Angeles Crest Highway (CA-2)

Post by **Hikin_Jim** » Tue Jul 28, 2015 11:45 am

I went up Angeles Crest Highway this past Friday and was surprised to find it closed At Islip Saddle. I was headed to Little Jimmy anyway, so no loss, but I was surprised to find it closed this time of year.

Was there a wash out or slide during the weekend prior's rainstorms?

HJ

oldcoot · Post by **oldcoot** » Tue Jul 28, 2015 12:40 pm

From the Cal Trans website:

SR 2
[IN THE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA AREA]
IS CLOSED FROM ISLIP SADDLE TO 5 MI WEST OF BIG PINES HWY (LOS ANGELES CO)
- DUE TO MUD SLIDES - MOTORISTS ARE ADVISED TO USE AN ALTERNATE ROUTE

Dunno when the slides occurred...

oldcoot

Post by **HikeUp** » Wed Jul 29, 2015 10:18 pm

July 29th 2015 radio news report that the 2 was re-opened today, much earlier than expected. Dunno if true.

Mike P · Post by **Mike P** » Wed Jul 29, 2015 10:23 pm

2 is open! Angeles Crest race is Saturday, August 1. Of course, it's gonna' be open!

rck · Post by **rck** » Tue May 24, 2016 7:41 pm

Does anyone know if the 2 from the 15 is open to Vincent gap. Planning on heading up to Baden Powell Thursday. Thanks
Rick

Post by **Uncle Rico** » Wed May 25, 2016 7:14 am

Cal-Trans does not report Highway 2 closed and the Big Pines Ranger Station FB page has a post that mentions the fact Highway 2 is open.

http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/roadinfo/display.php?page=sr2

https://www.facebook.com/Big-Pines-Rang ... 338620103/

I know for a fact the ACH is open coming the other direction from Islip Saddle to Dawson Saddle.

rck · Post by **rck** » Wed May 25, 2016 6:08 pm

Thanks. Coming from Long Beach and want to make sure. Google maps took me a dif way coming from the 15.Heading to Baden Powell.

Rick

psykokid · Post by **psykokid** » Fri May 27, 2016 10:22 am

I was up at BP last weekend, started at Dawson saddle and saw plenty of cars coming from the direction of Wrightwood so it's safe to say that the road is open all the way through. We came up from La Canada and the ACH was open past Islip with no signs of closure any further on.

robow8 · Post by **robow8** » Sat May 06, 2017 7:59 pm

Is it open past Vincent Gap? ANF Facebook page said it was going to open, but CalTrans shows it as still closed.

Looking to head up to Little Jimmy next Friday to share a little trail magic with some PCTers.

Post by **dima** » Sat May 06, 2017 8:37 pm

Does "past Vincent Gap" mean West of there? If so, then yeah, it's open I cycled between Islip Saddle and Vincent Gap last weekend, and there was no indication that anything was closed anywhere around there.

briangroh · Post by **briangroh** » Sun May 07, 2017 4:10 pm

The gate at the 39 junction was open last week. I'm assuming you're parking in that spot anyway and taking the PCT to Little Jimmy. The parking area was open with restrooms and plenty of parking on a Sunday Afternoon. The campground was 3/4 full- surprising to me on a Sunday Night this early in the season.

Not sure if this weekend's snow brought anything. There were still some patches of snow last weekend, but nothing too difficult to safely navigate through to Little Jimmy.

I did run into a couple who tried the approach from Baden Powell and said they had to turn back because of treacherous snow in a select places on the trail.

robow8 · Post by **robow8** » Sun May 07, 2017 4:28 pm

Sorry, I should have specified. I did mean West of Vincent Gap. I'm coming in from the Wrightwood side.

Thanks!

Post by **Sean** » Sun May 07, 2017 6:09 pm

robow8 wrote: ↑Looking to head up to Little Jimmy next Friday to share a little trail magic with some PCTers.

I imagine they'll have the snow off the road by Friday. But you will probably see lingering snow at Little Jimmy. The Crest above Crystal Lake got a good covering. I can see it from Monterey Park.

Slowest_Hiker · Post by **Slowest_Hiker** » Fri Jun 09, 2017 7:37 am

Heads up, 2 closed for a sinkhole

That says it's closed from Islip Saddle to Grassy Hollow, but the DOT website site sounds like it's Inspiration Point rather than Grassy Hollow, so details are slightly sketchy.

