I’ve peered down into mysterious
Bear Canyon from the Markham Saddle on more than one occasion and wondered
about the secrets it might hold. The topo maps all told me that there is, or at
least there once was, a trail from the Tom Sloane Saddle to the Arroyo Seco that
cuts directly through the heart of Bear Canyon, but post-Station fire accounts
of the condition of that trail were few and far between. I’d read a snippet
here, heard a mention there, but nothing that gave me confidence that the trail
was still in regular use or even passable. Had Mother Nature in her shaggy
exuberance reclaimed the canyon as her own personal paradise, or were folks simply
keeping quiet about this jewel hidden in plain sight in order to keep me and my
ilk out? I didn’t really know, but I was itching to find out.
So about a week or so ago, some
kindred spirits and I decided to give Bear Canyon a go. The planned route
involved an 18 mile loop starting from Red Box that took us up the Bill Reilly
trail to the San Gabriel Peak-Mt. Disappointment divide, down to the Markham
Saddle, along the Mt. Lowe fire road, over the Tom Sloane Saddle Trail, up to
the summit of Brown Mountain, back to Tom Sloane Saddle, into and through Bear
Canyon, out the Arroyo Seco to Switzer, and then back up the Gabrieleno Trail
to the starting point at Red Box. We left a vehicle at Switzer as our bail-out
point just in case Bear Canyon ended up being an unbearably time-consuming suffer-fest
through deadfall, poisonous plants, and slippery rock.
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| Sunrise from Red Box |
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| West Fork of the San Gabriel River (foreground) and Mt. Baldy (background) |
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| San Gabriel Peak from the Bill Reilly Trail |
We arrived at Red Box as the
rising sun spilled salmon and magenta across eastern horizon. As we climbed the
Bill Reilly Trail, the sky lightened and we were treated to inspiring views
into the West Fork of the San Gabriel River and of snow-capped Mt. Baldy in the
distance. Massive San Gabriel Peak stood silent sentinel in front of us. But
this silence was soon broken by the mechanized sounds of chainsaws echoing in
the forest ahead. As it turned out, crews were out curiously early that morning
trimming back unruly Manzanita and everything else that grew within 20 yards of
either side of the trail.
Descending the San Gabriel
Peak Trail, we were surprised to see a group of about 20 hikers congregated at
the Markham Saddle. We were even more surprised to learn that there was still
another group of 26 hikers coming up the fire road from Eaton Saddle. The first
group was planning to bag a number of other peaks in the area that were not on
our itinerary. The second group, however, was heading to Brown Mountain so we
would have company. A lot of it.
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| Water Tank at Markham Saddle |
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| Upper Bear Canyon from the Mr. Lowe Fire Road |
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| My Trail Crew Taking in the Views |
From the Markham Saddle our route
tacked west following the old Mt. Lowe fire road that skirts the north side of
Mt. Lowe and the south rim of Bear Canyon. Eventually, this fire road doubles
back on itself heading east for a short distance before dropping south into the
Mt. Lowe trail camp. The Tom Sloane Saddle Trail continues west at this hairpin
turn as an obvious single-track that descends to the Tom Sloane Saddle, a
four-way trail junction at which the trail from the Dawn Mine to the south and
the trail into Bear Canyon to the north intersect. The path then climbs an
undulating ridgeline with a series of false summits before its terminus at
Brown Mountain. The entire path from the Markham Saddle to the summit of Brown
Mountain is obvious and easy to follow.
It was along this stretch that we
were overtaken by a number of folks in the hiking contingent behind us. We
weren’t moving particularly slowly, but these folks seemed oddly focused on
getting to Brown’s summit before anyone else, including the remaining hikers in
their group. A number of them were actually running down the trail in their
hiking boots and with packs strapped to their backs. Hiking as competitive
sport I suppose. When we ultimately reached Brown’s summit, I overheard someone
mention that this hiking group had predictably lost track of 3 of their own.
