Switzer's/Cascades 7.10.11

robnokshus · Post by **robnokshus** » Mon Jul 11, 2011 8:30 pm

Made it down to Switzer's and the cascades for the first time since the Station Fire on Sunday. The gate was closed at ACH as they had just re-paved the road and parking lot the day before (made for a nice hot slog on the way back out) which kept most of the diaper crowd away. There are new outhouses and picnic tables and stairs and the whole picnic area is remarkably unscathed from the fire.

The trail is in really good shape and it's obvious that a lot of work has gone into it. One upside of the fire is that there are now fairly unfettered views of the falls from the trail. I had forgotten what a pleasant hike it is down to the arroyo. I mosied downstream enjoying the peace and quiet and lack of crowds. As has already been reported, many of the pools have a lot of gravel and debris in them and will take time and effort to restore to their previous depths.

Upon reaching the series of pools/cascades just before the trail heads up Bear Canyon I was pleased to see what nice condition they were in. I met Charles, the "canyon caretaker" there and we chatted for a while. I ventured up Bear Canyon a ways until it became too tedious for my Sunday stroll ambitions, doubled back and went downstream aways towards Royal Gorge. I started to get warm and the visions of those nice, clear, cool pools kept calling to me, so I doubled back and spent the next few hours swimming, meditating and just plain chillin'! I had the deep pool to myself for a couple of hours and the peace and quiet were sublime. It was a wonderful day!

(I made a crappy little video of the trip which I will attempt to place below. If it doesn't work, I'll post a link)

http://youtu.be/zKhhEuvNyBg

robnokshus · Post by **robnokshus** » Mon Jul 11, 2011 9:23 pm

OK, here's the video (Thanks Tim!)

PackerGreg · Post by **PackerGreg** » Mon Jul 11, 2011 9:37 pm

Did the previous caretaker of the pool go by the name "Wolf"? The plant is Verbascum thapsus http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verbascum_thapsus... One common name is "Cowboy Toilet Paper"

mattmaxon · Post by **mattmaxon** » Tue Jul 12, 2011 6:32 am

https://picasaweb.google.com/m/viewer?s ... 6165881185

I was gonna do this bit was wisely sent tp the showers because I was sivk as a dpg woth a bad head cold...

Took these photos frpm bear cyn / gabrilino trail jct

Marty · Post by **Marty** » Tue Jul 12, 2011 7:20 am

That area is truly a gem. I hiked down to the Bear Canyon Trail about a month ago right after the 2 was reopened and the trail was in pretty bad shape. Could you tell if there has been any work done on it? I was trying to find Bear Canyon Trail Camp but failed to do so.

http://anendlessroad.com/aer/2011/06/11 ... yon-trail/

robnokshus · Post by **robnokshus** » Tue Jul 12, 2011 8:02 am

@ Greg. Can neither confirm nor deny the "Wolf." He didn't want me to post his pic so I will respect his request for anonymity. He was cool though and most hospitable. He reminded me of several old hippie acquaintances I've made over the years. He's obviously an old timer in those parts and we shared many a recollection of the "good old days" up in the mountains. I'm guessing you know him?

Thanks for the ID on the plant and the link. I found the info very interesting.

mattmaxon · Post by **mattmaxon** » Tue Jul 12, 2011 9:50 am

Marty wrote: ↑...Could you tell if there has been any work done on it?

Marty ...
The trail was in good shape to. Arroyo Seco. There were many hikers going that way... can't be too bad
Matt

robnokshus · Post by **robnokshus** » Tue Jul 12, 2011 9:56 am

@ Marty, it looks like you made it further up Bear Canyon than I did and from what I hiked I would say no work has been done on that stretch up from the Arroyo Seco. I did hear though that one of the campsites at Bear Canyon Camp got washed away and that the table and stove now reside under 8-feet of gravel and debris.

@ Matt, I clicked on your link but didn't see any Arroyo Seco pics.

cougarmagic · Post by **cougarmagic** » Tue Jul 12, 2011 10:51 am

The trail down to the junction with Bear Canyon has been worked on, and is in great shape now. Marty, from your GPS track you still had quite a ways to go beore Bear Canyon Camp. The camp is a bit messed up. Some of the picnic tables are buried about up to seat level, but they're still usable. It wouldn't be super comfy to camp there, but you could do it. Nice blog!

I think Matt was trying to post these pics:

http://s484.photobucket.com/albums/rr20 ... %20Canyon/

We all went on Sunday to try rappelling that big dryfall you can see from the high part of the trail. Matt was hacking up lungs left and right, so we gave him a sick day.

Great video Rob. Those pools really are amazing.

Marty · Post by **Marty** » Tue Jul 12, 2011 11:28 am

Marty, from your GPS track you still had quite a ways to go beore Bear Canyon Camp.

