2/1/13: Lower Bear Creek to the W. Fork

TRs for the San Gabriel Mountains.
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blueshammer
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Post by blueshammer »

On Friday, starting from the West Fork parking lot on Highway 39, we hiked up the lower Bear Creek trail to Bear Creek's West Fork confluence, then checked out the West Fork for a bit before hitting the turnaround time. Bear Creek is a beauty. I lost track of the number of river crossings, but they were plenty. The trail is very easy to lose, but the canyon isn't too large, and the creek itself is simple enough to follow. Plenty of brush, bugs, and some ticks.

9:30 am: Started at the West Fork road.
10:00 am: Arrived at Bear Creek. Crossed under the bridge and headed north along the creek:
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10:30 am: Reached the first grassy trail camp:
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Then kept going. Trying to dry my socks was futile.
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10:50 am: Reached the remnants of a cabin:
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11:00 am: Formally entered the San Gabriel Wilderness:
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Kept on crossing rivers, pushing through foliage, searching for the trail, taking rest breaks, searching for ticks on our legs, etc.
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12:30 pm: Reached the West Fork of Bear Creek:
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Bear Creek continues to the north; we went west up the verdant and wild canyon.
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1:00 pm: Reached our turnaround time here:
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Heading back to the trailhead was faster, as the trail was easier to spot. In the end, my feet were pale and wrinkly from being encased in soggy woolen socks for most of the hike. All in all, a good day. Next time we'll get an earlier start to venture really far up the West Fork.
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mangus7175
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Post by mangus7175 »

Looks really nice and clean. Unfortunately, when summer comes, this area will be trashed again.

Thanks for sharing!
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longcut
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Post by longcut »

memory lane. thanks for sharing.
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AW~
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Post by AW~ »

Nice work. Its a long ways out. 30 river crossings until the west fork bear creek.
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davantalus
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Post by davantalus »

Wow, I'd break out the neoprene socks for a hike like that. :P
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outwhere
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Post by outwhere »

More great pics Blueshammer - you're on a roll.

Yours and other trip reports are always appreciated - especially for folks like myself that just can't get there like we used to :?

Wouldn't it be sweet if we could see a photo of this cabin in it's glory years...

Can only imagine sitting there on the front porch around sundown, with maybe sometime in the fall when the leaves change colors --- oh, and don't forget the apple pie cooling inside the cabin... musta been fun back in them days...

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blueshammer
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Post by blueshammer »

outwhere wrote: Wouldn't it be sweet if we could see a photo of this cabin in it's glory years...

Can only imagine sitting there on the front porch around sundown, with maybe sometime in the fall when the leaves change colors --- oh, and don't forget the apple pie cooling inside the cabin... musta been fun back in them days...
It would be interesting to know the history of these random cabins in the mountains. Alas, any knowledge of who built the cabin or lived there is probably gone or inaccessible.
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