Snow Hiking In Los Angeles: Angeles Crest To Mt. Hillyer

Posted on January 14, 2016 by Kyle Kuns

I made it up the mountain for my first snowshoeing hike of the year last Friday (January 8th). Not knowing exactly what to expect, I left my house without a concrete plan of where I wanted to go. Basically, I wanted to go somewhere I had not been before in the snow. I also wanted to go somewhere lower than the places that are almost guaranteed to be in snow most of the winter (e.g. Mt. Baldy). This being an El Nino year, I expect to get out to the snow often and on this day I really wanted to snowshoe from start to finish.

Upper Gate area of Chilao Flats. If it’s deep enough to snowshoe there, it will be deep enough all the way to the summit.

So, I headed up Angeles Crest Highway hoping something great would reveal itself and it did. As I passed the lower entrance to Chilao Flats, I noticed the gate was open. This got me thinking about going to Mt. Hillyer. When I drove past the upper entrance, it was clear that the snow was deep enough to snowshoe from Angeles Crest Highway. Although the upper gate was also open, the road wasn’t plowed and it probably was not driveable without snow tires or chains. As a result, I doubled back a bit and parked in one of the plowed areas off Angeles Crest Highway between Devil’s Canyon (not plowed) and the upper gate.

First one up the Silver Moccasin Trail, I enjoyed making my way through the fresh powdery snow.

Although a couple other people also were snowshoeing the road down to the trailhead, I was fortunate enough to be the first person to head up the Silver Moccasin Trail toward Horse Flats. Normally, numerous people beat me to the trailhead and I have their tracks to follow. Since I only hike areas in the snow that I’ve hiked several times before, I had the confidence to proceed knowing I wouldn’t get off trail (or at least not too far off trail). It’s also true that this area is much flatter and comprised of more rolling type hills than most other areas in the forest. Therefore, even if I ended up off the trail I could have a great day wandering around and find my way back by retracing the footsteps I was creating in the fairly deep snow. So, I thoroughly enjoyed the crisp sound of creating fresh footprints and the pristine visual of undisturbed snow.

One of the narrower parts of the trail. Note the vegetation that serves as somewhat of a guardrail.

This is a great area to visit in the snow because the terrain is comparatively flat for the San Gabriel Mountains, it is reasonably wide in most places (so you can snowshoe effectively and if you fall it won’t be down the side of a mountain), and is fairly well protected when narrow. I forgot my trekking poles and ended up falling a few times when my snowshoes got tangled up (it’s amazing how subconscious fixing that situation without falling has become for me when I have my poles). As a result, this is also a significantly safer area to traipse through the snow than the narrower trails with steep drop-offs to at least one side.

An expansive view from the Mt. Hillyer Trail looking toward Mt. Waterman and Twin Peaks. That I could look back and see each of my footprints defined in the snow instead of a rugged long depression recording multiple journeys by others before me made stepping in the undisturbed snow feel even more special.

The Mt. Hillyer Trail between Horse Flats and Mt. Hillyer is among my favorites in the forest. I like the expansive views across long distances to peaks in all directions.

The prevalence of partial snow covered large boulders, snowy trees, and constantly changing great views make the Mt. Hillyer Trail continuously inspiring all the way to the summit.

The prevalence of partial snow covered large boulders, snowy trees, and constantly changing great views make this trail continuously inspiring all the way to the summit.

I find the seemingly endless outcrops of boulders to be magnificent. In snow, the varying degree to which the boulders become snow covered and emphasize the color of the rock combined with the melting water lines (and sometimes icy stalactites hanging down) create a natural sculptural garden of immense beauty. It feels as though each turn in the trail yields something new and beautiful to behold. To provide a sense of scale, the boulders are large enough that mountaineers (I’m not sure of what level) come here to practice rock climbing. I’ve been on the trail at times where I saw more people climbing rocks than hiking.

One of my favorite outcrops which helped guide me up the mountain in the snow. There is a great ledge with a magnificent view on the other side that is fun to climb up to (even for a non-mountaineer like myself) when it’s dry.

