On the lovely day of April 4, 2007, I decided I want to go on a hike. I went with Erin, Gretchen, Joe and Ben on a just over 6 mile hike , on part of the Fish Forks Trails (hike 88 in Trails of the Angeles). The part we did had only 900′ or so of gain.
google earth image of the hike
Getting there was fun in its own way. Route 2 has a big broken part in the middle of the San Gabriels, so we had to go the long way around for this one, and turn back up the 2 from the eastern side. Following the guidebook, we took a left off the highway at one of the many PCT trail junctions. You then drive some 8 miles down a dirt road. This, in itself, isn’t a real problem. The part when it started getting a bit surreal was when we realized we were driving across what are ski slopes in the winter. “Hmm, they are serious when they say this is a summer only route”. We were definitely confused for a bit, but when we found ourselves passing some campsites we figured we were on the correct route.
some of the aforementioned clouds
We went about 8 miles in total down this dirt road, and stopped a few times to stare at the beautiful clouds filling some of the valleys to the south. We then continued on our way and parked more or less at the sign signalling the beginning of the Sheep Mountain Wilderness Area.
The trail begins up a nice easy slope, and has one major switchback at the ridgeline. There are some nice views of Mt. Baden-Powell on the way. It’s pretty cool to be able to know the distinct markers you see; really gives one a sense that you are getting to know the mountains, at least a little bit. Anyway, we walked along this ridgeline for a bit until we had a choice as to where to turn (go across a slope, or up a hill), so we stopped for a little bit and had a bit of a snack. We then headed out across this big scree-covered slope. That part was kind of sketchy, but with my poles I dealt ok. I <3 my hiking poles.
I’ve always loved signs…
Anyway, we’re on this slope, and way down beneath us, we saw this whole line of bighorn sheep bouncing along! They all walk in a line, and they are short hair, so they end up looking more like goats than our standard city-dweller impression of a fluffy white sheep. I did get a photo of them, but they are tiny tiny in the image, and sort of blend into the landscape. Anyway, there are only about 400 of them left in the range, and seeing 6 of them is reasonably unusual (though certainly not unheard of – it is called the Sheep Mountain Wilderness, after all).
Once you get past this slope, you head down into a more forested valley (down towards the Fish Forks, as a matter of fact). However, we didn’t make it very far before we lost the trail for a bit. We did refind it, but we had to turn around at that point because we needed to be getting back to Pasadena. Oh well, perhaps another time!
sorry about the grass in your face, Ben!
I really is nice to be able to go to these roadless areas. *Especially* in a place as overall crowded as Southern California is (even in the desert, it can be hard to escape entirely, and sometimes it is nice to not be in the desert….). The sense of isolation, even if only for a few hours, is very compelling.
