The Haramakngna American Indian Cultural Center is having a hike-a-thon Saturday on National Trails Day to raise money for the Center. If you can make it, they will be hiking the Gabrieleno Trail from Red Box to the Valley Forge Campground. If not, consider making a donation to their cause. Wherever you are tomorrow, Happy National Trails Day!
Gabrieleno Trail between Red Box and Valley Forge Campground
Last Saturday, the view of large patches of interesting cloud patterns in an otherwise blue sky along the 210 freeway heading toward Angeles Crest Highway already indicated the possibility that our hike to Mt. Islip would be weather enhanced. By the time we (family and friends) passed Cloudburst Summit we were driving in and out of the clouds we saw rolling in from below. From the trailhead at Islip Saddle the temperature gauge on the car dashboard read 36 degrees F. At that point I knew we were in for a treat.
It didn’t take long hiking up the Pacific Crest Trail heading to Windy Gap to find ourselves walking into the cloudy mist.
About to enter the cloudy mist along the Pacific Crest Trail
At first the mist wasn’t as moist or dense as I thought it would be as I headed into it. Prior to reaching Little Jimmy Campground, I met a PCT thru-hiker (trail name Viper) who mentioned his water froze overnight. While I felt a little bad for Viper enduring such an unexpected cold snap this time of year, I found myself hopeful that something interesting would be lurking up above.
Light cloudy mist along the Pacific Crest Trail before reaching Little Jimmy.
Typically I really enjoy the trek along the Islip Ridge Trail with excellent views into the Crystal Lake Basin. However, the weather made this stretch of our hike even more magnificent. By the time we had reached above 7600′ there was more moisture in the air, it felt colder, and ice had formed in the trees (but not on the ground).
Ice in the pine needles
The increased cloud density made depth perception more prominent than usual and the dead trees took on a more delineated character with ice clinging to their branches.
Ice clinging to the branches of dead trees standing out in the grey mist.
At times there was so much ice in the trees it looked like it snowed.
Icy Trees
But the ice that fell to the ground proved that it didn’t actually snow.
Ice on the ground that fell beneath the trees.
Near the summit the sun broke through the clouds.
The sun breaking through the clouds with little patches of blue sky and icy trees.
Above 8100′ we passed through the clouds yielding a dramatic view of ice covered trees against the blue sky–especially colorful after trekking through the grey mist for some time.
The view looking up to the sky as we passed above the clouds that continued to flow around the mountain below the summit.
View of the clouds coming in from the south and making their way around the summit of Mt. Islip
View from Mt. Islip looking toward the Mojave Desert as the clouds flowed around Mt. Islip and broke up into smaller formations as they made their way north.
View walking down through the clouds on the Islip Ridge Trail
Instead of returning to Windy Gap, we took the Mt. Islip Trail down to Little Jimmy and found ourselves in an area free from the clouds as they flowed over Windy Gap and Islip Saddle breaking up as they continued moving north.
View along the Mt. Islip Trail connecting the Islip Ridge Trail and Little Jimmy.
As we made it back down the Pacific Crest Trail we found ourselves in the sun most of the way with great views of the Mojave Desert. Looking down the trail however, we saw clouds making their way over Islip Saddle.
View heading down the Pacific Crest Trail looking toward Islip Saddle
At Islip Saddle we found ourselves walking through the cloudy mist one more time before making it to our cars. Along the drive home we passed in and out of the clouds driving down Angeles Crest Highway until we passed Cloudburst Summit once again returning below the clouds until we engage in another trip like this.
View from the Pacific Crest Trail as we are about to enter the clouds one last time before making it to our cars.
About 41,000 acres of Angeles Forest previously closed due to the Station Fire was re-opened by the Forest Service today. The re-opening covers a large area of Big Tujunga Canyon south of Big Tujunga Dam. Notable re-openings include the Stone Canyon Trail, Trail Canyon Trail, and the Delta Flat Recreation Areas.
When hiking in these areas beware of the Poodle Dog Bush, which releases a toxin that causes most people to suffer an itchy rash reaction similar in some ways to poison oak.
Poodle Dog Bush–which blooms purple flowers at certain times during the year.
Hikes with significant elevation gain guarantee a diversity of landscape to trek through. Obviously this is due to the micro-climates created largely by the difference in altitude that one moves through on the way to the high point of the journey. While the amount and character of the diversity is clearly tied to numerous other factors, meaningful differences are assured. Having taken several Environmental Science courses in college, none of that surprised me. I find experiencing this diversity to be wonderful and the specific details naturally have unforeseen aspects to them. Of course, prior to beginning my weekly hikes in 2011, I wasn’t aware of the what was in Angeles Forest, or things like how high the mountains reach–which is why I started this blog. However, the overall idea wasn’t new for me. The first time I planned a hike with over 2,000 feet of gain, I new I would see diversity.
Unexpected for me was my personal discovery (countless others have known this long ago) that at certain times these differences being so close together become more magnified than seen on a typical day. Weather , for example, will impact these areas differently creating interesting edge conditions and small areas of dramatic difference that can be experienced on a day hike. I first came to this understanding unintentionally on a hike from the Cobb Estate to Mt. Lowe in February 2011.
Starting at the Cobb Estate, the ground was dry and it was a little cloudy. The clouds were pretty high though and while hiking up the Lower Sam Merrill Trail it was easy to see Downtown Los Angeles and the ocean off in the distance. The weather report showed zero percent chance of rain, and the clouds high above the mountain didn’t appear threatening or reachable. At Echo Mountain (about 1400′ of gain up from the Cobb Estate), Inspiration Point–another 1300′ in elevation was visible. This was pretty typical so far and I didn’t take any pictures. At Inspiration Point, the view out was still great, but the view up Mt. Lowe was blocked by clouds. Before making it to the summit, I found myself in snow, literally in the clouds, and feeling an ultra light mist.
At the Summit, I thought about how the mist felt like walking in fog along the ocean. However, walking up into the clouds and snow from the city below made the overall experience different. Less than 500 feet lower down the mountain, the city below was still in sunlight, the trail had no snow and one could see as far off as the ocean. While it did take hiking over 3,000 feet of gain to reach the clouds, the idea that they were reachable from below was exhilarating. Never before had such an obstructed view been so appealing to me.
Being in the clouds and not being able to see out naturally caused me to focus more on what was immediately around me. I saw many interesting things I hadn’t paid much attention to in the past because I was so blown away by the view outward. For example, I found the composition of some rocks and vegetation to be very beautiful standing out against the grey background.
That experience taught me to pay more attention to what I’m trekking through on future hikes and to stop more often and take some pictures of interesting details along the way. On a later hike, I searched out the same composition and photographed it with the view of Mt. Wilson in the background.
On the way down the mountain along the East Mt. Lowe Trail, the clouds were significantly lower. The mist started to feel a little stronger and I started to wonder if it was going to rain and if the sun was still shinning down on the city below.
At about 1000 feet lower than the clouds were on my ascent, I broke through them along the Middle Sam Merrill Trail. It took about 5 minutes to move through the edge condition between being in the clouds and not. After walking through the cloudy grey for hours, I now had a view of both the grey fuzzy edge of those clouds and out to the sunlit mountainside across the canyon.
As I made my way downward, the shadowy view of Echo Mountain emerged with the sunlit view of the city beyond. As I stood and took in that view, I’d look back up the mountain to see the view of the mountain top blocked by the clouds. Then I’d look out and see that the cloud cover went out into the distance about as far as Downtown Los Angeles. The light was making it to the lower part of these mountains due to the low angle of the sun.. The cloud cover then felt like nature’s grand cantilevered roof jutting out from the mountain top.
