With Much Of The Forest Burn Area Reopened, It's Back To Favorite Trails Again

A Sierra Club volunteer trail crew places rocks at a Gabrielino Trail crossing of the West Fork near Red Box. It was amoung the trail sections reopened on May 16. photo by Sharon Moore

After a year and a half of restrictions, hikers and other visitors are once again enioying thousands of acres of wildlands and a couple of dozen trails in Angeles National Forest that were closed to the public after the 2009 Station Fire.

From the Arroyo Seco north of Altadena to Red Box near Mt. Wilson to the entire San Gabriel Wilderness, 98,000 acres were reopened to the public on May 16, including campgrounds such as Charlton Flat Picnic Area, Gould Mesa Campground, Paul Little Picnic Area, and Mill-Creek Summit Picnic Area.

Among the 100 miles of trail reopened were Gabrielino (JPL to Paul Little), Gabrielino (Switzers to Redbox to Chantry Rat); Bear Canyon Trail; Sam Merrill Trail; Castle Canyon Trail; Sunset Ridge Trail; Mt. Lowe West Trail; Idlehour Trail; Kenyon Devore Trail; Rim Trail; Sturtevant Trail; Santa Clara Divide Truck Trail (Dillon Divide to Mt. Gleason to Three Points); Chilao Loop/Mt. Hillyer; Vetter Road; Silver Moccasin; Shortcut; Valley Forge; Mt. Lukens Road (once the highway opens); Earl Canyon; Haines Canyon; Doc Larsen.

The Pacific Crest Trail was reopened with some rerouting, and the Switzer Falls picnic area, was to reopen after completion of construction.

Still closed until further notice were such popular trails as Strawberry Peak, Dawn Mine, Gabrielino from Switzers to Paul Little, Colby Canyon and Josephine. And the Mueller Tunnel remained closed to the public, blocking use of the fire road west from Eaton Saddle to the Mt. Lowe trail and other points.

Adding to the good news for forest visitors, Caltrans reopened Highway 2, the Angeles Crest Highway, on June 2. A section of the highway north of La Canada Flintridge had been closed since January 2010 while crews rebuilt parts of the roadway that were washed away by rains after the 2009 Station Fire left hillsides denuded of vegetation.

Many volunteers helped repair damage resulting from the Station Fire, which burned 160,000 acres in the San Gabriel Mountains from August to October 2009. leaving hillsides bare of vegetation. They restored trails damaged by debris flows and washouts, removed invasive plants that can displace native plants in burned areas, and replanted trees. Sierra Club volunteers under the auspices of the Angeles Chapter's Forest Committee helped in the trail restoration.

Even with all of the restoration efforts, hikers were advised to watch for possible problems on some trails, such as downed trees, slides, washouts and ruts. But having much of the forest and its trails and picnic areas available again is great news for hikers, bird watchers, nature lovers and many others.