Introduction and some spots in the San Gabriel Mountains

[carl swindle]

Hi,

My name is Carl and I'm a little new to this forum and I really enjoy all of the posts and trip reports on this website. I explore the San Gabriel's a bunch and thought I'd quickly share pictures from some of my recent trips. This is my first time posting here so I hope it all loads correctly. I can do more detailed posts about individual routes in the future if people are interested. If anyone has any questions, please let me know.

Here are some pictures of a recent trip I did to Rankin Peak from Monrovia Hillside Preserve on February 10th, 2024. The fire breaks were manageable and they were not extremely overgrown for the most part, although it was bushy. I was planning on going to Monrovia Peak, but I wasn't prepared for how much snow there was on the fire breaks in the backcountry. Now, I'm planning on doing Monrovia in the Spring along the same route when the snow melts away so I can move quickly along the fire breaks.

Here are some pictures of a recent trip I did along the Pacoima Canyon from the Dillon Divide to one of my favorite waterholes and some of the mines on February 3rd, 2024. The trail was pretty nice until a little past the Denver Indicator Mine, but cleared up near the waterhole on the main fork just past the south form of the canyon.

Here are some pictures of the waterfalls upstream from Sapphire Falls in Rancho Cucamonga on January 27th, 2024. I'd say half of the route is on West Cucamonga Truck Trail and the other half is rock hopping up a creek. I think Sapphire Falls is still closed, but I've seen videos on YouTube with recent trip reports so I am a little confused about what the status is there. I'd love to go when it opens officially or soon if it is already.

The prior week I did a trail in Los Padres, but on January 13th, I went to the Kelsey Silver mine out near the Morris Reservoir. This mine was easier to find than I thought it would be and was very neat. The lower levels were really amazing due to all of the water (especially in the lower tunnel to the left when going down).

I guess this will be the last one I share with you for now, but here are some pictures of the Bear Creek Narrows from the West Fork on the San Gabriel river taken on January 7th, 2024. This trip was really nice. I'm planning on following the west fork of Bear Creek up as far as I can some time in the future.

[JeffH]

This is definitely the season for water explorations, thanks for sharing.

[HikeUp]

TR's are good. Good TR's are better. No TR's suck.

Yours look interesting! Thanks for posting the teasers and have fun around here.

[Uncle Rico]

Nice pics! So much water out there right now. Awesome. The Bear Canyon Narrows look like a good exploration. Must put on list.

[JakubRZ]

Cool photos....so is Lower Clamshell fire road officially open to hiking post-Bobcat fire?

[dima]

Thanks for posting! I'd love to see more info about the mines and the Bear Canyon narrows. How far above the trail junction (from Smith Mountain saddle) are the narrows? If you write more detailed reports, nobody would complain

[tekewin]

Welcome! Thanks for sharing. More posts, more photos, more better.

[Sean]

Hi Carl,

Welcome to the forum and thanks for sharing your trips! I don't recall hearing about the Denver Indicator Mine. Is it pretty interesting? How big is it? I look forward to reading about your other trips.

[Tom Kenney]

Great pics, thanks! Question re: Pacoima Cyn...did you happen to see any sign of the Dagger Flat Trail when passing? It was under re-construction from the top a few years back, but hat only been brushed and graded for 1km, then nothing. I did a trip to see if I could continue cutting, but realized the tools I brought were too weak and pitiful for the job.

[carl swindle]

Great pics, thanks! Question re: Pacoima Cyn...did you happen to see any sign of the Dagger Flat Trail when passing? It was under re-construction from the top a few years back, but hat only been brushed and graded for 1km, then nothing. I did a trip to see if I could continue cutting, but realized the tools I brought were too weak and pitiful for the job.

I did not see a sign at Dagger Flats. On this trip, I went from Dillon Divide to Highline Saddle and then down the PB & L road to Pacoima Canyon, which I followed up to the waterhole. I then backtracked along the Canyon all the way passing Dagger Flats once, but at that point I was moving quickly due to the overgrown conditions between where PB & L road connects to the creek and about where the Denver Indictor Mine is, which took longer than I thought it would. Next time I pass by, I'll be sure to take a look.

[carl swindle]

Hi Carl,

Welcome to the forum and thanks for sharing your trips! I don't recall hearing about the Denver Indicator Mine. Is it pretty interesting? How big is it? I look forward to reading about your other trips.

It's not very big, but pretty easy to spot from the infrastructure compared to the other adits in the canyon. There are two levels, but none of them get too far past the entrance. I'll attach a few pictures since I didn't post it. I have some better picture from a few years ago somewhere, but these are from my most recent trip. I didn't take many pictures of the surrounding infrastructure this time, but if you like, I can try to dig those up.