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| Looking toward Brown Mountain from the Tom Sloane Saddle Trail |
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| Descending the Tom Sloane Saddle Trail |
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| Brown Mountain |
We took some time on the summit
of Brown to refuel and take in the expansive views. The hordes of hikers soon scurried
off as hurriedly as they had come leaving us to wrestle with the sudden solitude. But
the real fun was still in front of us, so we tracked back to the Tom Sloane
Saddle in anticipation of our imminent foray into Bear Canyon.
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| Mi Trail Companeros atop Brown Mountain |
Getting into Bear Canyon from the
Tom Sloane Saddle is an easy descent down a plainly evident footpath that is in
surprisingly good condition. There is a minor obstacle or two along the way,
but someone has recently cut back the trailside brush making travel here pretty
dang easy. Where the trail finally hits the canyon bottom, however, conditions
change rather dramatically. In short, if there was once a trail here previously,
it exists no longer. Navigation involves
climbing on, over, and under fallen trees, splashing back and forth through the
creek, and negotiating a jumble of overgrowth which includes both poison oak
and the notorious Poodle Dog Bush. Fortunately, there has been some work done
in the canyon bottom with someone stringing bright pink and red tape along the creek
bed to highlight the way forward.
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| Trail Into Bear Canyon at Tom Sloane Saddle |
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| Cucamonga Man and Cecelia Dropping Into Bear Canyon |
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| Looking Up Bear Canyon to the Markham Saddle |
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| Trailside Conclave - Cucamonga Man, Cecelia, and Teke |
Despite the rough sledding, the
canyon itself is an untamed and beautiful place that feels remote because of
its remoteness. Stately evergreens dot the steep canyon hillsides. A variety of
deciduous trees populate the riparian bottomlands. Clear water cascades over
falls and spills out of side canyons to join the main creek flow which courses toward
the Arroyo Seco deeper down the canyon’s maw. And ferns, moss, and an
assortment of colorful fungi carpet the moist canyon floor and colonize the innumerable
fallen logs and slippery stones. It is one of the special places to be found in
the vast San Gabriel Mountains.
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| Route Finding in Bear Canyon |
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| Bear Canyon Fungus |
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| More Fungus Amongus |
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| Nearing Bear Canyon Trail Camp |
As the trail neared idyllic Bear
Canyon trail camp, conditions improved and the old path once again became discernible.
Beyond the camp, conditions improved dramatically with the trail becoming
obvious and fairly well traveled. That improved accessibility probably explains
the group of 15 or so additional folks that we encountered enjoying Bear Canyon
trail camp. Oddly enough, when we had begun the day, I was expecting to encounter
far fewer people than you’d normally see on some of the more popular trails in
the Front Range. As it turned out, and except for Echo Mountain, we crossed
paths with as many hikers on this day as I can recall ever seeing on the
trails. Who knew?
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| One of the Camp Sites at Bear Canyon Trail Camp |
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| One of the Many Stream Crossing Below Bear Canyon Trail Camp |
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| Pool Along Bear Canyon Creek |
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| Trail Conditions Below Bear Canyon Trail Camp |
Below the trail camp, Bear Canyon
joins the Arroyo Seco. A short distance later, the trail climbs a couple
hundred feet out of the canyon to join the Gabrieleno Trail just south of where
Commodore Switzer’s historic trail camp was once located. From that point, it’s
a gentle walk back up the Arroyo Seco to the canopied Switzer Picnic Area.
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| Arroyo Seco at Junction with Bear Canyon |
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| Pool in the Arroyo Seco |
When we finally arrived at
Switzer, we paused and took stock of the situation. We had about an hour of
daylight left and approximately 4 additional miles to cover. That meant that we
would be getting back to Red Box after dark if we decided the complete the
circuit. That wasn’t a huge deal, but other than for bragging rights, none of
us found walking the remaining stretch to be that compelling of a proposition.
So we loaded into the car we had strategically left at Switzer earlier that
morning and made our way back to our starting point by way of the Angeles Crest
Highway.
For additional information and pics of Bear Canyon, read Keith Winston's account of our day here at his informative blog Iron Hiker.
