the water is extremely thick.

Instead, you keep climbing, eventually passing behind one of several mountain cabins along the way. Despite the close proximity to the cabin, the trail is not posted "No Trespassing." So whether this is public land or private land with a hiking easement, the trail is (with care) easy to follow.

In addition to the standing cabins, there are the foundations, rock walls, and other remnants suggesting a number of other cabins once stood here.

The vegetation is pretty thick even up here, but the trail has obviously been maintained. In one spot, however, walking along downed logs is the easiest way to proceed. After about 1/3 of a mile of this steep zig-zagging (which included passing by a healthy Humboldt Lily), the trail drops down to water level. I crossed where the trail seemed clearest, which included walking over a down tree. Then it was mostly on the left bank (when facing upstream). Not sure if I had to cross a few more times.

Finally, when I was getting to the point of thinking the falls should be here by now, I came to a narrow point in the ravine. A very large downed log crossed the stream, and led to the top of a large boulder. From there, the falls were visible, although still partially shielded. Sort of like Switzers Falls, this stream partially reversed direction as it falls, so the face of the falls is pointing slightly back towards the direction of flow. If I wasn't already tired from my hike to South Hawkins, I should probably have removed my shoes, again, and picked my way up the various pools below the falls, to get a more face-on view. Instead, I settled for the partially obscured view.

While I was there, three young men appeared to be doing some climbing down the ravine past and to the right of Lewis Falls. I didn't talk to them, so I don't know how far they went or what they saw. However, when they returned, they moved very quickly under the growth that was on the left side (when facing upstream) of the creek. Thus, where I crossed on the log, apparently it would be pretty easy to push under the vegetation along the left side, and get to the pool below the falls. From there, obviously, it would be easy to cross the pool and get a view of the falls from a more visible angle. But I was too tired to want to try that.

Water flow here is much greater than at any of the other falls I've visited recently. Also, the deep ravine is largely shaded, so this area felt a little like a rainforest. Columbine grew along one of the walls, and framed a relaxing scene.

Despite the short distance of this hike, you need to make several somewhat careful balancing and climbing maneuvers to navigate your way across and along the stream. As I often say, I'm short, uncoordinated and obese, so it's not THAT hard. But I do a lot of hiking, and I can recognize when I'm getting in over my head. More importantly, I'm willing to sound a retreat when that happens. If you go on this hike, be careful, and be willing to turn around without achieving your objective.

Hike 2011.044 -- South Hawkins from Crystal Lake

(Pictured: Drainage of the North Fork of San Gabriel River, as seen from South Mt. Hawkins). Hiked Wednes-day, July 13. I think I'm in denial about how long it's going to take to pack things up for my impending move, because I seem to get so little done, yet it's taking a long time. Lots of little things have been eating up my free time, so I hadn't gone hiking in about a week.

Today, I finally had a chance to do some hiking. Relatively late start, hitting the road by about 9:30am. Photocopied a page from my Tom Harrison map, but then promptly left it at home. That meant I was going to be walking somewhat blind.

My walking today started from the ranger shack at the Crystal Lake camp-ground. To get here, you take the 210 freeway, exit at Azusa (CA-39) and go north. You'll pass the Morris and San Gabriel Reservoirs (the former down about 25 feet from two months ago; the latter is still near the top of the bathtub ring) and the East Fork Road. Not long after the East Fork Road broke off to your right, there's a new sign announcing the presence of Crystal Lake Snack Bar, 14 miles ahead. So after driving the next 12 miles or so, as you're nearing the end of the open section of CA-39, a road (and, probably, a sign indicating the snack bar is open) will be on your right. Turn up that road. After two miles, the road more or less ends. The ranger shack (open on the weekends, I think) is on the left side of the lot. The snack bar is hard on your right. Residences appear to be further down the right. Parking for the snack bar is a soft right, while public parking for non-snack bar users is to your left.

You'll need an adventure pass. If you don't already have one, you can buy a day pass from the snack bar. Or, if you came up between Thursday and Sunday, you could have bought one from the entry station at the bottom of the mountain, or from a number of other vendors.

After parking, leaving my car, then returning because I forgot to hang my permit, I headed up the main road, which is now to your right. A locked gate blocks access to the actual camp-ground and trailhead parking lot, adding about 1/2 mile each way to the hike.

From this lot, I walked back past the ranger shack and turned right (north), up what seemed to me to be the main road. A locked gate was this way, as well, but I walked around it and continued north. In checking a map later, it seems I could also have continued past my lot and around a different gate, to my east--looks like they wind up at the same place, only the latter would be quicker.

