Islip Canyon To Silver Mountain

[Sean]

Taco goes down these things, and I try to go up them.

Yeah, yeah, danger zone, blah, blah...

Looks like smooth sailing.

Doh! Water alert. Maybe not so smooth sailing.

What the...

Hey, look, a waterfall that I can't climb! Better find a bypass.

The view from this bypass ridge is kinda cool.

The ridge itself ain't so great.

Damn, cut myself--AGAIN!

I could probably drop back into the canyon now, but it looks kind of messed up. Perhaps I should stay on the ridge top.

This ridge seems longer than it probably is in reality.

Hmm, is that Silver Mountain? Yep, it is.

Wow, look at the time! I better hustle down to the highway before it gets dark.

[headsizeburrito]

Very cool, did you just find a random pull out along the 39 near the canyon? What would you say the ratio was of stuff you could stay in the canyon for vs having to bypass along the ridges?

I really need to learn some rope stuff so I can do some canyoneering, particularly interested in Fish Fork...

[Sean]

Very cool, did you just find a random pull out along the 39 near the canyon?

There is a nice turnout at the canyon entrance. It's on the west (left) side about a half-mile before the road that goes down to the San Gabriel Dam.

What would you say the ratio was of stuff you could stay in the canyon for vs having to bypass along the ridges?

You can scramble up the canyon for about a mile before hitting a walled-in twenty-five foot waterfall. Up to this point it's light to heavy bushwhacking, zigzagging to avoid deadfall, and negotiating a few minor falls/cascades (class 2 or 3) which can be climbed on one side or the other without going up a ridge. It's the sort of overgrown, debris-filled canyon where you need to watch your foot placement carefully to avoid breaking an ankle or burying your shoe in mud. You should also be able to identify poison oak, because you might have to step carefully through some of it.

I don't recommend trying to bypass the waterfall and explore the upper canyon unless you really know what you're doing in terms of scrambling and navigating up canyons. But Taco thinks the series of upper falls can be bypassed by going up dirt slopes. I can't tell you for sure, though, because I ran out of time and had to save that challenge for another day.

[headsizeburrito]

You should also be able to identify poison oak, because you might have to step carefully through some of it.

I've either gotten lucky so far or just haven't encountered it (I generally hike at higher elevations or other places where it doesn't grow), but I do need to work on my ID skills for that stuff, those rashes sound unpleasant! In anticipation of exploring further up East Fork I did get some lotion last week that is supposedly protective against poison oak, hopefully I'll have a chance to test it next week!

[Taco]

Yeah I think almost all of it could be bypassed on super loose steep dirt slopes, but it would suck more than rappelling or any other option.