Slowest_Hiker · Post by **Slowest_Hiker** » Fri Jun 09, 2017 1:55 pm

Ugh, sounds like at least a month !

Aren't there a lot more gates now? Seems like a smaller closure area could be set up.

Post by **Sean** » Fri Jun 09, 2017 4:44 pm

Slowest_Hiker wrote: ↑Aren't there a lot more gates now? Seems like a smaller closure area could be set up.

Maybe they need engineers to inspect that whole stretch of road now. I'd hate to be driving on it when another sinkhole appears. Isn't there a gate at Vincent Gap?

Tom Kenney · Post by **Tom Kenney** » Fri Jun 09, 2017 5:05 pm

Sean wrote: ↑
Slowest_Hiker wrote: ↑Aren't there a lot more gates now? Seems like a smaller closure area could be set up.
Maybe they need engineers to inspect that whole stretch of road now. I'd hate to be driving on it when another sinkhole appears. Isn't there a gate at Vincent Gap?

The gate is right next to the Vincent Gap parking lot, so folks coming from the west cannot access the Big Rock Creek road or Vincent Gap parking if it's closed. If they didn't close the Islip gate, I could see a lot of pissed off people jamming the road like penned sheep! I wonder if they've also closed the Big Rock Creek road at Fenner and the Fenner Saddle road at Jackson Lake.

Slowest_Hiker · Post by **Slowest_Hiker** » Fri Jun 09, 2017 5:17 pm

Yep!

I had seen that earlier and didn't know about the 2 closure yet.

AW~ · Post by **AW~** » Fri Jun 09, 2017 5:25 pm

Per Facebook: Angeles Crest Highway

Waiting for a contractor? Hmm..guess nothing can be used amongst the huge estate back at Chilao.

Slowest_Hiker · Post by **Slowest_Hiker** » Fri Jul 07, 2017 9:07 am

Has anyone visually confirmed either endpoint of the closure in the past week or so?

On Sat 6/24 we drove out from Inspiration Pt to see it for ourselves and indeed, the road was coned off immediately past the driveway into Grassy Hollow. There were also a lot of cars parked on the sides of the highway right around there, as if to confirm that was as far as one could drive. Then I got home and saw this:
NEW: Eastern closure point moved west to winter gate at Vincent Gap
which I don't understand because that's dated 6/23 and I saw the closure at Grassy Hollow on 6/24.

DOT website, which is not always up to date in my experience, appears to agree with their twitter statement at the moment. "SR 2 [IN THE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA AREA] IS CLOSED FROM THE JCT OF SR 39 TO 5.3 MI WEST OF BIG PINES /AT VINCENT GULCH RD/ (LOS ANGELES CO)."

The Wrightwood forum also says

Jun 23, 2017 2:37pm
From Caltrans
Media Relations and Public Affairs

I just heard that the eastern closure limit has been moved west to Vincent Gulch postmile 74.7
Logged

Vincent Gap parking lot is right around mile 75, confirmed with Google street view.

So everything seems to point to the closure being from Islip Saddle to Vincent Gap since 6/23, except for my eyeballs that saw a closure at Grassy Hollow on 6/24. Also, upthread on the Wrightwood forum somebody says the "sinkhole" is "Just West of Grassy Hollow (walking distance)." That is an odd description if the problem is actually between Islip Saddle and Vincent Gap.

Any eyewitness accounts appreciated.

Post by **Hikin_Jim** » Fri Jul 07, 2017 11:40 am

Well, crap. I was wondering the same thing. Is ACH closed at Grassy Hollow or is it closed at Vincent Gap?

HJ

Tom Kenney · Post by **Tom Kenney** » Fri Jul 07, 2017 5:42 pm

RE: Closure location, my guess-timate is just past Grassy Hollow. On the 4th, we came up to Big Pines, then west on CA-2, seeing a sign saying "closed 2.5 mi ahead". It was certainly open past Inspiration Pt/Blue Ridge Rd entrance, but we didn't go further west, so not 100% sure.

Slowest_Hiker · Post by **Slowest_Hiker** » Fri Jul 07, 2017 6:04 pm

Thanks for that. I wonder is it possible they meant the west end was moved east to Vincent Gap?? There are multiple sources that say the other way around though.

Just noticed this: Aug 5th Moon Light Hike to Baden Powell has been cancelled due to Highway 2 road closure. That sounds like Vincent Gap isn't reachable by car. It's all so confusing.

I should have thought to try to call Big Pines earlier in the day, since it's staffed again. Will try in the morning.

