I was beginning to wonder if I would get a chance to do the Three Points Loop around Mt. Waterman in 2023. Angeles Crest Highway had been closed from Red Box to Vincent Gap for many months, and CalTrans projected it might not open until Thanksgiving.
That’s why Friday (November 3) I was excited to hear Angeles Crest Highway had reopened between Upper Big Tujunga Rd. and Islip Saddle.
A couple days later, at dawn, I pulled into the Three Points parking lot, put on some sunscreen, grabbed my pack, and set out to see what was happening on the Three Points loop around Mt. Waterman.
I’d done the loop many times and in many situations — clockwise, counterclockwise, after the Station Fire closure, after the Bobcat Fire closure, with snow at the higher elevations, in hot weather and in cold. When the trails are in good shape and the weather isn’t too hot, the 20-mile loop is an outstanding trail run. Today, it was a challenge just to complete the loop.
At lower elevation, sections of Three Points – Mt. Waterman Trail (10W04) were overgrown with mountain whitethorn — requiring several “grin and bear it” passages. Higher, long stretches of the little-used path were covered with a second season of grass. This made route-finding difficult, particularly where the trail descends to the Twin Peaks Trail junction.
It was an intriguing puzzle to solve, and eventually I made it to the junction of the summit trail and the trail down to Angeles Crest Highway, near Buckhorn (10W05). The trail down to Buckhorn sees much more use than the trail from Three Points and is much better defined. Besides a couple of downed trees, the run down was one of the more enjoyable parts of the loop. The trail is usually very busy, but I didn’t encounter anyone coming up the trail.
As expected, Buckhorn Campground was closed and no water was available. It was a warm day — around 75 degrees — but with the November sun low in the sky, not as warm as 75 degrees in July. If I needed more water, there were several places I could refill.
The Burkhart Trail (below Buckhorn) was the only place I encountered a few hikers. They were returning from Cooper Canyon Falls. When I got down to the PCT and saw how much water was in the creek, I did the short side trip to the falls and took this video snapshot. It’s unusual for the falls to be flowing this time of year.
After checking out the falls, I resumed my westward journey on the PCT. Within feet of the creek crossing, an ugly tangle of fallen trees completely blocked the trail. This was just the first of several problems on the PCT between the Burkhart Trail junction and Cooper Canyon Camp. There were the usual downed trees, but there were also several sections of badly overgrown trail. These green thickets were generally adjacent to the creek, where the trail had been (or still was) wet.
Needing water, and to empty the debris from my shoes, I stopped for a few minutes at Cooper Canyon Trail Camp. Several campsites are nestled in a pleasant area along the creek. With Angeles Crest Highway open, I thought I might see someone here, but like Buckhorn Campground, it was empty.
After reaching Cloudburst Summit, the remainder of the run was more or less usual for the loop. There was some Poodle-dog bush and a small rockslide along the PCT on the way to Camp Glenwood, but neither were an issue. The run was more challenging than usual — and a bit slower — but it had been (mostly) fun and fascinating to work through it.
Angeles Crest Highway was still closed between Red Box and Vincent Gap, and the heatwave continued. I was trying to decide where to run.
I briefly considered the Circuit Around Strawberry Peak, but yesterday at 10:00 a.m., the “in-the-shade” temperature at Clear Creek was already 92°F, and the “in-the-sun” fuel temperature 109°F. By 1:00 p.m., the fuel temp reached a scorching 122°F!
Although trailheads such as Three Points and Islip Saddle couldn’t be accessed using Angeles Crest Highway, the highway was open from Wrightwood to Inspiration Point and Vincent Gap. After seeing the temps at Clear Creek, it took about two seconds to make the decision to head to the San Gabriels’ high country.
From Inspiration Point (7,365′), I ran east on the PCT about 7 miles to the North Backbone Trailhead on Mt. Baldy. Over most of that stretch, the temperature was a blissful 60-something degrees. Other times, I’ve driven to this trailhead — which requires a high-clearance vehicle — or run to the trailhead from Wrightwood. But the run along Blue Ridge is a favorite. It is especially scenic, with fantastic views of Mt. Baden-Powell, Iron Mountain, Pine Mountain, and Mt. Baldy.
