Angeles Crest Highway (CA-2)
N00bs all bailed on Thursday night, so I canceled it.
Instead I took a day hike up to Manzanita Spring. Much more fun than John's Meadow. Trip report to come. I hope you weren't up there looking for me.
Took the non-trailer-queen up the dirt road to the San Bernardino Peak trailhead:
Had real trouble with cold starts at 6,000 feet. Friggin' carburetors.
Nunc est bibendum
Yep. I drove the section from Acton (Angeles Forest to Upper Big T and over to Wrightwood. The section of ACH below upper Big T is closed at some point before it rejoins Angeles Forest Hwy indefinately I think. (Road damage)drhabes1 wrote:Trying to gather some beta for a possible hike out of the Dawson Saddle area. Has the FS opened the gate at Vincent Gap? Any info would be appreciated.
I saw a picture in the LA Times on Saturday of the bike race going by Dawson Saddle on Friday. The picture is also on http://www.socalcycling.com/.
I'm in no mood to try and verify my source for this info so tough shit. Take it for what it is...a rumor.
ACH will open between La Canada and Red Box on ~ Oct. 1st, 2010. No bridge is necessary to repair the major washout ~ 4 miles up from Foothill Blvd. The 3 or 4 erosions between Clear Creek and Red Box will be repaired as well. Oct. 1 is the current target date for reopening, but it may be Nov. 1st.
How's that for reliable info, eh?
But, if it is true, that's better than having to wait for a bridge to be built!
ACH will open between La Canada and Red Box on ~ Oct. 1st, 2010. No bridge is necessary to repair the major washout ~ 4 miles up from Foothill Blvd. The 3 or 4 erosions between Clear Creek and Red Box will be repaired as well. Oct. 1 is the current target date for reopening, but it may be Nov. 1st.
How's that for reliable info, eh?
But, if it is true, that's better than having to wait for a bridge to be built!
From the La Canada Valley Sun 7/2/10
ACH won't reopen this summer
Motorcyclists, bicyclists, hikers ignoring closure signs, officials say.
By Megan O'Neil, megan.oneil@latimes.com
Angeles Crest Highway (SR-2) is likely to remain closed until November as crews continue to repair major road damage caused by heavy winter storms, a Caltrans spokesperson said Friday.
And the painstaking work is being slowed by motorcyclists and hikers who are ignoring closure signs and are entering dangerous stretches of the mountain pass, officials said.
The reopening of the 66-mile Angeles Crest Highway has been delayed repeatedly since the Station fire roared through Angeles National Forest in August, burning more than 160,000 acres and searing miles of pavement, guardrails, road signs and markers. The damage was compounded by back-to-back rainstorms and subsequent debris flows that washed out large patches of the highway.
The $16.5 million in repairs is being completed under contract by Thousand Oaks-based Burn Pacific Construction.
"It is really an evolving situation," Caltrans spokesperson Patrick Chandler said. "It is on a mountainside so it is really difficult [work]. The geotechnical crew has found a lot of problem spots that are going to require a great deal of time."
One of the most severe washouts is near Brown Canyon, just beyond the Angeles Crest Ranger Station, Chandler said.
"They have made a lot of progress, but they have to rebuild the hillside just below the road, almost 200 feet up to the roadside," Chandler said.
At another significant washout about 10 miles north, crews are constructing support walls to buttress the roadway, Chandler said.
In March, Big Tujunga Road, Angeles Forest Highway and Upper Tujunga Canyon Road were reopened, providing an alternative, albeit circuitous route, to popular Angeles National Forest destinations including Mt. Waterman ski resort and Newcomb's Ranch Restaurant and Bar. Nevertheless, the ongoing closure of Angeles Crest Highway has struck a heavy blow to businesses along the highway that depend on the thousands of day trippers who typically crowd its two lanes each weekend.
Motorcyclists, bicyclists and hikers are eager to see the Crest reopen. La Cañada Flintridge resident Trent Sanders, who frequented the highway before it closed, said it is frustrating not to have access to some of the best trails in Angeles National Forest.
"You have the Silver Moccasin Trail, you have the Pacific Crest Trail, you have the Gabrielino Trail and people want to hike those things," Sanders said. "And you can't."
Some people are so impatient for the road to reopen that they are ignoring road and forest closure signs entirely.
"This has been a big problem particularly during holiday weekends," said John D. Wagner, an assistant public affairs officer for Angeles National Forest.