I should point out that previous knowledge of the various boulder outcrops (the one pictured above being one of my favorite places in the forest) helped guide me up the mountain to my intended destination. I’m not sure how I would have done without that prior knowledge. Although I think I would have made it anyway, I also believe anyone journeying up this part of the trail would have a great time even if the peak wasn’t reached.

View from Mt. Hillyer.

As much as I love the trail to the summit, I’m the first to admit the peak itself is a bit of a disappointment–especially when compared with most other peaks in the range. For myself, however, snow manages to improve the experience significantly because the surrounding views stand out more due to contrast provided by the temporary whiteness, tracks in the snow add some nice texture to the fire charred and somewhat barren peak, and the vegetation that rises above the ground pops against the whiteness instead of blending into the dirt. As a result, the snow cover yields a meaningfully less cluttered look than the somewhat clumpy dry landscape filled with a prevalence of scattered burnt tree branches that normally provides groundcover in this burn area.

One of the long views across one of the flatter portions of the Mt. Hillyer Trail.

As I made my way back down the trail, I enjoyed the intermixing of flat parts, mildly graded parts, somewhat steep parts (but not steep enough to require me to use elevators on my snowshoes on the way up), parts with boulder formations, parts without and so on. For such a short trail between Horse Flats and Mt. Hillyer, I found the almost checkerboard degree of variation–especially in snow–to be so stimulating I was almost disappointed to make it down the mountain.

The Silver Moccasin Trail in the late afternoon showing the record of trips made by others during the day. Without snow, I wouldn’t have known anyone else was on this part of the trail on this day.

Until about half way down the Mt. Hillyer Trail, mine were still the only footsteps I saw (except for wildlife). When I did see others (a few humans and a dog–perhaps just one small group), the snow still remained deep enough throughout to enjoy snowshoeing. When I made it back down to the Silver Moccasin Trail, the beginnings of a long rugged depression recording the journey of many others had formed. In a few spots (perhaps 5 steps at a time), the combination of south facing terrain and enough people walking on the trail yielded a depression deep enough to reach dirt. Aside from 20 to 25 steps overall at the end of the day, I was really happy to be wearing my snowshoes throughout.

Track map from Angeles Crest Highway to Mt. Hillyer using Backcountry Navigator (US Forest Service-2013 map) from my phone.

Follow this link for step by step instructions from the obvious trailhead found by following the road down as shown on the map above. Follow the links below for additional photos:

Silver Moccasin Trail: Upper Chilao Flats to Horse Flats

Mt. Hillyer Trail

Mt. Hillyer

Snow Hiking In Los Angeles: The Mt. Waterman Trail

Posted on December 18, 2014 by Kyle Kuns

After several days of rain, there are several options for snow hiking in Angeles National Forest right now. Last Sunday I enjoyed one of them. There was deep enough snow at the Mt. Waterman trailhead that I was able to snowshoe ¹ the entire way from Angeles Crest Highway to the summit. I read on the Mt. Baldy Facebook Page that the ski lift area received another 8″-10″ of snow Tuesday night and that they will open up Thunder Mountain with the understanding that the snow is extremely thin in some areas. So, there’s enough snow on our mountains right now to support a good range of winter fun.

View from Mt. Waterman

Mt. Waterman is a great place to snow hike for most all skill levels because it’s not as steep as most snow covered options in Angeles National Forest ² and it doesn’t have the kind of sketchy areas many of the other trails have. Even where the trail is a little thin with a significant drop to one side; the trail is still wider, the drop is less steep, and the drop isn’t as far as most other trails high enough in elevation to be covered in snow.

One of the more “sketchy” parts of the Mt. Waterman Trail. Comparatively tame when compared to other trails nearby.

For the most part, the trail is comfortably wide with an easy grade which makes it a perfect place to snowshoe as there aren’t many awkward areas where the size of the snowshoes makes moving forward tricky. In fact, there are lots of more flat and open areas which I find very appealing in the snow.

View toward Mt. Waterman from the last saddle area before the summit.