Following a short descent, I resumed climbing the steep, somewhat loose ridge. After about ten minutes, I scrambled onto the crest of the ridge and crossed the top of a prominent, rocky chute. More than a thousand feet below, avalanche-hardened snow gleamed white in the sun at the base of the chute.
Another 10 minutes of climbing and I reached the Pine Mountain Juniper. Straddling the rocky crest at an elevation of about 9000′, this stalwart tree is estimated to be 800 – 1000 years old. It is a remarkable tree in a remarkable location. Except for one short, steep, eroded section, the remainder of the trail to the top of Pine Mountain (9648′) was relatively straightforward.
Pine is the second-highest peak in the San Gabriels and has excellent views of the surrounding terrain. It is higher than Mt. Baden-Powell (9399′) and Dawson Peak (9575′) but a few hundred feet lower than Mt. Baldy (10,064′).
From Pine Mountain, the North Backbone trail continues over Dawson Peak another 2.5 miles to Mt. Baldy. There was still a long ribbon of snow along the east side of the upper North Backbone, but it looked like the trail might avoid it. I would have liked to confirm that, but today the top of Pine was my planned turnaround point. As it was, with the warm weather, I thought I might run short on water on the return to Inspiration Point.
Leaving Pine behind, I started back down — jogging when it made sense — but trying not to do anything stoopid. On the way down, I kept reaching behind me and squeezing the bladder in my hydration pack. I guess I was hoping that it would magically be more full than the last time I checked. It never was.
Back at the North Backbone Trailhead, and definitely low on water, I decided it was a good time to run the dirt road back to the top of the Acorn Trail and see how much shorter it was than the PCT. The answer was not much — only about a tenth of a mile.
I’d been willing to push the water envelope because it had been a heavy snow year. I expected the spring near Guffy Camp would probably be running. I’d passed the side trail to the spring a bunch of times but never ventured down the steep slope. My impression was that the spring was often low or nearly dry. This time when I reached the side trail, I headed down.
And down and down… It sure seemed like a long way to the spring, but when I checked the track, it was less than a quarter-mile with an elevation loss of about 200′.
Back on the PCT, the temperature was generally in the mid-eighties but was warmer on south-facing slopes. At about 1:00 p.m., the in-the-sun fuel temperature at the Big Pines RAWS was 109°F. I was very happy to have the extra water.
The 17.5-mile Trailer Canyon – Santa Ynez Canyon Trail – Trippet Ranch Loop is a longer version of the venerable Trippet Ranch loop from the Top of Reseda. It might also be called the Three Vistas Loop because it visits three high points in Topanga State Park with 360-degree, panoramic views.
The run starts and ends the same as the Trippet Ranch Loop. After running up to the Hub on Fire Road #30, instead of continuing straight on Eagle Springs Fire Road, this route turns left on Temescal Ridge Fire Road. The fire road is followed up to where the Backbone Trail single-track forks left off the road. The Backbone Trail is followed a tenth of a mile east, where a path leads up and left to the top of Temescal Peak.
The view from this little peak is superb. On a day with good visibility, the view can extend beyond Mt. Baldy to San Gorgonio Mountain and San Jacinto Peak. The next overlook on this route, Temescal Lookout, is about a half-mile (as the crow flies) to the south. The third overlook, Eagle Rock, is about a mile to the west.
From Temescal Peak, the route returns to Temescal Ridge Fire Road. I usually follow the use-trail back down and across the Backbone Trail and then continue on the use-trail to the fire road.
The next stop, Temescal Lookout, is about a mile from the top of Temescal Peak and just off Temescal Ridge Fire Road. When doing this loop, I run up a dirt access road on the north side of the lookout and then descend a use trail on the south side. Once the site of a fire lookout, it also has an excellent view. This photo of Downtown and San Jacinto Peak was taken from the viewpoint.
Once back on Temescal Ridge Fire Road and headed south, it’s less than a half-mile to the turn-off down Trailer Canyon Fire Road and then another 2.3 miles down to Michael Lane in Pacific Palisades. On the way down, there are good views of where the loop is headed next — Santa Ynez Canyon. A large part of Santa Ynez Canyon was burned in the May 2021 Palisades Fire.
After turning right (west) on Michael Lane, the street is followed around and down to Vereda de la Montura. A right turn here leads to the Santa Ynez Canyon Trailhead in about a quarter-mile. This is where some route-finding fun begins.
