As I rounded the bend on Big Tujunga Canyon Road near the entrance to the trailhead, I was greeted with what must have been 70-80 cars lining the road on either side of the canyon. No conceivable parking space good or bad was available. Near the gate leading into Trail Canyon, a group of what must have been 30+ hikers congregated waiting to assault the canyon. Dejected, I drove on with no back-up plan in place.
At the intersection with the Angeles Forest Highway, I took a hard right and continued on to Clear Creek thinking that perhaps I'd drop into Switzer or maybe ascend Colby Canyon instead. No dice. Switzer was a zoo with cars filling the over-flow lot just east of the main entrance. The dirt lot at Colby Canyon was similarly full.
As a last ditch effort, I continued up the ACH to Red Box thinking that maybe I'd hit Lawlor or Strawberry. But when I got there, the temps had dropped to 50, the wind was blowing pretty good, and I was ill-equipped for the cold because I had dumbly thought I'd be marching up Trail Canyon in the 60+ degree sunshine shielded from the wind.
Now fully exasperated, I turned around, drove home, and did some work in the yard.
Stats for the day:
Miles driven: 104
Miles hiked: 0
Elevation gained: 0
Pictures taken: 0