Among the many winter treats experienced hiking this trail at this time of year is to see the stream flowing down the mountain which is dry most of the year. Traversing this trail soon after the storm meant the ice was still falling from the trees. The sound of that along with the interesting patterns on the ground below the trees was an added bonus.

Seasonal stream along the Mt. Waterman Trail.

I find the snowy version of the summit even more dramatic than it is the rest of the year. The color of the trees–especially their bark–stands out more against the contrasting white snow. The partially snow covered portions of the plethora of granite outcrops helps to emphasize the varying formations being created due to the weathering process. I also find the warmth from the sun as I move out of the shade in the winter to be of larger impact than the coolness of the shade on a summer’s day.

View from Mt. Waterman

The area of the summit of Mt. Waterman is larger than most peaks in Angeles National Forest . As a result, it yields many different perspectives and can be reached by several different routes that lead to the peak.

The steeper approach to Mt. Waterman from the east.

The one described here is one of the two options coming from the east. There is a split in the trail just past the last saddle before the summit that allows a steeper more direct approach and leads to the more spatially constrained eastern area of the peak. Here, views are long but always partially blocked by trees and large granite outcrops which often give the feeling of being walls.

View looking out toward Mt. Baldy from the more constrained eastern end of the peak.

Continuing west along the trail that runs the length of the summit (the summit is long enough to call the path a trail), the landscape opens up dramatically providing an expansive view of the more open and flat middle section of the peak which is also directly accessed from the longer gentler approach from the east ³.

View looking west on Mt. Waterman.

Since I wasn’t going to make this a loop hike by taking the road back, I turned around and headed back the way I came enjoying the constantly changing views of almost the entire high country of Angeles National Forest.

On of my favorite views of the high country of Angeles National Forest as seen from the Mt. Waterman Trail.

The following other snow hikes I’ve posted in this series should be covered in some amount on snow for a while now (baring an unforeseen heat wave).

The Pacific Crest Trail from Angeles Crest to Mt. Islip

The Pacific Crest Trail from Vincent Gap to Mt. Baden-Powell (presently only accessible from Wrightwood because Angeles Crest Highway is closed between Islip Saddle and Vincent Gap for the winter).

The Baldy Bowl Trail

Notes:

I didn’t actually need snowshoes to hike this trail on this day. Sure, near the summit even the snowshoes sunk about 4″ into the snow. So, it was nice and extra fun for me to have them. However, one could just “post hole” it–preferably with tall gaiters. That’s what I did when I started snow hiking. However, I had an experience at Mt. Hawkins where the trail got icy and very slippery forcing me to turn back earlier than I wanted because I started slipping on the snow instead of sinking into it. I knew I needed to get some equipment to counteract that issue. At the time, I bought snowshoes because they helped with both icy conditions and make travelling in deep snow more enjoyable. Later I learned about microspikes which are great to help with icy conditions and work better than snowshoes when the snow isn’t deep. I now carry both microspikes and snowshoes when I snow hike. There were others wearing snowshoes, some with micro-spikes, and a lot more just wearing hiking boots. My friend Etienne was even trying out hiking with his skis to prepare for an upcoming snow touring trip. ↩
Only 1,250′ of gain over three miles to the summit for an average of just over 415′ per mile. Compare with Islip Saddle to Mt. Islip at over 570′ per mile, Vincent Gap to Mt. Baden-Powell at over 740′ per mile, or the Baldy Bowl Trail to Mt. Baldy at over 930′ per mile. ↩
The more gentle approach is taken by continuing straight at the fork after the last saddle before the peak (instead of going up the steeper trail on the left). This lower path eventually reaches another obvious junction where a left turn leads to the middle portion of the peak. This lower path eventually widens to road width and leads to the road at the west end of the peak. The road at the west end of the peak is also accessible from the higher trail and leads back down to Angeles Crest Highway. The lower path also leads to a lesser known middle path with a seasonal stream that meanders down the mountain eventually terminating in a ski run that needs to be crossed to reach the road that leads down to the highway. It’s probably best to avoid that middle route when skiers are present. ↩

Snow Hiking In Los Angeles: Vincent Gap to Mt. Baden Powell

Posted on November 8, 2014 by Kyle Kuns

The last days of October finally brought some rain to Los Angeles. This first storm of the season yielded enough precipitation to allow for a substantial snow hike. However, I wasn’t sure of that when I left my house last Sunday hoping to find myself in a winter wonderland. As a result, I headed up Angeles Crest Highway with several options in mind for potential snow hikes. Although I thought it was possible I might find very little snow, I brought my microspikes and snowshoes with me so that if I found icy or deep snow I wouldn’t need to turn back as I did last year above Limber Pine Bench.

View from the summit trail leading up to Mt. Baden-Powell.

I decided to hike the Pacific Crest Trail from Vincent Gap to Mt. Baden-Powell. This was in part due to the fact that I hadn’t hiked that section of the PCT in snow yet. Also, while I could see the peaks along the way were in snow, their associated trailheads were not. With Mt. Baden-Powell (at 9,399′ in elevation) being the highest peak reasonably accessible as a day hike from Angeles Crest Highway, I felt the trek from Vincent Gap would give me the best shot of being continuously in snow deep enough to sink into without reaching soil. It turned out to be a good decision.

With the exception of a small stretch along a ridge, numerous switchbacks connect Vincent Gap to Mt. Baden-Powell.

This section of the Pacific Crest Trail is moderately strenuous and is used by many as an early season training hike for the Mt. Whitney Trail. The key reasons for that are; the trail is at high elevation, it follows a large number of switchbacks up one face of the mountain similar to the path covering the 99 switchbacks from Trail Camp to Trail Crest, and it has an average grade of 750′ per mile which is steeper than the 590′ per mile average grade of the Mt. Whitney Trail. What makes this hike moderate is it’s comparatively short length of 7.6 miles round trip.

One of the few flatter areas of this section of the PCT provides a good place to make gear changes.

The trail is well maintained and was easy to follow in the snow throughout. It is also a popular trail, so there were numerous people there before me whose footsteps also helped to lead the way. Although there was no snow at the trailhead, about a mile and a half up the trail the snow was deep enough to provide a continuous hard packed ground cover. At that point I stopped to put on my microspikes. With the sun melting the ice from the trees, it sometimes felt like it was lightly raining as I walked under them.

View toward the Mojave Desert from the Pacific Crest Trail.

The switchback nature of the hike makes changes of views to be mostly about getting a higher perspective of the same panorama or up close changes in the dominant species of pine tree that takes place with elevation gain (Lodgepole and Limber Pine being my favorites on this trail).

Limber Pines in the cloudy mist

A little over halfway up the trail I found myself moving from sunlight into clouds as they were making their way around the mountain and heading out over the Mojave Desert below. Visibility now being low, I found myself preoccupied with the snow and icicles which had formed differently on the trees, branches, and needles. The colorful bark of the limber pines stood out more against a grey background and icy snow covered needles.

Slight mist in the air softened and enhanced the view up toward the sun

Most of the rest of the way up the mountain involved constant transitioning between being in the clouds with low visibility to moving outside of them into the sunlight with a long view out to the desert below. Numerous pockets of differing degrees of mist between those extremes yielded subtly lit landscapes with engrossing interplays of sunbeams, light, and shadow.

Heavy mist from the clouds makes the Wally Waldron Tree and Mt. Baden-Powell barely discernible.

Heavy mist from the clouds makes the Wally Waldron Tree (center of photo) and Mt. Baden-Powell barely discernible.

The day was filled with dramatic visual experiences as the clouds sometimes moved swiftly over and around the mountain. A stunning example occurred over a five minute period as I approached and reached the Wally Waldron Tree. At first I could barely see it through the dense mist of the clouds and Mt. Baden-Powell was barely discernible.

Five minutes later the lower clouds moved away opening the sky to the sun.

Within five minutes I was at the Wally Waldron Tree and the lower clouds had already moved away opening up the view to a misty sunny sky.

