Adam's Falls - East Fork Big Santa Anita 1-20-14

TRs for the San Gabriel Mountains.
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shreddy
Posts: 241
Joined: Sun Jan 16, 2011 10:40 pm

Post by shreddy »

Been wanting to check out the East Fork of Big Santa Anita for at least a year now and finally took the opportunity to do that with friends.

Being a holiday Chantry was a zoo and the Gabrieleno Trail was a freeway. Once we branched off into the East Fork all other humans vanished.

The directions given on the Adam's Pack Station webpage are spot on. No problem finding the East Fork.

http://adamspackstation.com/maps-trails ... ork-trail/

No trail at this point so we just picked our way up the East Fork. Deep leaves, some loose soil in spots and some larger boulders to get over / around. Take your time if needed.

We arrived at Adam's Falls (I think) about a mile in. I could see a passable route to climb up and over the falls, but wasn't comfortable in taking the group there. They seemed content anyways at stopping at Adams.

I wanted to take a look so I scrambled to the right, over the falls. I was careful and at no time felt like I was in great danger. I poked around above the falls for 5 minutes. The initial way onward looked passable, but I have no clue what it's like after the first bend above the falls.

I carefully made my way back down to the group and we headed back to the BSA holiday freeway. From there we checked out Sturtevant Falls. Place was a zoo and I was saddened again to see the trash left behind by careless animals (humans). Not as bad as Eaton Canyon, but still.....

I took a few pics, but they are of poor quality and not worth posting. The East Fork is a nice little nook. Nobody is back there so I suggest going with a friend.

Can anyone tell me how far you can get (without ropes) above Adam's Falls? One of these days I'd like to go deeper into the East Fork.

Happy Trails!
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blueshammer
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Joined: Wed Nov 25, 2009 1:03 pm

Post by blueshammer »

Very cool! It's nice to take the seldom visited paths of Chantry Flat.

During my first visit to the East Fork of BSAC, I came across what I thought were Adams Falls, but upon clambering up the right-hand rocky side, I found that the canyon kept going. I journeyed on further but then turned back due to time constraints.

When I next visited the East Fork, and probably about 45 minutes past the initial waterfall/cascade, I believe I finally reached the actual Adams Falls, as I found no further path forward. But since there's little in way of pictures on the Internet, I can't say with complete certainty that the end of my hike was the eponymous waterfall. Do you have a pic of the falls?
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shreddy
Posts: 241
Joined: Sun Jan 16, 2011 10:40 pm

Post by shreddy »

Thanks Blueshammer.

I'll have to get further back there.

First falls weren't too sketchy. My guess is I didn't make it to Adam's Falls. Gotta go back.

Happy Trails,

Shred
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