My gf and I went camping Tuesday 5/26 through Thursday 5/28 in the San Gabriels. 8) The 1st day we drove around, first we went to the summit of Mount Pacifico. There we ate our lunch and spent a while climbing on all the large rock piles. Some of them are pretty large and difficult to get up. My gf took a class at her school on rock climbing (top roping) recently and we were going to practice setting up anchors and rappeling down this massive rock pile we found but there was no easy way up to the top of it. We made it up without our gear but it would have been really difficult with our backpacks on so we decided against it. From Mount Pacifico we went to horse flats, we were going to climb on the boulders up there but my gf freaked out when we saw a large rattlesnake there. Next we went to Buckhorn where we camped the 1st night. That evening we hiked down to Cooper Canyon Falls, this is a really nice hike I just wish we would have done it back when the snow was melting. Later at night about 10:30 we drove around looking for animals we spotted 4 deer along the ACH. The next day we drove around and hiked a little here and there, we went up to Windy gap and Little Jimmy spring. At Little Jimmy spring the flow seemed pretty good. Later in the day around 3 we backpacked down to Cabin Flat Campground near Pararie Fork. It was really overgrown, but we did manage to find a campsite right near the creek. Cabin Flat is a really nice area. The next morning we woke up at 5 am with plans to hike to the East fork and down it a ways. We searched around for the trail that goes down to vincent fork and mine gulch from there but were extremely dissapointed to find that it was extremely overgrown and bushy. This ended our plans, the trail looked impassable for most people but if you were really ambitious I think you could find a way through but my gf isnt that type so we turned around. Since we didnt end up hiking we just relaxed at the campsite for a little while then packed up and made the hike out in the direct sunlight which was miserable. By the way Parare fork looks like it had pretty good flow and the water is really clean looking and clear, such a beautiful stream. Once we got back to the car we cooked ourselves something to eat and then we were off. We decided to drive down Big Pines Highway to the desert and do a little offroading and then we took the 15 home. All and all we had a great trip , my only regreat was that we couldnt explore down in the upper east fork area. Oh well there will be other times.
Prairie Fork is one of my favorite areas in the S.G.s. I've managed with much pain (induced by ceanothus and nettles primarily) to travel west to Vincent/Mine Gulch and East to Cabin Flat. Eastbound was a climb over and scramble down the ridge just West of Cabin Flat. Westbound, I followed the remains of the roadbed before picking up a game trail, dumping me back in the ceanothus. Your GF definitely had the right idea.
brian90620 wrote:My gf and I went camping Tuesday 5/26 through Thursday 5/28 in the San Gabriels. 8) The 1st day we drove around, first we went to the summit of Mount Pacifico. There we ate our lunch and spent a while climbing on all the large rock piles. Some of them are pretty large and difficult to get up. My gf took a class at her school on rock climbing (top roping) recently and we were going to practice setting up anchors and rappeling down this massive rock pile we found but there was no easy way up to the top of it. We made it up without our gear but it would have been really difficult with our backpacks on so we decided against it. From Mount Pacifico we went to horse flats, we were going to climb on the boulders up there but my gf freaked out when we saw a large rattlesnake there. Next we went to Buckhorn where we camped the 1st night. That evening we hiked down to Cooper Canyon Falls, this is a really nice hike I just wish we would have done it back when the snow was melting. Later at night about 10:30 we drove around looking for animals we spotted 4 deer along the ACH. The next day we drove around and hiked a little here and there, we went up to Windy gap and Little Jimmy spring. At Little Jimmy spring the flow seemed pretty good. Later in the day around 3 we backpacked down to Cabin Flat Campground near Pararie Fork. It was really overgrown, but we did manage to find a campsite right near the creek. Cabin Flat is a really nice area. The next morning we woke up at 5 am with plans to hike to the East fork and down it a ways. We searched around for the trail that goes down to vincent fork and mine gulch from there but were extremely dissapointed to find that it was extremely overgrown and bushy. This ended our plans, the trail looked impassable for most people but if you were really ambitious I think you could find a way through but my gf isnt that type so we turned around. Since we didnt end up hiking we just relaxed at the campsite for a little while then packed up and made the hike out in the direct sunlight which was miserable. By the way Parare fork looks like it had pretty good flow and the water is really clean looking and clear, such a beautiful stream. Once we got back to the car we cooked ourselves something to eat and then we were off. We decided to drive down Big Pines Highway to the desert and do a little offroading and then we took the 15 home. All and all we had a great trip , my only regreat was that we couldnt explore down in the upper east fork area. Oh well there will be other times.