On another hike in early March 2011 up the Mt. Lowe Railway Trail, I found patches of snow on the trail and Mt. Lowe in view below the clouds.
By the time I made it to the north side of Mt. Lowe along the Upper Sam Merrill Trail, I was ankle deep in snow and close to the clouds. Markham Saddle was still visible, but San Gabriel Peak and Mt. Markham were in the clouds. At that point, I knew Mt. Lowe would be in the clouds too.
In late March 2011 on a hike on the Sam Merrill Trail to Inspiration Point, the clouds were low and not much higher than Echo Mountain.
Uniquely, the most interesting view for me that day was of Inspiration Point through the cloud mist instead of out from it to the city below.
In April 2011, I again hiked up to Mt. Lowe via the Sam Merrill Trail. Along the upper Sam Merrill Trail, I got interested in how the clouds helped emphasize depth and made some tree branches look further away than they do in sunlight.
This time after I made my way back down below the clouds I looked up to see the sun shine through the clouds. The thin layer of clouds blocking a direct view of the sun and muting it’s light made the sun easier to see as a light bulb is when viewed through a lamp shade. Not wanting to hurt my eyes by staring at it, I looked at it through my camera lens and took many pictures like the one below that look a little like an abstract painting.
I found the color of the sunset when viewed after so many hours in the grey of the clouds to be even more beautiful–especially as the darkness of the clouds were also in view.
Seeing the sun descending through the clouds and it’s light now able to shine directly onto the landscape I was hiking on caused me to spend more time contemplating my own experience being able to see out into the distance once I had descended through the clouds. I stopped for a while to enjoy the moment.
I was almost down the mountain when the sun was setting behind the mountains beyond. Even when it was out of my sight for the day, the indirect light in the sky lit my way and allowed me to see further into the landscape than I was able to do while in the clouds during the afternoon. I found the juxtaposition of experiences while hiking during a single day to be wonderful.
On a hike along the San Gabriel Peak Trail to San Gabriel Peak in December 2011, I found myself above the clouds with a view I’ve only seen from an airplane. The opportunity to walk through them was there, I just didn’t have the time that day. Now that I know it’s possible, walking through the clouds is high on my list of experiences to seek out.
I now see the mountains and the clouds differently. When I’m in the city, I look up to see how high the clouds are up the mountain. Could there be an interesting opportunity to interact with them–walk into them, above them, or through them?
The Castle Canyon Trail connects Echo Mountain to Inspiration Point. So, you need to reach one of those two end points from another trail to hike Castle Canyon. One way to get to the Castle Canyon trail is to start from the Cobb Estate and hike up to Echo Mountain using the Lower Sam Merrill Trail.
Like the Lower Sam Merrill Trail, Castle Canyon begins without shade.
However, a large part of the trail is shady and even meets up with a small stream in a couple places (that may not have water in summer).
After enough rain or snow, a seasonal waterfall (or water-trickle) emerges.
The trail starts at an elevation of about 3200′ and reaches close to 4500′ and will sometimes be covered in snow. Usually, just enough snow to make it interesting and hike-able without snowshoes or crampons. So, several times during winter or spring you can park at the Cobb Estate in Altadena and fairly quickly hike up to snow along this trail (2-1/2 to 4-1/2 miles from parking depending on snow level).
Unlike the Lower Sam Merrill trail where at any time you can look out to views of the city, much of the time the view of the canyon and what is surrounding you on the trail is introspective and is blocked from city views.
At other times there are great views of the city and of Echo Mountain from above.
A significant portion of the trail gets a little steep compared with the rest of the trail–which is great if you are training. Even if you aren’t training, the reward of making it to Inspiration Point is worth the effort. At Inspiration Point there is shade, picnic tables, signage with history of the area, and remnants of the old one man and mule railway.
On a clear day, there are excellent views down the canyon and of the city, the ocean, and Catalina Island.
Hiking Angeles Forest 