Plenty of trees are still green and growing in the camp-ground, although some were affected by bark beetles and/or burned in a fire a number of years ago. Dead trees, standing and downed, become more common the higher you go.

I followed the main road (the one with the double-yellow lines) as it switch-backed up towards Windy Gap (which was visible in breaks between the trees). If I was certain about where the trailhead was, there's no doubt a more direct (albeit steeper) route to get to the trail. But because I wasn't sure, I took the scenic route.

Finally, at a point where the double-yellow lined road seemed to reach an apex, I found the trailhead sign, on my left. A large (but, because of the locked gates, inaccessible) parking lot was directly across the way, and a pit toilet was a bit above and to the right.

The earlier part of this trail starts off under the forest canopy, which, as noted earlier, is a mixture of growing, dead-standing, and dead-and-down trees. Even now, in mid-July, several seeps of water trickled across the stream in places, providing areas of verdant growth and flowering shrubs. With the altitude in the 6,000 foot range and temperatures unseasonably cool, the feel was very Sierra-like.

Windy Gap was up and a bit to my left. Initially, I planned to go to Windy Gap, then run east, along the ridge, to either Mt. Hawkins or on, to Throop Peak. However, when I reached a junction with South Hawkins Road, for some reason, that trail called my name. It's an old dirt road, and maybe I figured it was a surer route for someone walking without a map (although, of course, I have a fairly good idea of the layout of the peaks around here, and you're almost never out of sight of the Crystal Lake area).

The trail/road to South Mt. Hawkins is thus pretty hard to lose, although there are two significant washed-out sections that require a little care in traversing. There are also about a half-dozen places where fallen trees require ducking, climbing, or bypassing.

South Hawkins Road bears easterly, then curves to the south as you gain altitude. Before long, you've got a nice view of the Crystal Lake Basin. Mt. Islip is across the way. When you get a clear view to the south, the now-blue reservoirs behind San Gabriel and Morris Dams should be visible. Today, they were a little hazy, as a marine layer was heavy in the basin and scattered sunlight closer to the mountains.

You also get a nice view to the west, to the Mt. Wilson area. It's a different perspective from what you see in town. From the east, the flat area of Mt. Wilson is dotted with antenna and observatory buildings. Then, as you scan to the left, the mountain drops off noticeably before reaching the little outpost of antenna on Mt. Harvard. Of course, when viewed from town, Mt. Harvard (because it is closer) appears taller than Mt. Wilson, and the gap between them is less obvious.

Under clear skies, I imagine I ought to be able to see clear out to the ocean.

Along the southward stretch of this trail, I came across a number of flowers, including a cool yellow one I hadn't seen before.


When the trail finally turns to the east, you've got a straight-on view of South Hawkins, and a whole bunch of dead trees. Still, you've got several switchbacks and a bit more climbing to go. At the saddle, there's a trail junction, with another old dirt road heading north, skirting the Sheep Mountain Wilderness and heading towards Mt. Hawkins. Harrison says it's another .6 miles (the sign says .5 miles) to the South Hawkins lookout.

The trail actually circles around the summit, making a 360 degree-plus route to the top. Once at the top, the foundation and some burned lumber indicates where the lookout used to be. Under the lookout, charred glass, plastic, and steel is in several small piles.

Just east of the actual summit is a small radio communications shack with solar panels on the room. Between the shack and the lookout remains is the foundation of another structure. A toilet seat remains, mounted on top of a vault.

South Hawkins gives a pretty good view in all directions, making it a logical lookout location. Of course, views are clearest to the south, overlooking the drainage of the North Fork of the San Gabriel River (pictured at the top of this post). Trees partially obscure the view to the north and northwest, although Hawkins and Throop are visible that way. Baldy and friends are visible to the east. On the trail near the summit, views that way are dramatic, as the drop off from near South Hawkins into the Sheep Mountain Wilderness is dramatic and wide open.

Both the signage along the way and the Tom Harrison trail map give the distance of this trip as 4.8 miles each way, but that would be from the official trailhead. Add roughly an additional 2/5ths of a mile each way to get to the parking area near the ranger shack, so figure 10.0 - 10.5 miles total distance, and a little under 2,000 feet of vertical gain.

Had I gone to Mt. Hawkins instead of South Mt. Hawkins, my trip would have been about 1/2 mile longer each way, and had an additional 1,000 feet of elevation gain. I might try to fit that hike in on Friday.

In addition to the flowers and butterflies pictured in this post, I also saw a number of lizards, at least four species of rodents (grey squirrels, brown squirrels, antelope squirrels, and a chipmunk-looking rodent), lots of lizards and birds, one large deer (sprinting away and knocking rocks around by the time I saw him), and either a large fox or a small coyote. It looked too large to be a fox, but it had a long tail and an elongated body, like a fox. I was too busy digging for my camera to be sure.