Slowest_Hiker · Post by **Slowest_Hiker** » Sat Jul 08, 2017 6:52 pm

Never did call because we decided to go out of Islip Saddle regardless. But I can now confirm that the western end of the closure is indeed immediately past the Islip Saddle parking area. Can't edit my conjecture about that above due to the forum oddities, but I'll try again later.

Anthony · Post by **Anthony** » Mon Jul 10, 2017 8:34 am

The 2 is still closed at Islip Saddle (I was there yesterday). The original estimate for the project was 30 days, which we're now past. I might call today to find out if they have a revised finish date.

Tom Kenney · Post by **Tom Kenney** » Mon Jul 10, 2017 11:25 am

Eastern closure is immediately past (west of) the Grassy Hollow entrance. I saw folks walking the highway yesterday, so apparently just a vehicle closure. Fenner Saddle Rd is closed at Jackson Lake, and I'm guessing (as someone indicated in a previous thread) the Big Rock Creek Rd. is also still closed at Camp Fenner.

Anthony · Post by **Anthony** » Tue Jul 18, 2017 1:10 pm

Someone just posted on the Hundred Peaks Section group on Facebook that the west end of the closure has been moved to Vincent Gap (from Islip Saddle). They say it could be another 2 months until the whole highway reopens though.

Slowest_Hiker · Post by **Slowest_Hiker** » Sat Jul 22, 2017 7:31 pm

Quick message.
1. I laid eyes on Grassy Hollow today. The eastern closure is definitely at Grassy Hollow. That's unlikely to change, because...
2. I laid eyes on the hole in the road. It's west of Grassy Hollow about 1/2 mile. No equipment there, nothing going on. They filled it in with gravel/dirt and placed some cones. The gate at Grassy Hollow is not signed to prohibit pedestrians or bikes. Saw several others going down there.
3. I laid eyes on Vincent Gap. The gate immediately west of the parking lot is in fact closed. However, I strongly suspect the gate at Islip Saddle is not open. There were no cars parked on the 2 at the Vincent Gap area, no motorcycles, no nothing visible west of the gate. The gate on the 2 is signed pedestrians and bicycles prohibited (sign facing so you read it when looking west).
4. The gates on 4N11 and 3N26 at Vincent Gap are closed. There was a car parked just north of the gate on 4N11 (the one that comes from Big Rock). This may be the way to access Vincent Gap by car if you need to.
5. Staggering amount of erroneous information out there. We were told by a USFS volunteer today that the western closure had moved from Islip Saddle to Vincent Gap. I know he was just repeating what he's been told by Caltrans, but ... :q52:

Anthony · Post by **Anthony** » Sat Jul 22, 2017 10:12 pm

Slowest_Hiker wrote: ↑Quick message.
1. I laid eyes on Grassy Hollow today. The eastern closure is definitely at Grassy Hollow. That's unlikely to change, because...
2. I laid eyes on the hole in the road. It's west of Grassy Hollow about 1/2 mile. No equipment there, nothing going on. They filled it in with gravel/dirt and placed some cones. The gate at Grassy Hollow is not signed to prohibit pedestrians or bikes. Saw several others going down there.
3. I laid eyes on Vincent Gap. The gate immediately west of the parking lot is in fact closed. However, I strongly suspect the gate at Islip Saddle is not open. There were no cars parked on the 2 at the Vincent Gap area, no motorcycles, no nothing visible west of the gate. The gate on the 2 is signed pedestrians and bicycles prohibited (sign facing so you read it when looking west).
4. The gates on 4N11 and 3N26 at Vincent Gap are closed. There was a car parked just north of the gate on 4N11 (the one that comes from Big Rock). This may be the way to access Vincent Gap by car if you need to.
5. Staggering amount of erroneous information out there. We were told by a USFS volunteer today that the western closure had moved from Islip Saddle to Vincent Gap. I know he was just repeating what he's been told by Caltrans, but ... :q52:

It's true, the gate at Islip Saddle is still closed. I saw it with my own eyes today while attempting to reach Vincent Gap. Sorry guys, I guess you can't believe everything you read on the internet (except for this forum, of course

).

Anthony · Post by **Anthony** » Sun Jul 23, 2017 11:16 am

There were "at least five injury motorcycle crashes reported along Angeles Crest Highway on Saturday."

I drove by two of them, including this one: http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/g...-na ... ycle-crash

It seems like motorcyclists own the 2 these days. Something must be done to improve safety.