Trails of the Angeles by David Harris

Author:David Harris
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781643590301
Publisher: Wilderness Press
Published: 2021-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

FEATURES

Note: This hike is within the Bobcat Fire Closure Area and is closed at least through April 1, 2022. Parts of the West Fork San Gabriel River watershed burned severely. Check with the U.S. Forest Service (fs.usda.gov/angeles) before visiting.

Years ago, before the Angeles Crest Highway was a reality, Shortcut Canyon felt the trod of many boots and hooves. Its busy trail, built in 1893 by Louie Newcomb, Arthur Carter, and John Hartwell, was the major route into the Charlton Flat–Chilao–Buckhorn backcountry. The canyon and trail were so named because they greatly cut the distance into the mountain interior. The old route, which has now completely disappeared, was the steep Native American footpath up Valley Forge Canyon and over Barley Flats. Newcomb thrashed out a rough pathway over the divide that now bears his name (Newcomb Pass), down into the West Fork, and then up Shortcut Canyon and on to his Chilao country. While Newcomb was working on his path, Sturtevant and several others incorporated the Sierra Madre and Antelope Valley Toll Trail and charged 25 cents per person to hike across the range to the desert, with the first fares going to Newcomb for his part in building the trail. However, Newcomb, who had to do the collecting himself, complained that no system of collection would work without someone on the trail at all times, and “that don’t pay wages, so I had to quit it.” Although the old Shortcut pathway is no longer a major artery of travel, it is part of the Boy Scouts’ Silver Moccasin Trail across the range from Red Box to Mount Baden-Powell (see Hike 74).

Most of the trees burned in the 2009 Station Fire, but the chaparral has recovered. Along the stream, the West Fork still retains the charm of yesteryear. You will get the feel of the old San Gabriels, when bandits, hunters, anglers, and prospectors rambled into the then-wild heart of the range. Watch for blackberry brambles, which ripen in the summer. Most of this hike is now shadeless due to the fire, so do it on a cool day and bring plenty of water.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.