Ah, good to know. I figured that was the case but that trail started turning into more hacking and less hiking. Would be cool to go back and camp there though; nice and secluded!

robnokshus · Post by **robnokshus** » Tue Jul 12, 2011 11:46 am

Thanks Johanna. I had an eye out for you. saw a couple of people on a ridge across from the trail. Was this your group?

PackerGreg · Post by **PackerGreg** » Tue Jul 12, 2011 5:17 pm

Rob, I met Wolf summer of '03. I walked to Gould Mesa from my house in Altadena to camp for a couple days. He had fashioned a tent by draping a blue tarp over a picnic table, and he had his recumbent bike with trailer full of gear. The old camp host Barry "Bear" Thomas told me was alright, so I invited him over for dinner. He told me he lived part time in Tujunga - the town, not the canyon. For some reason he felt comfortable telling me that a friend had given him some acid and he was going on a "trip" to Bear Canyon. Not long after that I volunteered with Bear Canyon Trail Crew and I asked Richard Nyerges about the "Wolf". Richard told me that he had a rather permanent encampment just across the creek and downstream from the campground. One of the rangers told me that he would occasionally have to talk to Wolf, because he would police the canyon and freak people out, strictly informing them of his own set of Arroyo Seco/Bear Canyon rules.

PackerGreg · Post by **PackerGreg** » Tue Jul 12, 2011 5:55 pm

Wow, I just remembered this: That same weekend I sat and talked with Wolf on the concrete spillway of the old Gould Mesa gauging station, below which Bear had excavated a respectable pool to gather water for himself and his horse, Starfire. Wolf fed uncooked ramen noodles to the trout in the pool and they came right to the surface (easy picking). He decided that he would swim into the underwater cave that had formed under the concrete. He went under then popped up to tell me he found something. He went back under and emerged with a rusty steel stamp from an gold stamp mill. He said he was going to sell it, and I offered to buy it for the sake of history. But he was determined to sell it for scrap. So, he put it into his bicycle trailer and the inner tubes popped. The last time I saw Wolf he was dragging that thing on flat tires through the sand and silt of the old Oakwilde wagon road.

robnokshus · Post by **robnokshus** » Tue Jul 12, 2011 6:07 pm

It's running into cats (or wolves) like that that make for interesting times in the outdoors. Just one of many colorful characters to make their mark on the San Gabriels. Dig it.

cougarmagic · Post by **cougarmagic** » Tue Jul 12, 2011 6:26 pm

robnokshus wrote: ↑Was this your group?

Haha - yep! We were surprised how many people we saw hiking down the trail, especially since the gate was still closed.

Sucks that the trash bins are already overflowing. People just leave garbage on the ground next to the cans, rather than take their paper plates out with them. So lazy!

Great stories P.Greg. As Matt says, "Only in the Angeles"!

Will take this opportunity to post my historical Switzer photos again - hope you don't mind:

http://s484.photobucket.com/albums/rr20 ... 20Switzer/

Post by **Hikin_Jim** » Wed Jul 27, 2011 9:01 pm

cougarmagic wrote: ↑
robnokshus wrote: ↑Was this your group?
Haha - yep! We were surprised how many people we saw hiking down the trail, especially since the gate was still closed.

Sucks that the trash bins are already overflowing. People just leave garbage on the ground next to the cans, rather than take their paper plates out with them. So lazy!

Great stories P.Greg. As Matt says, "Only in the Angeles"!

Will take this opportunity to post my historical Switzer photos again - hope you don't mind:

http://s484.photobucket.com/albums/rr20 ... 20Switzer/

Very cool old photos! Where is Camp Bonita? Camp Losedena? And what is that picture labeled "Mt. Lowe" of ?

I'd have loved to have seen that old chapel!

HJ

cougarmagic · Post by **cougarmagic** » Wed Jul 27, 2011 9:20 pm

Hikin_Jim wrote: ↑Where is Camp Bonita? Camp Losedena? And what is that picture labeled "Mt. Lowe" of ?

I'd have loved to have seen that old chapel!

HJ

Camp Losa-Dena was one of the very early names for the spot that became Switzer's Camp. I have no idea about the others, except that a lot of these old postcards get mixed up and labeled weird. The thought of those stained glass windows - hand made, and of the waterfall - getting smashed to bits just about makes me cry! I wonder if someone has them, or if they got vandalized, or destroyed when the chapel was dynamited.

Post by **Hikin_Jim** » Wed Jul 27, 2011 11:03 pm

Was the chapel dynamited? I know they dynamited the Alpine Tavern. I think I read in one of Robinson's books that the chapel came down in an EQ in the 50's? No?

HJ