Hundreds of hikers have ventured into closed portions of the forest, Wagner said, adding that trespassers risk a verbal warning and a minimum fine of $75.
In addition, bicyclists and motorists have been spotted on precarious portions on Angeles Crest Highway, officials said. One motorcycle crew posted their illegal expedition on the Internet.
"They came across the closure at Mt. Wilson, went around the closure, and came to a spot where there was a huge crevice in the road," Chandler said. "They used the barricade to go over that crevice."
They proceeded down the highway before happening upon a work site. The California Highway Patrol was notified and the motorcyclists were cited.
Ignoring closure signs is dangerous, and costs precious time and money, Chandler said.
"A lot of [work crews] are coming up and down the road," Chandler said. "If motorcyclists, bicyclists and hikers are in the closure that creates a delay because the workers are not going to work because they don't want to hurt anyone, they want to maintain safety."
The continued closure of ACH is bad news in some ways and good news in others -- the crowds are WAY down. I went and did an easy peak bag (Winston Ridge) near Buckhorn today. Once I got out of the area near the falls, I only saw one other party, a group of four backpackers at Cooper Can. Trl. Camp. The entire trail camp was empty -- on the Fourth of July weekend -- except for that one group. I saw no one out on the PCT. Going through Buckhorn, there were empty campsites -- on the freakin' Fourth of July weekend. I attribute this to the fact that ACH is closed. It adds something like half an hour/45 minutes to the drive to go through Big T, but man the empty backcountry is worth it.
On other fronts, I spoke with a civil engineer working on a contract for Cal Trans today. He said that the goal for re-opening Hwy 39 to Crystal Lake is Labor Day (this year) and for the upper section of Hwy 39 (past Crystal Lake), approximately five years. He basically felt that opening Hwy 39 within five years was unrealistic. There's still quite a bit of work to be done on the section to Crystal Lake. I hope they make the Labor Day deadline, but I bet it gets trashed pretty quickly.
Hope I'm wrong.
BTW, they have reopened Hwy 39 as far as the trail head to Smith Mountain and Upper Bear Creek.
HJ
On other fronts, I spoke with a civil engineer working on a contract for Cal Trans today. He said that the goal for re-opening Hwy 39 to Crystal Lake is Labor Day (this year) and for the upper section of Hwy 39 (past Crystal Lake), approximately five years. He basically felt that opening Hwy 39 within five years was unrealistic. There's still quite a bit of work to be done on the section to Crystal Lake. I hope they make the Labor Day deadline, but I bet it gets trashed pretty quickly.
Hope I'm wrong. BTW, they have reopened Hwy 39 as far as the trail head to Smith Mountain and Upper Bear Creek.
HJ
Blaming hikers, bikers, and motorcyclists is absurd. Climbers, now that's a different matter.Zach wrote:I don't really understand... it seems like the article is blaming the prolonged closure and delays on the "hikers, bikers and motorcyclists." Gimme a break. As if.
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PackerGreg
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How difficult could it be? The road was built in the 1930's by jobless and, in many cases, otherwise homeless men in the CCC camps. And it was done with 30's technology and equipment - namely dynamite, rock, concrete, mules, Mack & REO Speed Wagon trucks, and elbow grease.
I find it interesting that the job was farmed out to a contractor. CalTrans can do this themselves. And with all this federal "Recovery & Reinvestment" money being printed, they are working major projects all over the state. CalTrans may have already been nearing completion had they been allowed to work, but not without federal funds.
Since the road runs through federal land and requires federal funds, who has the final say in who works the project? The feds. And who doesn't really want citizens to access the forest? The Forest Service.
"Visitors" are a lot of work, and when they cost you $16.5 million for one road, they take money away from fancy administrative projects like a new supervisor's office and personal bonuses for saving the agency money in the short run. Better to hand the project off to an indebted contractor and drag things out so long that another storm comes along and renders the road "irreparable" in the judgment of those who don't want you in the forest in the first place, thereby freeing up the cash for things better than all that annoying hiking and biking and climbing and camping.
No visitors = no fire. No fire = no blame. No blame = no cost. No cost = BONUSES! Screw the rest of us!
I find it interesting that the job was farmed out to a contractor. CalTrans can do this themselves. And with all this federal "Recovery & Reinvestment" money being printed, they are working major projects all over the state. CalTrans may have already been nearing completion had they been allowed to work, but not without federal funds.
