We got up late today and decided to take our time getting anywhere. We weren’t really decided upon any one hike, so I stuffed my backpack with maps, downloaded a bunch of different trails onto the Garmin and headed up the ACH. The rock slide still hasn’t been repaired, so we had to take the detour to get to the high country. We then decided today would be a good day to hike Devil’s Canyon. The weather was cool, and I remembered last year when we did this hike in April there was lots of water flowing. I knew with all the rain and snow this year, there would be plenty of water now too. The trail hadn’t changed much. The views down into the canyon overlooking the San Gabriel Wilderness were beautiful. The trail could definitely use some love though. It was pretty brushy in some areas, and there were some trees down across the trail. There was also more erosion. Still, it was nothing too difficult to get around. We followed the creek most of the way and eventually reached the backcountry campsite. We saw a family on their way out who had spent the night. They had their kids who were carrying backpacks bigger then they were and two dogs. I asked them how their night was, and they told me it rained all night. We made our way over to this really great rock I found last year right next to the stream. It’s nice and smooth and shaped like a recliner. We got comfortable and ate our lunch (ham and cheese croissants from the donut shop... yum!). The sound of the running water was so relaxing and the clouds were billowing across blue sky. We took a nice nap until eventually the sky turned to gray and the sun was covered by the clouds. We packed up our stuff and began the hike up out of the canyon. I took a lot of photos on the way back. There were lots of wildflowers, and at one of the creek crossings there was a ton of ladybugs (and also poison oak). The cloud cover made the hike up and out pleasant since it kept us cool on the exposed sections of the trail. It was a very peaceful, relaxing day.
Today we headed back to Griffith Park again and this time accessed the trails from the north side. We didn’t have to get up as early to beat the crowds today, and we had much more solitude coming up from this direction. We took the Skyline Trail to the Mineral Wells Trail. From there we followed it all they way to the Bee Rock Trail. What an interesting spectacle Bee Rock is from below! We made our way up the steep single track to the top of the Bee Rock where the views, even though fenced in, were excellent! From Bee Rock we hiked a short distance on Vista Del Valle and then picked up the North Trail. From the North Trail we connected back to Mineral Wells and then back to the Skyline Trail in a lollipop loop. I have to admit I really underestimated Griffith Park. It has a very extensive trail system, and there’s a hike for ever level. You can make a whole day out of it or just a few hours if you so choose. The only problem we ran into was that there are many use trails throughout the park, so it can get confusing as to which one to take. I found myself referring to my map quite a bit. At the end of our hike, we both agreed we are very lucky to have this wonderful park within a few minutes drive from our home. We’ll definitely be coming here more often in the future.
Today we started out with a plan to do “just a short hike”. Well, by now I should know that it rarely ever works out that way. We didn’t feel like driving too far so we decided to stick closer to home and take a ride up to Eaton Saddle. We hiked up the Mount Lowe Road, through the Mueller Tunnel (which I think is absolutely amazing) and reached Markham Saddle. At that point we had several options to climb the peaks that we’d done before; Mt. Lowe, Mt. Disappointment, San Gabriel Peak or we could continue on the Mount Lowe Road. I pulled out the map to see where it would take us. It looked to be a little over four miles to reach the Mount Lowe Trail Camp and Inspiration Point (which we’d also been to before, but never from this direction). We decided to give it a go. What a great route! I’m so glad we did it. This area has so much history. Not only was this a very low stress, no cliff hugging ledges kind of hike, but it also had a lot of butterflies. After reaching Inspiration Point, we continued along the fire road past the crowd of people until we reached the junction to summit Muir Peak. I knew we’d have the peak all to ourselves along with the views to boot. My husband and I hung out up there for a while. I chased around the Chalcedon Checkerspot butterflies trying to get some photos while my husband talked on his HAM radio. There was a lot of California Buckwheat up on this peak, hence all the butterflies. I even got one to sit on my finger. The surrounding views were terrific; Pasadena and the city below, Mount Wilson, Occidental Peak, Mount Harvard, San Gabriel Peak, and Mount Lowe to name a few. After we were done enjoying having the place to ourselves, we started heading back. By this time it was getting pretty warm and much of the morning shade we had earlier was almost gone. Thankfully, we always come prepared with plenty of water and there was a nice, refreshing breeze every now and then to help keep us cool. As we hiked back, the road was buzzing with butterfly activity. There were plenty of Blues, Swallowtails, Chalcedon Checkerspots, Hairstreaks and I was also able to find and photograph the elusive Great Basin wood-nymph. As always, it was another great day to be in the mountains!
This was an exciting weekend for me. I experienced for the first time the natural butterfly habit that exists right here in Angeles National Forest. It was incredible if not a little overwhelming. Around 8 am we arrived at the trailhead and began our hike. The weather was already heating up due to the current heatwave, and as we began our ascent up the slope we started to see all the activity. Along the trail was an abundance of California Buckwheat which is both a host and nectar plant for many different species. It was covered in different butterflies; Bernardino Blues, Hairstreaks and Chalcedon Checkerspot to name a few. It was breathtaking seeing so many different butterflies all together in their natural habitat. After I stopped “ohhh-ing and ahhh-ing” I did my best to get some images. Photographing butterflies can be a real challenge unless they’re still warming up or they’re preoccupied sipping nectar. I was so enamored “chasing butterflies” I hardly noticed how hot it was getting in the beating sun on the slope. I could have stayed up there for hours observing and looking for different species. It was the most amazing and educational day!
