07-06-2013 Lytle Creek

 I think this was the most enjoyable San Gabriel canyon I’ve had the pleasure of descending. You will need a permit for this hike. The trail is in the Cucamonga Wilderness, a bit north of the small town of Fontana. To get to the trail-head you have to drive on a bumpy dirt road for a couple of miles. After you park, it’s an 1800 foot hike up to the drop-in point. It took our group about two hours get the drop-in.

At first there wasn’t any water in the creek bed. Soon after we started going downstream the water started to emerge from the dry ground. It wasn’t too much longer before we reached the first rappel.  I finally got to use the new rope I bought almost a year ago. It’s a 9.2mm Canyon Rope by Blue Water. It’s a bit “faster” than the 9.5mm Sterling Canyontech that we also brought along. 

 

The second rappel was the best. It was a two stage rap that totaled about hundred feet. The first drop is about 25 feet. When I got to the edge of the second section I found a large boulder teetering dangerously. I locked off and pushed it off the edge. It hit the pool below with a very satisfying splash.

I was excited. When I got to the end of the rappel, I had to drop into a little swimmer pothole. I’m over six feet tall and I had to swim a few feet before I could bounce off the bottom. As soon as I hit the water I got a wicked cramp in my right calf. Combining the cramp with a harness loaded with climbing equipment and I was struggling a bit to get out of the pothole. I did get out though, and I stretched out my cramp.  The next person came down, and then I called up to the rest of the group to throw down another rope so I could proceed to the next anchor and rig up. They threw down a rope that landed in the pothole. I jumped into the water again to retrieve it. This time my left calf cramped up. This was the most painful cramp I think I’ve ever had. I had to ask my canyon-mate to help stretch it out. I popped a few S-caps and pounded some water and hoped for the best.

A few minutes later I was good to go find the next rappel. We found it a couple hundred yards downstream. This was another rap into water, though not as deep as the previous one. I rigged up my rope and proceed down the waterfall. A few feet down I found myself straining to keep the rope from slipping through my Totem. I had to add some friction on the fly. This was the first time I’ve had to bump up the friction on a rappel. Lucky for me adding friction to the Totem is super easy.  The pool at the bottom was only waist deep.  

 There were two more wet rappels and then it was time to exit. The hike out took another hour or so. Thanks again to John C for taking care of the permits, and organizing this trip. Despite the cramps, I thoroughly enjoyed this canyon. I can't wait to do it again.

05-25-2013 Vivian Creek.

This was a really fun canyon in the beautiful San Gorgonio Wilderness, just outside of the town of Redlands. A permit is required to hike the trail. The hike to the drop-in point is lovely.  It took us about 45 minutes, and we gained 1000ft in elevation. 

 

After we dropped into the watercourse things only got better. Vivian Creek was clear and cool. The water was the perfect temperature for hot day.

The rappels were really fun. On a warm summer day rappelling through the water is rejuvenating. We had to build on anchor, and we replaced a few oversized rapids at a couple of the anchors.

This was a very nice canyon with great views of the San Gorgonio Wilderness. I’ve got to thank John C for getting the permit and organizing the trip. It was a adventure I look forward to doing again in the future.

12-08-2012 Hall Beckley Canyon

I've been going down to the Angeles National Forest a lot recently. On this day I drove to La Canada/ Flintridge to meetup with a few other canyoneers to explore Hall Beckley Canyon. Christopher Brennen describes a car shuttle in his guide to this canyon. I can tell you definitively that the shuttle is not the way to go. There is a fire road you can hike that starts at the exit point/parking area, and goes all the way up to the drop in point. Our group split up with one half hiking the fire road, and the other half (mine) driving up the Angeles Crest Highway to the drop off point described by Brennen. The trail up was in good shape, and pretty nice. When we peaked out we got a nice view of the cities.

A view of La Canada/Flintridge from the Mount Lukins fire road

When we made it over to the drop-in point we found that the other group had beaten us there by a good ten minutes. The fire road is the route to take. When we finished the canyon these guys would be able to hop in their cars and drive away, while someone from my group would have to drive me back to my truck parked on the side of the highway twenty minutes away. The shuttle is just a waste of time and gas.

Dropping into the canyon
 
We geared up and dropped into Hall Beckley. The first thirty minutes are a steep decent down a use trail. The first rappel was a short one anchored with some webbing that should probably be replaced soon.

The first rappel

 That webbing doesn't look too good

The next few rappels and down-climbs were pretty straight forward. There was webbing already in place at all the raps. Some of the webbing looked a little sun bleached and might need replacing soon. The biggest rappel in the canyon is 140ft with five ledges before you get to the bottom.

The large multi-step rappel 

After the next rappel there is a cave on the the left hand side of the canyon. I only crawled in about 10, but it goes back about 75ft before it's closed off by a man made wall. After the cave the battle to keep my shoes dry became futile. We started to see a lot of piping and cable that has been long forgotten by the water company.

Steel cable ladder

Brennen has eight rappels listed in his guide, but we had to rap eleven times. The wire cables he describes as being down-climbable are no longer viable. After we climbed down a couple of debris dams it was a short walk to the quiet neighborhood that we had met at in the morning.

The first and bigger of two debris dams

One of the members of our group, Jason, runs a neat canyoneering  resource called uCanyon. The site has all kinds of canyoneering information. One thing Jason does is make these awesome illustrations of canyons with all the information you need. Here's the one he made for Hall Beckley: