David Harris - Trails of the Angeles: 100 Hikes in the San Gabriel Mountains

TRAILS OF THE ANGELES: 100 HIKES IN THE SAN GABRIEL MOUNTAINS

10th Edition 2021

Copyright 2021 by David Harris

Copyright 2005 and 2013 by Doug Christiansen

Copyright 1971, 1973, 1976, 1979, 1984, 1990, and 1998 by John W. Robinson

Front cover photos copyright 2021 by David Harris (top: Mount Waterman summit rocks; bottom: Baldy North Backbone

Interior photos by David Harris, except where noted

Frontispiece: Trail to Devils Punchbowl (see )

Pocket map design: Chris Salcedo/Blue Gecko, using data from John W. Robinson, Laurence Jones, David Harris, Doug Christiansen, and U.S. Geological Survey topos

Cover design and back cover map: Scott McGrew

Book design: Annie Long

Manufactured in the United States of America

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Harris, David Money, author.

Title: Trails of the Angeles : 100 hikes in the San Gabriel Mountains / David Harris.

Description: 10th edition. | Birmingham, AL : Wilderness Press, 2021. | Revised edition of: Trails of the Angeles : 100 hikes in the San Gabriels / John W. Robinson with Doug Christiansen. Ninth edition. 2013. | Summary: This updated guidebook details 100 hikes in the San Gabriel Mountains, from one-hour strolls to five-day backcountry trips Provided by publisher.

Identifiers: LCCN 2020040267 (pbk.) | LCCN 2020040268 (ebook) | ISBN 9781643590295 (pbk.) | ISBN 9781643590301 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: HikingCaliforniaSan Gabriel MountainsGuidebooks. | TrailsCaliforniaSan Gabriel MountainsGuidebooks. | San Gabriel Mountains (Calif.)Guidebooks.

Classification: LCC GV199.42.C22 S277 2021 (pbk.) | LCC GV199.42.C22 (ebook) | DDC 796.5109794/93dc23

LC record available at lccn.loc.gov/2020040267

LC ebook record available at lccn.loc.gov/2020040268

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All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, or by any means electronic, mechanical, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher, except for brief quotations used in reviews.

SAFETY NOTICE Although Wilderness Press and the author have made every attempt to ensure that the information in this book is accurate at press time, they are not responsible for any loss, damage, injury, or inconvenience that may occur to anyone while using this book. You are responsible for your own safety and health while in the wilderness. The fact that a trail is described in this book does not mean that it will be safe for you. Be aware that trail conditions can change from day to day. Always check local conditions and know your own limitations.

Contents

Please Note: The print edition of this book has a large, regional map included. We have inserted hi-res images of that map at the end of this eBook.

As avid travelers ourselves, we realize that the true usefulness of that map may be limited by the device you are reading on. So we are offering you the printed map at a deep discount.

Simply go to the maps product page at Wilderness Press (https://adventurewithkeen.com/product/san-gabriel-mountains-map/) and enter the code

MAPFOREBOOK

then complete your purchase. This code will allow you to buy the map for $5 + s/h.

We thank you for buying this eBook product and hope it helps you along your journey.

Preface to the
10th Edition

JOHN ROBINSON, SOUTHERN CALIFORNIAS legendary guidebook author and mountain historian, died in April 2018 at age 88. A native Californian, he served in the army during the Korean War and then studied history at the University of Southern California before becoming a schoolteacher. Robinson began hiking with the Sierra Club in the 1950s and co-led the first trip of the Sierra Peaks Section in 1956. He founded the Sierra Echo, the sections newsletter, and went on to write hiking guidebooks and mountain histories. His most famous hiking guidebooks are this one, Trails of the Angeles, first published in 1971, and San Bernardino Mountain Trails, first published in 1972. Wilderness Press has kept both in continuous print for nearly 50 years now. Robinson also wrote the most comprehensive histories of the San Gabriel, San Bernardino, and San Jacinto Mountains, meticulously researched tomes full of historical photos that are fascinating for anyone wondering who roamed our mountains in bygone days.

When Robinson retired from guidebook writing in 2005, Doug Christiansen revised the eighth and ninth editions of Trails of the Angeles. Now that Christiansens career has taken him away from Southern California, I have the privilege of tracing Robinsons footsteps through the San Gabriels.

This revision has proved to be the most substantial in the books history. For this edition, I have rehiked every hike in the book, mostly in the past three years. Some have burned or become impassable. I have merged others with closely related trips. A few were simply dull. Thus, I have removed the following 18 hikes from the ninth edition:

Sawmill Ridge to Gillette Mine: Unmaintained and overgrown

Dagger Flat: Burned in the Sand Fire and brushy

Barley Flats: Burned in the Station Fire and vanished

Tom Lucas Trail: Burned in the Station Fire and a nasty bushwhack

Messenger Flats: Burned in the Station Fire; road closed

Grizzly Flat: Merged with nearby trip up Lukens via Stone Canyon

Bear Canyon Trail Camp: Merged with Bear Canyon Traverse

Strawberry Peak Traverse: Merged with Strawberry Peak

Spruce Grove Trail Camp: Merged with Mount Zion Loop

West Fork: Trip unclear and closely related to other West Fork trips

Mount Bliss: Uncompelling fire-road walk with poor trailhead parking

Devore and West Fork: Merged with West Fork Trail Camp

Big Tujunga Narrows: Canyoneering trip rather than a hike

Mount Gleason: Road closed since Station Fire

Little Rock Creek: Unclear; merged with nearby trips

West Fork San Gabriel River: Paved road walk ending at a fence

Baden-Powell from Crystal Lake: Replaced with a better loop

Upper Fish Fork: Unmaintained and overgrown

In their place, I am happy to have added a delightful set of new hikes, including a mix of waterfalls, newly reopened trails, family-friendly rambles, and epic adventures.