[carl swindle]

Thanks for posting! I'd love to see more info about the mines and the Bear Canyon narrows. How far above the trail junction (from Smith Mountain saddle) are the narrows? If you write more detailed reports, nobody would complain

I accessed to Bear Creek Narrows from the West Fork area taking the Bear Creek Trail. From the West Fork, Bear Creek starts about a mile out from the parking are near a bridge and continues northward along Bear Creek. The narrow are about 5 miles out from the trail off of the west fork so about 6 miles total to get to the narrow (~12 miles total). The trail is mostly decent for the first ~3-4 miles or so and then it turns into rock hopping a long the creek for a couple miles or so. There are some great water holes (particularly where the west fork of Bear Creek branches off from the main fork).

For the Kelsey mine, I suggest starting here (34.17890541832319, -117.88218279486634) near the Morris Reservoir and taking the fire road up for about a mile or so. Eventually, you need to leave the fire road and get to the canyon to the north (which has flowing water - at least it does now). From there, you can bushwhack up the creek and scramble up a few small waterfalls (one even has rope) until you reach a large waterfall. The mine is to the right of this waterfall (while facing the waterfall) up on the canyon slope. There are two levels of the mine. The lowest levels are my favorites due to the water, which has a slightly warmer temperature than most of the rivers and creeks in the San Gabriel Mountains this time of year (or in fact any time).

[carl swindle]

Cool photos....so is Lower Clamshell fire road officially open to hiking post-Bobcat fire?

I went from the Monrovia Hillside Preserve along the fire breaks that start at Sunset Bench up to the Peak. All of this seems open from the National Forest website (The closures appears to be north of Monrovia Peak from what I could tell). I think that Monrovia Canyon Park is still closed, so I don't think you can go that way yet, but I'd love to make it a loop if it winds up opening in the spring. I don't think I'd try this in the summer given how steep the fire breaks are and how hot it gets.

[AW~]

Good explore! Kind of an all-around deal...Im still branded to certain spots for better or for worse.
So what do you plan on? The same access?

[Sean]

FYI - Part of the route to Rankin is still closed. It might re-open in June.

[carl swindle]

FYI - Part of the route to Rankin is still closed. It might re-open in June.

This is what the forest service shows.

https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DO ... 111500.pdf

It looked like the route I took went around the closure or at the edges but looking at it again, I might have been off by a ridge. Overall, the firebreaks were in decent condition and there was no sign of closure anywhere coming up from the Monrovia Hillside Preserve (unlike Monrovia Canyon Park). Hopefully it opens before it gets too hot.

[carl swindle]

Good explore! Kind of an all-around deal...Im still branded to certain spots for better or for worse.
So what do you plan on? The same access?

I like to mix things up between where going places I've already been and exploring new spots. I generally try to keep the driving one way under an hour, but not always. I'm not sure what's next but I've been thinking about doing something Los Padres again this week like I did last weekend at the Big and Little Caliente Hot springs and then exploring some areas in the San Gabriels in future weeks including possibly the West Fork of Bear Creek, Pine Mountain near Azusa along the fire road, several tributaries along the West Fork of the San Gabriel River I'd like to explore or revisit, further up Eaton Wash past where Idlehour trail branches off... (I have along list). It sort of depends on how I'm feeling.

[AW~]

Cool...I mean whoever explores I have a respect for...cause so much of today is top 5 social media.
Only a few spots I dont tolerate for dislike...but thats it. You have to like these places, even though I dont disclose where they are

Oh...theres also the self-appointed exploration reserve defined as north of (west fork Bear Creek).
Nobody has ever been there lol and nobody will.

[carl swindle]

Cool...I mean whoever explores I have a respect for...cause so much of today is top 5 social media.
Only a few spots I dont tolerate for dislike...but thats it. You have to like these places, even though I dont disclose where they are

Oh...theres also the self-appointed exploration reserve defined as north of (west fork Bear Creek).
Nobody has ever been there lol and nobody will.

I try not to go to consistently go to places that are super crowded (like Baldy or Eaton Canyon...), which occasionally leads to interesting discoveries, but sometimes can result in a lot of bushwhacking with little reward. Unfortunately, this has led me to avoid areas like the East Fork of the San Gabriel River (which I've only done a couple of times), although I'd like to explore further back in that area in the spring or the summer. It's always super crowded between Bridge to Nowhere and the parking area at that time, so I haven't wound up going much. I bet there's a bunch of discharge now.

There are definitely certain spots I don't disclose like caves with Native America artwork (mostly los padres), sites with Native American artifacts, or if someone tells me about a spot that I don't know about and tells me not to disclose the location. There are a select few waterfalls in pretty isolated areas off of lesser known trails or rivers that I don't plan on sharing with anyone or posting on social media because I don't expect people to discover them (including people who love to explore). If I can discover a location on my own using the internet or books, or stumble upon it while exploring park a frequently visited area (anywhere people are known to hike), then I'm usually open to sharing those spots myself, but not always.