Although I couldn't photograph the coyote, I did get a picture of a squirrel, which was calling out a loud and annoying warning as I passed. I don't know if he was warning about the coyote or about me.

Hike 2011.043 -- Idlehour Trail

Hiked Monday, July 4.

Despite an early start, my hike today was under uncomfort-ably hot weather, particularly given the distance (about 10.6 miles RT) and altitude change (about 2500 total altitude gain, including about 500 of that gained on the return from Idlehour to the Toll Road.

The trailhead I took was the Pinecrest access, which you reach by taking Altadena Drive north, a mile past the entrance for the Eaton Canyon Nature Center. Turn right on Crescent and park near the stop sign. Then walk an additional 1/8th of a mile on Pinecrest, to the gated entry. The gate is locked dusk to dawn, so don't park here if you plan to get back to your car after dark.

This is the same place you could park to access the eastern end of the Altadena Crest Trail, the trail to Eaton Canyon Falls, or the Trail to Henninger Flats and Mt. Wilson. For this hike, I followed the Mt. Wilson Toll Road through Henninger Flats, and an additional 1.1 miles past Henninger. There, where the road makes a sharp, 180 degree turn from north to south, is the beginning of the Idlehour Trail.

At this point, you will have traveled about 3.8 miles total from the trailhead and gained about 1700 feet. That's already not a bad short-day of hiking. Ahead of you is a slight decline, then a climb of about 300 feet over 1/4 mile. From there, you decline over the next 1.25 miles, your trail either follows contours or declines into ravines, eventually dropping you a total of about 1,000 feet by the time you reach Idlehour Camp.

At times, you've gone nice views of Mt. Wilson, to the north, and Mts. Lowe, Markham, and San Gabriel (Peak), the the northwest.

This section of trail is relatively narrow, though well-defined. There's also quite a bit of poison oak, so you'll want to keep your eyes on the trail as you walk. In several spots, flowers were thick with bees and butterflies. On drier areas, lizards scittered about

Idlehour Camp has several metal stoves, where fires are normally permitted, with a fire permit that you would have had to get at the Henninger Flat ranger station. A creek splashes noisily to the west. This is all part of Eaton Canyon, so if you were to bushwhack down this stream, you'd eventually wind up at the the top of one of Eaton Canyon's waterfalls. I made no attempt to do this, of course, because that hike would be long, tough, probably full of poison oak, and probably not possible without several dangerous rappels.

Alternative-ly, if you continued up the Idlehour trail, 3 miles and 1800 feet later, you'd reach the rail bed, right across the road from where the Sam Merrill reaches the railbed. A short hike from there would take you to Inspiration Point or Mt. Lowe (depending on which way you went).

This wouldn't be a very fun hike on a summer day, however. I was already feeling burned out by the time I got to Idlehour Camp. I just wanted to see what this area (which had been in the Station Fire Recovery Order) looked. It looked fine, by the way. I didn't see any evidence of significant fire damage. I'm sure that would change if I went further, because the upper section of this trail (in the West Fork of the San Gabriel River's headwaters) goes right through an area that looked like a moonscape last year.

I returned, hot and thirsty, to my car. On the way down, I saw (but did not photo-graph) a large buck, lurking in the shade of some trees, above the toll road, not far from where the Idlehour Trail reached it. It seems like I see deer in this area more often than not.

On the way up, just past Henninger, I passed a gopher snake. When I reached him, he had his head in a gopher hole. When he heard me, he pulled out his head and flicked his tongue in the air a few times. Then he slithered into the hole, which is how they get their name.

Off-Topic: Murray, Kentucky

Looks like a fairly high probability I'll be moving to Murray, Kentucky for the next school year. On the off-chance anyone who reads this has information they might want to share with me about the area, I'd welcome the feedback.

Probably leaving within three weeks, so I may be down to my last few hikes out here in southern California for a while.

There's a large national recreation area (Land Between the Lakes) near Murray, so I expect I'll be able to post those hikes in early August. Once the school year starts, hiking will be a little tougher, but I do hope to have time for some weekend trips around my new temporary home.

Chantry Flats Road Closed for Holiday

Just came across this story, reporting that Chantry Flats Road will be closed until Tuesday, July 5. Fire worries. I think they're afraid some moron will take their fireworks up there and set them off. So if you're planning to hike to Mt. Wilson Sunday or Monday, do NOT plan to start from Chantry Flats, regardless of how early a start you get.