| |
 |
| |
|
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
Dan's Hiking Pages: Hikes in the San Gabriels and Beyond |
|
|
Big Cienega Trail to Islip Ridge (7580')
(Sometimes spelled Big Cienaga Trail)
Crystal Lake Area
Angeles National Forest / Southern California
 Hike Report: August 30, 2003 - Labor Day Weekend
|
Trail Stats
|
|
Mileage
|
3.8
|
|
Trailhead
|
6560'
|
|
Islip Ridge
|
7580'
|
|
Total gain/loss
|
1020'
|
|
Gain/loss per mi.
|
536'
|
For years the Crystal Lake basin has provide a splendid venue for hiking, from the family-friendly loop trails around the campground, to the trails which take you to the upper rim and peaks.
Then in September 2002 everything changed. On Labor Day weekend, the Curve Fire began. Before it was extinguish three weeks later, the fire devastated nearly 21,000 acres. Since then, the Forest Service has closed the Crystal lake basin to the public while the area is being restored to usable condition.
One of the groups who has been working at restoring the Crystal Lake area is the San Gabriel Mountains Trailbuilders (SGMTB). This wonderful group of volunteers has been building and maintaining hiking trails in the Angeles National Forest since 1984. Much of their activities focus on the Crystal Lake basin. Some of the Trailbuilder's credits include building the Islip (pronounced "eye-slip") Ridge Trail, the Hawkins Ridge Trail, and the Big Cienega Trail.
In June 2003, I began working as a volunteer with the SGMTB. At the time, we were refurbishing the Cedar Canyon and the Soldier Creek Trails. On August 2 we began working on the Big Cienega Trail. It starts from the Windy Gap Trail, about a tenth of a mile from where the trail crosses the service road above Deer Flats.
Today, as we pressed further up the Big Cienega Trail, a team of us forged ahead to remove two trees that had fallen across the trail near Islip ridge. I explored the ridge to scout out trail conditions.
Every time I've gone up the Crystal Lake area in the last couple months, I've felt some real sadness at the tragic lose of such a beautiful forest. The firefighters did a tremendous job of taking a stand to save the heart of the basin from the raging inferno. But much of the slopes beyond couldn't be spared. The devastation is particularly bad at the lower end of the Big Cienega Trail. Stark, blackened trees rise as toothpicks from the barren, rocky ground, which is void of any organic material. What groundcover the fire didn't consume was washed away by torrents of unrestrained water rushing down the slopes from heavy winter rain.
|
|
Looking southeast into the Crystal Lake basin from a large outcropping on the Big Cienega Trail a few minutes below Islip Ridge.
View Panaorama (92K)
|
As I graded trail tread and saw a fine footpath emerge, I couldn't help wonder who would even want to hike through this desolate moonscape, regardless of how pristine the path. But today I found myself getting encouraged. There are places along way the where the fire spared some of the majestic cedars, fir, and pine. Oaks are sprouting new growth from the base. The bright yellow flowers from the rabbit brush graced the landscape. Lupin, fleebane, fusia, yerba santa, buckwheat — all bring new life to the mountain slopes.
On Islip Ridge there are some beautiful stands of mature evergreens and mazanita. The breathtaking views down into the rugged, pristine Bear Canyon and to the lofty summits of Twin Peaks and Mount Waterman made the 1.9-mile walk well worth it.
At about 2:00, the last three of us from the tree-clearing team headed back down the path after a hard day of trail work. Half-way down the trail, our feet begin to tread upon newly cleaned pathway. The crew had made excellent progress for the day. A dozen Boy Scouts and their leaders from Brea Troop 801 had joined us.
After a couple more Saturdays, we'll have the Big Cienega Trail finished up. I'm confident that when the Forest Service re-opens the Crystal Lake recreation area in June 2004, hikers will once again enjoy its trails. The Curve Fire has forever changed the scenery. But beauty is growing from the ashes. It's a different beauty. It will never be the same. But it is once again beginning to provide a meaningful experience for lovers of the outdoors. It did for me, today. 
