Grand Tour of Glendora Wilderness - North Trails

TRs for the San Gabriel Mountains.
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Sean
Cucamonga
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Joined: Wed Jul 27, 2011 12:32 pm

Post by Sean »

The northern trails of Glendora Wilderness called to me yesterday afternoon, and I managed to accumulate 10 miles with 3k gain while wandering around Little and Big Dalton Canyons. After parking at the Wren-Meacham Trailhead, the path climbed 450' and provided nice views of the canyons, and the spreading grounds below the debris basin.

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The trail then drops down to the Linder Equestrian Center.

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From here I followed the road past the fire station and Little Dalton debris basin, to the Colby-Dalton Trail, which climbs 360' through a shaded oak grove,

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then suddenly hits the Colby Fire wasteland.

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It was nice to see that some things do survive wildfires, things such as beer bottles and aluminum cans.

I returned to Little Dalton and continued up-canyon to the Sack Head shed.

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Near this old building a trail climbs 320' up the west slope of the canyon. I went up and down this path for some bonus gain, though it isn't very pretty and ends abruptly at Glendora Mountain Road.

I then walked down the road to the Poop-Out Trail, which ascends steeply 740' to a junction which includes the Monroe Truck and Mystic Canyon Trails.

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The Mystic Canyon Trail gradually descended through Mystic Canyon and into Big Dalton.

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I then followed the Big Dalton Canyon Trail upstream, passing through some recreational areas and crossing a few bridges.

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This trail eventually ends at the park road, where I turned around and took the road back to a wilderness cabin with a drinking fountain.

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Behind the cabin are some more trails. I took Keiser up to Coulter Pine, which puts you high up on the south side of the canyon. The high path crosses the Dunn Canyon Trail and continues westward, often through pleasant tree cover.

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Also, this high trail offers good views of the entire San Antonio Ridge between West Baldy and Iron, though haze prevented me from getting a decent shot of the scene.

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The Coulter Pine Trail ultimately popped out on the park road, which I then took a short distance back to my car.
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Augie
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Joined: Fri Sep 28, 2007 2:17 pm

Post by Augie »

An area I've never been to. Thanks for the report.
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tekewin
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Joined: Thu Apr 11, 2013 5:07 pm

Post by tekewin »

Dang, the fire shaved the mountain clean. I've never seen the kind of damage it does up close. Looks like you had some fun wandering around up there.
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