I got a late start on Saturday, my buddy Henry and I did not get on the trail till 1:30pm. The hike up Mt Wilson Toll Road was very warm but it did not keep the crowds away, all the way to Henninger Flats there were swarms of hikers, couples, dog walkers and even some shady looking characters that were probably out spray painting rocks.
By the time we reached Henninger Flats I had finished off a 70oz Platypus and was making steady progress on my Nalgene, it was warm!
I had never been to Henninger Flats before and was quite surprised to see so many pine trees, buildings, and campgrounds. It smelled wonderful and to boot there was an amazing breeze coming down off Mt Wilson that dramatically decreased the temperature.
Once past Henninger Flats the crowds dissipated considerably and besides one Boy Scout Troop we did not see anyone else the rest of the day. Just under two hours after leaving our car (at the Pinecrest trailhead - mistake) we made it to the Idlehour trail. The push up to the saddle was amazing, the views to the ocean were spectacular the Pacific looked like shimmering gold!
The 1.59 mile descent (for anyone out there with an iPhone check out Motion X a $2.99 GPS app in the AppStore ((or free if you have jailbroken the device)), I used it on this trip and was very impressed... still trying to figure out how to upload my waypoints and tracks from the trip. When I figure it out I'll post to this thread) was cool and the views of Mt Wilson and Eaton Canyon were amazing. As soon as we dropped over the other side of the saddle we could hear the river raging in the canyon below. We stopped a few times on the way down to take pictures and just soak in the views and by 4:30pm we were at the bottom.
view of Middle Muir & Upper Eaton
There was a Boy Scout Troop camping at Idlehour Campground, not a bad place to camp. The river looked inviting so we found a nice pool and went for a swim. It was pretty dang cold but after the exposed slog up Mt Wilson Toll Road it was a welcome refreshment. Much thanks must go to MattCav for his recent trip report, I took his advice and brought my water filter and we refilled our empty water supply with ice cold water!
We had not brought much in the way of food so we snacked on a few crackers and dropped down Eaton Canyon but only a few hundred meters to the first side canyon which we followed back up to Idlehour Trail. The short route down Eaton Canyon was beautiful, boulder hoping down the creek bed with moss and fern covered cliffs on either side and water polished VW Bus sized boulders.
At the first switch back, on the way up Idlehour Trail, we stopped to peel off some warming layers and I got one bar of service so I shot off a text to my wife to let her know I was still alive and that she did not need to call for a rescue. A little further up we ran out of natural light and had to take out our headlamps. After we crested the saddle we were greeted with an amazing sunset and the view of the city lights stretching to the ocean!
The moonlight was bright enough that we could hike down Mt Wilson Toll Rd without headlamps. Near the bottom we almost stepped on a frog who was hoping along the road and we spooked a night owl that was roosting in a pine next to the road. It was a peaceful hike down.
We could almost taste the Tonny's Mexican food when we arrived at the gate, we were famished! Imagine our horror when we discovered that the gate was locked!!! This meant that we would have to hike down to the trailhead at the intersection of Midwick, Roosevelt & Altadena Dr adding another 2 miles to our hike! So dejectedly we headed back down the road to the bridge and followed the trail down the valley. After one more creek crossing and some bush-wacking we found the trail on the other side of the river and made our way back to the car.
Total trip stats: 12 miles in 6 hours (1:30pm - 7:30pm)
Side-note: The rock climbing potential does look promising, thank you AW, I will surely be coming back for a longer trip possibly multiday to explore. Even from Idlehour Campground there are some huge boulders on the western slopes!
And boy did those fish tacos and flautas taste amazing!!!
I cleaned both plates, not a grain of rice left
