Lower Millard, Baby!

Post by **Sean** » Thu Mar 23, 2023 1:50 pm

Reports had been received of extensive damage to the Lower Millard Canyon trail, below the campground, so last Saturday afternoon I checked it out. A large slide fell on the private drive just after the first creek crossing.

The cabin owners have begged the Forest Service to clear it.

Also, the makeshift wooden bridge needs repairing. A couple boards are broken.

A big washout damaged part of the trail but members of the Restoration Legacy Crew made it passable again. We're forming a plan for a retaining wall here, and possibly restoring a bypass lower down, along the creek.

The worst problem, however, is well below the cabin district, where the water jumped the bank and wiped out a couple hundred feet of tread. This spillover section will require a lot of man hours, moving tons of rock, and relocating part of the path further up the bank.

Plus, there are many creek crossings, all of which have been destroyed. I waded across them without too much difficulty. The water was about knee-high in the worst spots.

Post by **dima** » Fri Mar 24, 2023 7:02 pm

There's a "lower" Millard? You go to the campground and follow the road downstream? How far does it go?

Post by **Sean** » Fri Mar 24, 2023 8:15 pm

dima wrote: ↑There's a "lower" Millard? You go to the campground and follow the road downstream? How far does it go?

Yeah, it's a couple miles to Canyon Crest Drive. You can start from Canyon Crest if you want. Park in a turnout at the Millard crossing and go around the gate.

CrazyHermit · Post by **CrazyHermit** » Mon Mar 27, 2023 6:06 am

That canyon used to be called Church Canyon. There was a civil war fugitive (Confederate) who got caught in California, He was tried and convicted for treason but instead of hanging him the court made a slave out of him and forced him to cut down trees for the lumber that built a church in downtown L.A. At that time the canyon was so remote there was nowhere for him to run.

Post by **Sean** » Mon Mar 27, 2023 9:12 am

CrazyHermit wrote: ↑That canyon used to be called Church Canyon. There was a civil war fugitive (Confederate) who got caught in California, He was tried and convicted for treason but instead of hanging him the court made a slave out of him and forced him to cut down trees for the lumber that built a church in downtown L.A. At that time the canyon was so remote there was nowhere for him to run.

I believe this happened long before the civil war. Joseph Chapman was a sailor aboard a ship that was plundering the California coastline in 1818. He was captured by Spanish soldiers. Instead of executing Chapman, the Spanish made him a prisoner. A soldier, Antonio Lugo took charge of Chapman, brought him to Los Angeles, where he joined the crew cutting down trees for the church. Apparently Lugo and Chapman became friends after that.

CrazyHermit · Post by **CrazyHermit** » Mon Mar 27, 2023 10:03 am

Youre right. I was going on memory but now I remember that. You must have seen that in History of Pasadena.

Post by **Sean** » Mon Mar 27, 2023 3:19 pm

CrazyHermit wrote: ↑Youre right. I was going on memory but now I remember that. You must have seen that in History of Pasadena.

I probably first read it in History of Pasadena. But today I confirmed my memory by finding the story in an old newspaper article. See attached PDF.

0616.pdf: (3.7 MiB) Downloaded 44 times

CrazyHermit · Post by **CrazyHermit** » Mon Mar 27, 2023 3:36 pm

I have that same newspaper article. Thanks. The guy who wrote History of Pasadena was amazing. His wife was the first woman to ever reach Thalehaha Falls in Rubio Canyon. That's like the bible of everything that happened in that area in the late 1800s.