A bit more than a mile from the trailhead, the Santa Ynez Canyon Trail climbs out of the bottom of the canyon and up onto a broad ridge. Another mile of uphill, and it tops out at Eagle Springs Fire Road. After turning left, it’s less than a half-mile down to the Trippet Ranch parking lot.
The previous weekend I’d done the Trippet Ranch Loop, so knew what the expect on the remainder of the run. Other than being a little overgrown, the Musch Trail was in reasonable shape. There were still some late-season blooms of showy penstemon, yellow monkeyflower, and white snapdragon along the trail. This time of year, the round pincushions of buckwheat are common. Water was available at the start of the Musch Trail and at Musch Camp.
Eagle Rock is the third viewpoint on the loop, and the most popular. The massive rock formation overlooks Santa Ynez Canyon and has an airy, 360-degree view. On a clear day, Santa Monica Bay, Palos Verdes Peninsula, and Catalina can be seen to the south. On weekends, it’s rare to find the top empty. The summit had just been vacated as I climbed up and was reoccupied by another hiker as I walked down.
Returning to Eagle Rock Fire Road, I turned right and continued northeast a tenth of a mile to the top of the Garapito Trail.
A little more than three miles long, the Garapito Trail is one of my favorite trails in the Santa Monica Mountains. Several sections of the trail are overgrown at the moment. At one point, not too far from Fire Road #30, it was necessary to bushwhack through a dense patch of six-foot-tall giant rye grass.
Two lilies listed on the CNPS Inventory of Rare and Endangered Plants of California were blooming along the Garapito Trail — Plummer’s mariposa lily and Humboldt lily. Both plants have a Rare Plant Rank of 4.2, which indicates they are of limited distribution and moderately threatened in California. Thanks to our very wet rain season, the eye-catching red of scarlet larkspur was unusually prevalent along the trail.
The Garapito Trail ends at Fire Road #30. Normally the route would cross the fire road and follow the Bent Arrow Trail to dirt Mulholland, but the trail was damaged by rainy season storms and is still closed.
Turning left onto Fire Road #30, I retraced my steps from earlier in the morning and in a few minutes was back to the trailhead at the Top of Reseda (Marvin Braude Mulholland Gateway Park).
On June 1, Angeles National Forest reduced the size of the Bobcat Fire Closure, opening up most of the upper West Fork San Gabriel River area. Curious to see how the West Fork area is recovering from the Bobcat Fire, today I ran a slightly shortened version of the ANFTR/Mt. Disappointment 25K course.
Since the Mt. Wilson parking lot is usually closed until mid-morning, this morning’s run started and ended at a small turnout near the top of the Kenyon Devore Trail on the loop road on Mt. Wilson. The ANFTR Trail Races start at the main Mt. Wilson parking lot.
I’d recently done the San Gabriel Peak and Bill Riley Trails and knew they were in reasonable condition. And I’d read that AC100 Trail Work Teams led by Gary Hilliard and Ken Hamada had cleared the Gabrielino and Kenyon Devore Trails earlier this year. So, I didn’t expect to have a repeat of the epic fallen-tree obstacle course that I experienced doing this course in 2020.
The seasonal bridge across Malibu Creek is back! No sketchy log to test your balance or thigh-deep water to wade through — just walk across.
This afternoon I’d returned to Malibu Creek State Park to check on the bridge, count the surviving coast redwoods on the Forest Trail, and see what was happening on the Lost Cabin Trail.
When running the Bulldog Loop a couple of weeks ago, I did a quick check of some of the redwoods on the Forest Trail but skipped the back half of the trail. Today, I crawled through the downed trees blocking the trail and checked the rest of the trees.
I counted seven surviving redwoods. Several of these are multi-tree groups consisting of two or more trees. These family groups were counted as one tree. One of the trees, and perhaps more, was naturally germinated. Most of the trees looked healthy, but appearances can be deceiving.
One redwood is just a few feet from the Crags Road Trail. It’s on the right side of the trail, just past the seasonal bridge, when going west on Crags Road toward the M*A*S*H site. The unique conifer is easy to spot among the other trees.
The start of the Lost Cabin Trail is on the left as you enter the M*A*S*H site going west on Crags Road. Like the Forest Trail, it is less used and isolated but has a character all its own. Today, the Lost Cabin Trail was a trove of brightly colored wildflowers.