Since the road runs through federal land and requires federal funds, who has the final say in who works the project? The feds. And who doesn't really want citizens to access the forest? The Forest Service.
"Visitors" are a lot of work, and when they cost you $16.5 million for one road, they take money away from fancy administrative projects like a new supervisor's office and personal bonuses for saving the agency money in the short run. Better to hand the project off to an indebted contractor and drag things out so long that another storm comes along and renders the road "irreparable" in the judgment of those who don't want you in the forest in the first place, thereby freeing up the cash for things better than all that annoying hiking and biking and climbing and camping.
No visitors = no fire. No fire = no blame. No blame = no cost. No cost = BONUSES! Screw the rest of us!
PackerGreg wrote:How difficult could it be? The road....................
Tell us what you really think.
Good stuff I like it.The section built in the 30's (to Crystal Lake) is actually in pretty good shape. The section built during the cold war should never have been built. It was a waste of money from day 1. Skirting along the west face of Mt. Islip on a steep crumbling slope just isn't a good idea. The contactor I spoke to basically said the same thing. The rockfall danger is very very high. They already had a near miss incident where a large boulder crushed the hood of a truck just missing the cab. Had the driver been going a few mph faster, that would have been it. It's a hugely expensive undertaking -- and for what? A storm will take it out again in a year or two. It's a big political boondoggle. And if somebody gets killed? I'd love to see Crystal Lake re-opened (although it may well get trashed again quickly), but that upper section should never have been built in the first place.
HJ
HJ
that upper section is terrible! I get it hasn't been taken care of in a while, but when I was riding up there I could hear constant rockfall- I mean the road is right next to vertical cliffs cut out of Islip, it's never going to be "stable" unless they further disfigure the mountain above it.
Actually, the state has been doing a lot of work over the years to keep the road from really going to heck. They've been sealing the pavement, clearing debris, unclogging drains, etc. for years. They've been keeping the road driveable (just barely) so that emergency vehicles can get through.Zé wrote:that upper section is terrible! I get it hasn't been taken care of in a while, but when I was riding up there I could hear constant rockfall- I mean the road is right next to vertical cliffs cut out of Islip, it's never going to be "stable" unless they further disfigure the mountain above it.
I asked contractor how often they clear the road. He said "every day. If we don't clear the road daily, within a few days, it's completely undriveable."
They're talking about doing selective blasting, scaling (removing loose rocks), and bolting extensive sections of fencing to the face to contain rockfall. Removing loose rocks from the W Face of Islip would basically entail removing the mountain if you ask me. They'll also be building bridges across major slide areas. All of this is hugely expensive. And for what? A road that will more than likely close again just as soon as the next big storm hits. And, even when it is open, there will be the constant threat of death from rockfall. It just doesn't make sense.
HJ
They could do a tunnel. It would be astronomically expensive, but maybe it would be safer. It depends on how solid the rock is on the inside of the mountain.
Maybe I'll talk to that contractor again. (He'll probably just roll his eyes at me)
HJ
Maybe I'll talk to that contractor again. (He'll probably just roll his eyes at me)
HJ
WTF?! Seems kind of ash-backwards that Cal-Trans can do a quicker (maybe better) job than a private firm. This just goes against everything I've known and come to believe about the capitalistic society I live in. The foundation of my peaceful existence has just been shaken to the core.PackerGreg wrote:
I find it interesting that the job was farmed out to a contractor. CalTrans can do this themselves. And with all this federal "Recovery & Reinvestment" money being printed, they are working major projects all over the state. CalTrans may have already been nearing completion had they been allowed to work, but not without federal funds.
Why, yes! You're right of course. Just look at how well the government managed the Station Fire. Thank goodness they didn't contract out fire suppression!Zach wrote:WTF?! Seems kind of ash-backwards that Cal-Trans can do a quicker (maybe better) job than a private firm. This just goes against everything I've known and come to believe about the capitalistic society I live in. The foundation of my peaceful existence has just been shaken to the core.
Yes, they could have contracted fire suppression out to BP. Instead of a little 160K acre BBQ, they could have eliminated the entire Angeles National Forest.Hikin_Jim wrote:Why, yes! You're right of course. Just look at how well the government managed the Station Fire. Thank goodness they didn't contract out fire suppression!Zach wrote:WTF?! Seems kind of ash-backwards that Cal-Trans can do a quicker (maybe better) job than a private firm. This just goes against everything I've known and come to believe about the capitalistic society I live in. The foundation of my peaceful existence has just been shaken to the core.