Within five minutes the clouds moved away allowing the sun to break through. Still a little misty and softening the view of the sun, the difference was intensely uplifting. The splash of blue, the snow appearing more white than grey, and the view of the peak beyond were striking developments over so short a time period.

View looking south from Mt. Baden-Powell.

It was clear and the air was surprisingly still on the peak given how fast clouds were swirling around it. Although the view out was blocked these clouds (I couldn’t even see Mt. Baldy), the drama of the quickly changing light and cloud shapes made the experience wonderfully exceptional.

Sun breaking through and softened by the mist on the way back down the mountain.

The trip back down the mountain provided similar experiences as the clouds never burned off while I was there. It was another phenomenal day on the mountain. Days like this always leave me thankful that I discovered this forest in Los Angeles which is just as easy to get to for many Angelenos as the beach is.

Additional photos: Mt. Baden-Powell, Pacific Crest Trail.

Snow Hiking In Los Angeles: Mt. Islip

Posted on March 18, 2013 by Kyle Kuns

Two weeks ago it snowed as low as 3,000 feet in Los Angeles. Last week temperatures got into the 90’s for a couple days (what happened to spring?). I hiked up to Mt. Lowe with Scott last Tuesday and saw no remains of snow on the north slopes. I realized that without another storm, I might only have one more chance to hike in snow this year. So, I drove up to Islip Saddle and hiked the Pacific Crest Trail to Mt. Islip on Sunday. There was no snow at the trailhead and at first I thought I was too late.

Pacific Crest Trail near Islip Saddle. (click to enlarge).

Pacific Crest Trail near Islip Saddle Trailhead. (click to enlarge).

By a quarter mile into the hike snow appeared as I traveled on the north slopes. It was of the icy variety so I put on my microspikes.

Icy snow on the Pacific Crest Trail between Islip Saddle and Little Jimmy Campground.

Throughout the day the presence of snow was uneven. At times almost completely melted away.

Pacific Crest Trail between Islip Saddle and Little Jimmy.

At other times snow was abundant. However, it almost always had an icy feel to it. When I reached Little Jimmy Campground, I enjoyed seeing that a Boy Scout Troop had camped overnight. I’m really looking forward to backpacking this year starting with my upcoming Grand Canyon trip the first week in April.

Pacific Crest Trail between Islip Saddle and Little Jimmy. (click to enlarge).

By the time I made it around the north face of Mt. Islip the snow was essentially gone with only small patches remaining. So, I took off my microspikes until my return.

Pacific Crest Trail at Windy Gap.

The presence of at least some snow along parts of the trail without a north facing orientation enhanced the view as I made my way to Mt. Islip.

View from the Islip Ridge Trail. (click to enlarge).

While there wasn’t snow on the trail for the entire hike, there was enough to enjoy and feel like it was more of a snow hike than not. I took my time on this one and savored what could be the last remnants of this unusually dry winter. If we do get another storm soon, at over 6,600 feet in elevation at the trailhead, this trail is bound to get more snow.

Snow Hiking In Los Angeles: Gabrieleno Trail

Posted on February 16, 2013 by Kyle Kuns

For awhile I’ve wanted to find more snow hikes that don’t have so much snow on the trail that snowshoes are required and aren’t so steep that microspikes or crampons are required. We had a short snow storm last week with snow levels getting down to around 2,500 feet yielding a great opportunity for me to find another one. So, last Saturday I went to Red Box and snow hiked the Gabrieleno Trail from Red Box to Valley Forge. This trail turned out to work so well to snow hike in just my waterproof trail runners that I snow hiked it again with a group of friends and family the following day. The San Gabriel River also runs next to this trail and crosses it at several points.

Red Box is at about 4,600 feet in altitude and Valley Forge is at about 3,500 feet. These elevations are important as they are high enough to receive snow several times a year and low enough for the snow to melt within around a week of clear skies with lingering patches on the north slopes a little longer. While the snow is pretty much gone right now, another storm is expected Tuesday and Wednesday with expected snow levels forecasted to once again get down into the 3,000 foot range. This is a great introductory snow hike especially for those just wanting to experience the snow without needing special equipment. Click on any image below to start a slideshow.