Today we hiked the Gabrielino Trail East from Red Box to Valley Forge Trail Camp with the option to continue on to West Fork and Devore Trail Camps if we felt up to it. With the cool morning temperatures and the trail covered in falling leaves from the towering oaks that surrounded us, it was finally starting to feel like fall. The first part of the trail descended the steep stone steps from the Red Box picnic area then continued down some exposed switchbacks. It wasn’t long until we were in the cool shade of the oaks following the trail along the South Fork of the San Gabriel River. The stream was dry at this time of year, but that didn’t stop the gnats from bothering us. Luckily, we were prepared and always have our bug nets with us which prevented the pesky insects from flying into our eyes.
On our route we passed by some cabins and the ruins of an old, stone chimney. After about two miles, we reached the junction for the Valley Forge Trail Camp that was marked with a sign at the spur. We descended the spur to the camp to check it out and see if it was a place we’d like to stay as a future backpacking trip. The camp was lovely with plenty of shade, fire rings, picnic tables and primitive bathrooms. We set up at one of the picnic tables and decided to stay a while. I made friends with a Steller’s Jay who invited himself to our breakfast table. It was a very nice day and we were thoroughly enjoying the peace and quiet! This hike along this section of the Gabrielino Trail reminded me a bit of Santa Anita Canyon sans the crowds. We will definitely be coming back when the weather cools down a bit more to hike the longer routes to West Fork and Devore Trail Camps, and perhaps enjoy an overnight stay.
Today was an epic day full of history! We arrived at the locked gate at Chantry Flat Road about 10 minutes ‘til 6 just before the sheriff arrived to open it. We then drove up the windy road to the parking area at Chantry Flats, displayed our Adventure Pass and off we went into the Big Santa Anita Canyon. This place was beautiful! I immediately forgot I was only 25 minutes from our house in the city; towering oaks, a village of rustic cabins along a creek and lush, green ivy cascading the canyon walls. We trekked creekside along the Gabrielino Trail enjoying the scenery before we reached Fiddler’s Crossing where we followed a short spur trail to Sturtevant Falls. We then backtracked to the Lower Gabrielino trail and traveled onward and upward towards Sturtevant Camp. The Lower Gabrielino trail took us up above the falls which was pretty cool since I’d never actually been on top of a waterfall before. But be warned, the trail here is mostly jagged rock cut into the canyon wall, and there was one section in particular where it got a little sketchy due to erosion from the rains. Besides that section, the rest of the trip is on a lovely, well maintained path. Next, we headed up towards Spruce Grove camp and picked up the Sturtevant Trail to the historic Sturtevant Camp, established in 1893. When we arrived, Brad, the host, greeted us welcomingly. We chatted with him for quite a while and he showed us around the buildings which date back to “The Great Hiking Era”. He also gave us a little history about the place and showed us inside the Sturtevant Lodge which has a kitchen, a dining hall and a fireplace room with an old piano. On the walls, you can see photos of Mr. Wilbur Sturtevent himself. At the turn of the century there were five resorts built here. Sturtevant Camp is the only one that remains, and it’s still functioning! You can rent the cabins, but there is no wifi, cell phone service, computers or TV, and your things will have to be brought up by mules from Adam’s Pack Station. How cool is that! For more information, you can check out this link: http://sturtevantcamp.com/ After leaving camp, we got back on the Sturtevant Trail to the Upper Zion trail which took us to the spur for Mount Zion. In just a short climb we were at the summit looking back at Mount Wilson. After enjoying the view, we headed down and continued on the Upper Zion trail. This section didn’t have much shade and the switchbacks were steep. I was glad we were going down and not up! Eventually, the trail dropped us back into the cool, shady canyon passing through Hoegee’s camp and onto the Winter Creek Trail before reaching our car parked at Chantry Flats. We ended our adventure with ice cream from Adam’s Pack Station General store. I would have loved to have seen the mules, but they were busy working today and making a delivery to Sturtevant Camp. This was a really great hike with a little bit of everything; beautiful scenery, a waterfall, unique history and even a peak. We will definitely take this route again through Sturtevant Camp when we hike to Mount Wilson!