Yeah, that'd be a slick move...AlanK wrote:Yes, they could have contracted fire suppression out to BP. Instead of a little 160K acre BBQ, they could have eliminated the entire Angeles National Forest.Hikin_Jim wrote:Why, yes! You're right of course. Just look at how well the government managed the Station Fire. Thank goodness they didn't contract out fire suppression!Zach wrote:WTF?! Seems kind of ash-backwards that Cal-Trans can do a quicker (maybe better) job than a private firm. This just goes against everything I've known and come to believe about the capitalistic society I live in. The foundation of my peaceful existence has just been shaken to the core.
HJ
From the Glendale News Press
Highway closures confuse, frustrate
By Megan O'Neil
With a small day pack strapped to his back, Scott Groves set out from his home in Pasadena to the foot of Mt. Wilson Trail in Sierra Madre. He climbed seven miles to the top of the mountain and then proceeded down Mt. Wilson Road before happening upon the closed portion of Angeles Crest Highway (SR-2).
The former Boy Scout and U.S. Army soldier had already been hiking for five hours, and it was too far to turn back.
"It wasn't even on my radar that this was closed," Groves said as he stopped to fill his water pouch near the intersection of Angeles Crest Highway and Angeles Forest Highway. "I had read that it was clear to come up from the Palmdale side so I figured everything here was cool."
About 20 miles of the 66-mile mountain pass, from La Cañada Flintridge to Mt. Wilson Road, and 25% of Angeles National Forest remain off limits to the public as construction crews rebuild large washouts caused by winter storms. The $16.5 million in repairs, contracted out to Thousand Oaks-based Burns Pacific Construction, is expected to be completed in November.
Meanwhile, the closures continue to frustrate and confuse those seeking to access some of the most popular portions of the San Gabriel Mountains. Hundreds of motorcyclists, bicyclists and hikers have been spotted in restricted areas, according to Caltrans and U.S. Forest Service officials.
Some of the trespassing seems to be due to genuine misunderstanding about the status of different portions of the road and forest. In late June, Caltrans Public Information Officer Patrick Chandler intercepted a dozen family members setting off on a hike.
"They parked at Angeles Forest Highway where it meets Angeles Crest and walked up to the closure and were going to go down Switzer Falls," Chandler said.
He had to explain to the family that the popular trail was closed. But the hikers were not alone in their confusion. Road repair workers reported that Los Angeles County public safety personnel have attempted to respond to emergency calls by traveling north on Angeles Crest Highway, only to hit road blocks.
L.A. County Fire Battalion Chief Mitch Brookhyser confirmed one such incident. On May 31, units from La Cañada's Station #82 responded to a call of a motorcycle that had gone off the side of Angeles Crest, Brookhyser said. The responders were forced to stop at a locked gate. The call was canceled minutes later, he said.
Many of those entering closed portions of the highway and forest, however, are doing so with overt disregard for clearly posted signs. A Las Vegas motorcycle crew posted on their blog a dozen photos of themselves circumventing closures and being cited by the California Highway Patrol during an outing in May.
And on a recent afternoon Jim Blake, a Lake View Terrace resident and an avid bicyclist, stopped to watch workers repair a 200-foot-deep washout near Brown Canyon, the largest of the two dozen damaged spots. He had pedaled 27 miles, traveling on Big Tujunga Canyon Road, Angeles Forest Highway and Angeles Crest Highway.
"Big Tujunga Canyon was open," Blake said. "Then they had some signs on Angeles Forest Highway that it was closed ahead, but cars could go through. At Angeles Crest Highway they had a gate, but I could get through there."
He enjoyed having the road to himself, Blake said, although he did have to steer clear of a couple of dump trucks.
"I thought it was great, there was no traffic," Blake said. "But I wasn't aware they had this kind of damage here. I wasn't prepared for this."
Individuals who knowingly or unknowingly enter closed portions of Angeles Crest Highway and Angeles National Forest can be fined by the California Highway Patrol or Forest Service law enforcement agents, Chandler said, and are taking a serious safety risk.
"Because it is still a construction zone, it is off limits to the public," Chandler said. "It is just dangerous."