| Peak | Mt Wilson |
|---|---|
| Group | N/A |
| Trailhead | Gabrielino National Recreation Trail |
“May your search through nature…lead you to yourself” A sign I read on my way down to the creek. An indication that this will be memorable hike.
It took some planning to be able to do this hike for many reasons. First, it’s my first peak. I live in San Francisco so I’m not familiar with the San Gabriel Mountains and Angeles National Forest area. I visit family in San Diego often so the plan was to hike a peak each time I visit. Second was time constraints. I had to be able to drive to Mount Wilson, hike it, then drive back to San Francisco, in one day since all campgrounds were closed for the season. I calculated about 17 hours total to drive to Chantry Flats, hike up to Mount Wilson, & drive back home. I was ready.
I waited at least more than 24 hours of no rain before attempting the hike to avoid wet trail conditions and too much snow on top. I parked the car at Chantry Flat Recreation Area and placed my Adventure Pass on dash around 630am but didn’t start the hike until around 7:15am down a paved road to the creek. Since I prefer hiking in my trail running shoes as oppose to my bulky hiking shoes it was essential that I avoid water at all cost. Its no fun hiking in cold conditions especially with wet feet. I didn’t run into too many people; three trail runners on my way up, and about 6 on my way down (one mountain biker, the rest hikers). On my way up the only sounds I heard were the surge flow of water from the waterfalls and creeks along with the melting snow falling from the trees like rain but other times as a loud thud. I crossed about half a dozen creeks on my way up which took some time, like solving a puzzle or a riddle, trying to find the best route to use (a rock, tree, pine cone, or debris to step on).
I tried to following directions from Jeff Hester’s SoCalHiker website. I took the Gabrielino Lower Trail (Top of the Falls) to Sturtevant Trail. Started seeing snow at 3 miles to Mount Wilson which only got thicker and denser as you ascended up. I ran into three campground, Robert’s Camp, Spruce Grove Campground & Sturtevant Camp, of course all closed for the season. Finding Winter Creek Trail back to Chantry Flats was a little harder. I spent some time on top walking on the road trying to find the trail. Since the Observatory was closed and the trail pretty much covered in snow, I decided to ask someone who worked there. I was advised to maybe take the same way back since apparently they got 10 feet of snow the past few days and the trail might be hard to find but I really didn’t want to do that. After studying the map they had in the office I decided to take the road until it intersected a trail and take that back to Chantry. It worked out great because the road was mostly plowed and it lead me directly to Winter Creek Trail. I ran into a lot more hikers on the way down and from the foot prints on the snow, it seems a more popular trail than the Sturtevant.
Overall, this hike really tested my endurance especially the last 3 miles. It was very cold on top but not as cold as I anticipated. I like hiking when its low season. I take pleasure in the stillness and quietness of the woods.
