Middle Lytle Creek to Timber
Posted: Sun Aug 21, 2011 6:08 pm
I've been wanting to explore the east route to IH saddle for a while but had always heard about knuckleheads in the Lytle Creek area which kept me away. I read a recent report that had said the Middle Fork is pretty well left alone so decided to give it a try. I had some bad beta on where the turn off was for the Middle Fork road and instead drove to the end of the paved Lytle Creek Road where I did meet some interesting characters just standing around. I asked them if they knew where Middle Lytle Creek was and they had no idea, which was another good sign for me. I drove back slowly and found the turn-off which is right after the South Fork turn-off on a very narrow road. The dirt road is pretty rough and after 1.5 miles driving on it I decided my low clearance vehicle had suffered enough punishment and parked in a turnoff.
About a half hour later I was at the trailhead with only one car parked there, now we're talking. The route up Middle Lytle is much drier and exposed then the western side, it also starts at a lower elevation. The first 1.5 miles switchbacks high up the north side of the canyon to get around a ridge that tightens the canyon up. After about 1 mile you have the turnoff for the Stonehouse campground which looks pretty desolate in a burned out forest. Finally in the 2nd mile you drop to Third Stream Crossing which will be your first stream crossing in a oak woodlands and the first real shade of the day. I had a hard time findiing the trail on the other side of the stream but fortunately the other hikers were right behind me with GPS and pointed me in the right direction.
The next 1.5 mile you switchback up the ridge separating Lytle Creek and the stream you just crossed and contour high up on the side of the cayon to get around a rough section. This trail section is the most sketchy with about four scree sections that need to be crossed in various states of disrepair. Unfortunately the nastiest spots are also where if you bite it, its all over. I took it nice and slow but beginners aren't going to enjoy this section.
Finally you drop into the most beautiful section of the canyon and the coolest by Comanche Camp where the creek divides yet again between the south that comes down from Cucamonga Saddle and the much narrower canyon that takes you up to IH saddle. For an overnight destination this spot is it in the San Gabriels, remote and really beautiful. There were three people camping there who had come over IH canyon and descended to the camp.
The last 1.5 miles are totally exposed on ugly talus slops with nice steady gain the whole way. I finally reached the saddle in three hours after seven miles of hiking, whew this wasn't the easy way. I hadn't really stopped the whole time so took an extended break in the middle of Manhattan. I figured a peak needed to be climbed to make this a real hike so climbed Timber where two groups were on top and made any relaxation impossible.
It was finally the long way down which went quite a bit faster and I got back to my car in about two hours from the saddle. I once again lost the trail at Three Stream crossing but found it again on the other side. Fortunately when I hit the last three miles there was a cool breeze, I was not looking forward to descending this section in the middle of the day. The bottom section of the dirt road had become a beach with families all going to the stream with towels, beach chairs, and umbrellas, pretty damn funny. The whole hike was 16 miles with 4,600 feet elevation gain in 6 hours.
About a half hour later I was at the trailhead with only one car parked there, now we're talking. The route up Middle Lytle is much drier and exposed then the western side, it also starts at a lower elevation. The first 1.5 miles switchbacks high up the north side of the canyon to get around a ridge that tightens the canyon up. After about 1 mile you have the turnoff for the Stonehouse campground which looks pretty desolate in a burned out forest. Finally in the 2nd mile you drop to Third Stream Crossing which will be your first stream crossing in a oak woodlands and the first real shade of the day. I had a hard time findiing the trail on the other side of the stream but fortunately the other hikers were right behind me with GPS and pointed me in the right direction.
The next 1.5 mile you switchback up the ridge separating Lytle Creek and the stream you just crossed and contour high up on the side of the cayon to get around a rough section. This trail section is the most sketchy with about four scree sections that need to be crossed in various states of disrepair. Unfortunately the nastiest spots are also where if you bite it, its all over. I took it nice and slow but beginners aren't going to enjoy this section.
Finally you drop into the most beautiful section of the canyon and the coolest by Comanche Camp where the creek divides yet again between the south that comes down from Cucamonga Saddle and the much narrower canyon that takes you up to IH saddle. For an overnight destination this spot is it in the San Gabriels, remote and really beautiful. There were three people camping there who had come over IH canyon and descended to the camp.
The last 1.5 miles are totally exposed on ugly talus slops with nice steady gain the whole way. I finally reached the saddle in three hours after seven miles of hiking, whew this wasn't the easy way. I hadn't really stopped the whole time so took an extended break in the middle of Manhattan. I figured a peak needed to be climbed to make this a real hike so climbed Timber where two groups were on top and made any relaxation impossible.
It was finally the long way down which went quite a bit faster and I got back to my car in about two hours from the saddle. I once again lost the trail at Three Stream crossing but found it again on the other side. Fortunately when I hit the last three miles there was a cool breeze, I was not looking forward to descending this section in the middle of the day. The bottom section of the dirt road had become a beach with families all going to the stream with towels, beach chairs, and umbrellas, pretty damn funny. The whole hike was 16 miles with 4,600 feet elevation gain in 6 hours.