EISPIRATEN

I'll work on finding software to overlay old aerials on Google Earth. In the meantime, here are a couple of additional photo clues. First from the Cates trip of 4/9/2008, a photo showing the artifacts seen in the 11/2009 Google Earth image, with the foundation wall at left and two trough or stove ap...

A musical tribute to Colin will be held on Saturday; not an official memorial but a group of friends playing music in memory.

Sean wrote: ↑Can you pull coordinates off that Google aerial?

Hi Sean-34.245717-118.182917

As some of you know, I am trying to come up with a plan of the Oakwilde Resort, ca. 1930s, perhaps leading to a ruins restoration project. I have made an appeal for photos, etc. and received some material that was helpful. One is a postcard of what I believe to be the east end of the resort [attache...

The LA County Medical Examiner now has a page up for Colin; here is the link, https://mec.lacounty.gov/case-detail/?c ... 2023-09482 . The cause of death is "Deferred" pending further investigation.

My current hypothesis on what happened. I think that Colin found the very nice 1933 aerial on FrameFinders showing what I believe to be a ca. 1925 switchback trail built by the City of Monrovia, that was more or less supplanted by a subsequent fire-break which ultimately became the main Clamshell Pe...

All indications are that he was recovered from the ravine where the marker is shown, on the west side of the main trail ridge. Until the autopsy report is issued, we won’t know cause of death; that may take up to 60 days. Basic information will be available free online at the Medical Examiner’s webs...

I contacted an acquaintance who likes to monitor SAR frequencies; for obvious reasons he shall remain nameless. At any rate he heard the discovery call the night of Tuesday 7/25; the coordinates given were 34.17985-117.99911. If you plug this in on next's days flight it looks like the attached. If y...

Per the Pasadena Star News this morning, Colin was found "300’ down a ravine in the [ANF]'s Lower Clamshell Area." My guess is, having done this myself, that he started following one of the old switchbacks to the west or east of the firebreak, took a chance on some ground and it gave way; ...

Some of our questions may be answered once we know the exact location where he was found.

Here is a 1933 aerial showing essentially the same view as the ca. 2021. Note how the old trail used switchbacks to overcome the very steep portion of the firebreak trail used today. I know Colin well enough to know he would have found this aerial and be interested in the old trail. One possibility ...

Here is a ca. 2021 view of the junction of the Clamshell and Four Palms Trails. It appears the Bobcat Fire made the Four Palms fall to pieces. On the What's App thread, though, we were told SAR was working this trail

The map of the helicopter path supplied by Dima centers on the junction of Clamshell Peak and Four Palm Trails. The helicopter circled; I assume it was waiting for the ground team to bring the remains to where the helicopter could lower the basket for the remains to be loaded; I doubt there was anyw...

Just so were clear on what trails are in play here, the Bill Cull Trail does not intersect with the Clamshell Peak Trail; the trail I believe participants are referring to is the Four Palms Trail. Here is a map showing the relationship of the three trails. It appears Colin was found near the junctio...

Colin working the Station Ridge Trail, 3/23/2018.

If Colin went up the trail towards Clamshell Peak, it appears it was his first ascent. For those not familiar with the ascent to Clamshell Peak from the trailhead where Colin left his car, Iron Hiker has a good report dating from 2014 with followups to 2019. A consistent theme is steepness, and the ...

FrameFinder, here is the link: https://mil.library.ucsb.edu/ap_indexes/FrameFinder/

Here is a 1941 description of the East Fork Trail from Will Thrall; Thrall used the trail for his "You Hike Today" a number of times in the 1930s.

Here is a 1938 aerial showing the switchback trail Sean is referring to. It is not visible on a 1928 nor a 1944 of the same area. Does the trail have a name?

Here are two contemporary newspaper articles re the crash, the first from the LA Times dated 9/27/1960,


the second from the San Bernardino Sun from the same date

A couple of shots of TBMs, one being loaded with retardant in 1959 and the second supposedly the same one that crashed with a different FAA number.

WOW!! Kudos and 1/2 for this; thanks for your perseverance!

Files containing written material, photos and maps that Robinson used in creating his histories, trail guides, etc., about 10 bankers boxes worth. For me as a trail historian it is fairly valuable stuff. For example, based on "outake" photos in the archive I am close to being able to produ...

Thanks for the article, Paul. This is a different one. Macha talks about it on page 53 of his book: https://books.google.com/books?id=nhR3C ... &q&f=false I haven't gone up there yet, but that could be fun. According to that book, the big stuff was pulled out for salvage, but lots of small ...

Hi Dima-came across this newspaper article while researching John Robinson’s files at USC; do you think it’s the same crash? Location differs and the date of the article is 11/1944. I am scheduled to go back there next week and will copy whole article.

I guess the only thing that makes sense is that there is a spring there and they were planning to pump water down to Valley Forge.

Tremendous!

Well they would have a world of work up Fern Canyon.
Fern Canyon DD #1.

What is interesting is that there is no sign of the trail prior to the 1956 aerial; it is not on the 1944 11-22-1944.jpg nor on the 1952 11-3-1952.jpg and it doesn't seem to go anywhere but down to the floor of the canyon where it appears to stop. I begin to believe it was a built to facilitate a sp...

Thanks Dima, didn't look at the 1956, just earlier aerials. Doesn't look like the trail/road goes anywhere, just goes into Valley Forge Canyon and dies.