I was at Little Jimmy earlier today, and the water is flowing really well. Both of the springs are flowing, and someone has placed a trough underneath the larger, lower spring such that several people could get water at once whereas before only one at a time could get water.
There were not one but two BSA troops camping at Little Jimmy today. It's a nice area, and while I have nothing against the BSA and think it's a great thing for boys, I don't necessarily like camping next to them. (it's a bit noisy, trust me on that one).
Thanks for the 411 on Cabin Flat/Prairie Fork. I want to get over that area; haven't been for years, but now I know going down Prairie Fork is not an option. Vincent Gap to Praire Fork/Mine Gulch/E Fork SG River is in OK shape. The trail is gone the last mile or so as you approach the confluence, but you just walk down the open creekbed; no biggie.
Hikin_Jim wrote:
Vincent Gap to Praire Fork/Mine Gulch/E Fork SG River is in OK shape. The trail is gone the last mile or so as you approach the confluence, but you just walk down the open creekbed; no biggie.
Thanks for the trail info...... I have been eyeing that area for a while now, but my gf is scared to go down there since we had a very up close and personal encounter with a rattlesnake the one time we attempted to do that trail in the past........
Zach wrote:what is the name of that lake close to the end of the slideshow? Looks pretty sweet!
Jackson Lake, it's right off of Big Pines Highway, a few miles (4 or 5) from where the Angeles Crest Highway intersects Big Pines Highway near Mountian High ski area.
On another note: While we hiked down to Cabin Flat I noticed some of the taller trees were burnt, but the canyon is thick with vegitation. I also noticed burnt trees on Blue ridge. It looked as if there was a fire in that area a long time ago. Does anyone happen to know when the area was burnt........
Tim wrote:Sounds like a nice trip! Btw, in Photo 33 in your album, it looks like there's a picnic table in the middle of a creek??! What was that all about?
Im not sure how that table got there, what I was thinking is the table may have been washed away from the campground during runoff from melting snow into the creek, or maybe someone just put it there........
Tim wrote:Sounds like a nice trip! Btw, in Photo 33 in your album, it looks like there's a picnic table in the middle of a creek??! What was that all about?
Im not sure how that table got there, what I was thinking is the table may have been washed away from the campground during runoff from melting snow into the creek, or maybe someone just put it there........
Some of us did the hike from Praire fork to Cabin Flat at the end of April, as part of a through hike from Heaton Flat. It was a couple hours of bushwacking to get there, but as you found worth the effort. 8) Did you guys camp right next to the creek? When we were there the creek was choked with silt, but there was a smaller creek with clear water near the road.
nice TR.. but yeah, the "trail" from Cabin Flat to Prairie fork is not passable for most people. It's rarely used, and due to the proximatey to water, gets over overgrown quickly as well.. so it's also hard to maintain.. so for that reason, it's largely off the desginated trail list now. As has been mentioned, go down the Mine Gulch trail from Vincent Gap.
Cabin Flat, as most of you know, is no longer a commissioned site, but it is neat down there, and the stream goes year round and runs clear, but has some interesting silt/mineral stains most of the time, all over the rocks.
Little Jimmy Spring is probably the most reliable in the San Gabriels. It's never dried up in the past 9 years that I've been going up there, and the water, which is tested by the USFS monthly, has never come back bad from basic coliform.
to find that it was extremely overgrown and bushy. This ended our plans, the trail looked impassable for most people but if you were really ambitious I think you could find a way through but my gf isnt that type so we turned around. Since we didnt end up hiking we just relaxed at the campsite for a little while then packed up and made the hike out in the direct sunlight which was miserable. By the way Parare fork looks like it had pretty good flow and the water is really clean looking and clear, such a beautiful stream. Once we got back to the car we cooked ourselves something to eat and then we were off. We decided to drive down Big Pines Highway to the desert and do a little offroading and then we took the 15 home. All and all we had a great trip 
, my only regreat was that we couldnt explore down in the upper east fork area. Oh well there will be other times.