Trail Notes:
-
Critters: 8-30-03 - On the way up we saw a deer crossing the road in front of us in the Crystal Lake Campground. Then later, one of our group sighted a family of Nelson bighorn sheep near Islip Ridge. At the end of the day as our caravan of cars was beginning down the road through the upper Crystal Lake Campground, the lead car spotted a full-size black bear crossing the road. We all jumped out of our vehicles and watched the bear stroll into the woods.
-
Access Note 3-22-06: The Crystal Lake recreation area has been closed since the Curve Fire September 2002. The Forest Service had been repairing it from fire and bark beetle damage, and when I first posted this trip report in August 2003, Hwy 39 to the Crystal Lake enterance was open. But the torrential rains of January 2005 badly damaged the road. So CalTrans has closed Hwy 39 at the gate just above the West Fork, making the Crystal Lake recreation area inaccessible to the public. They have made substantial progress, but as of 3-22-06, the Forest Service says that it probably won't be until late fall 2006 before it is open. If you'd like to access these trails before then, come work with the San Gabriel Mountains Trailbuilders.
 Spelling - Cienega or Cienaga? The name of the trail is commonly published with both spellings. There appears to be no agreement on the spelling of this word. Nor have I found any discussion of the spelling. Writers John Robinson and Jerry Schad spell it with an "a". The ANF website also uses an an "a," but they may be just quoting from Robinson or Schad. On the other hand, some websites such Wildernet and TopoWest spell it with an "e." The Sierra Club 100 Peaks Section uses both spellings in the same page (obviously an editorial error rather a compromise. Actually I made the same error on the first posting of this page). The USGS topo map does not yet include the trail (which was finished in 1990), but the spring for which the trail was named is Big Cienega. The actual wooden signs at the trail junctions spell it Big Cienega. And in the literature of the San Gabriel Mountains Trailbuilders — the group who built the trail — it's Big Cienega. When you do a web search, the Cienega spelling is overwhelmingly the most common, from everything from hotels, cities, high schools, and streets. Often it's with the Spanish article, "La," thus "La Cienega." When searching for "Cienaga," the search engines ask, "Do you mean Cienega?" At the west end of the San Gabriel Mountains there is a Big Cienega Canyon. And there's a Big Cienega Mountain in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest in Arizona. So unless someone comes forward with a reasonable argument for the Cienaga spelling, I'll side with the Trailbuilders and the spring marked on the USGS topo map, Big Cienega.
This map was created by Allan Walter using a GPS, scouting out the trail conditions for the San Gabriel Mountains Trailbuilders. The Big Cienega Trail is marked red. The Yellow flag represents the completed trail maintenance as of August 16. The T and S represent the two fallen trees we removed on August 30. The other markings represent particular repair needs on the trail. The trail on the right is the Windy Gap Trail. The one the left is the Islip Ridge Trail.
Related links on Dan's Hiking Pages:
Links:
Books:
- Trails of the Angeles: 100 Hikes in the San Gabriels - by John Robinson with Doug Christiansen (Wilderness Press: Berkley, 8th Edition, April 2005). Hike 76, "Crystal Lake to Little Jimmy Spring, Mt. Islip." Good trail description with historical background. Includes the Big Cienega Trail as an 1.8-mile part of a 7-mile loop hike. Note, his description from Windy Gap to Mt. Islip is confusing and seemly inaccurate. See my detailed note on the Mt. Islip hike description.
- Afoot and Afield in Los Angeles County - by Jerry Schad (Wilderness Press: Berkley, 2nd Edition 2002). Area A-9, Trip 4: "Mount Islip—South Approach." Good background and trail description. Includes the Big Cienega Trail as an 1.8-mile part of a 7-mile loop hike. This edition is prior to the Curve Fire. Note, his description from Windy Gap to Mt. Islip is confusing and seemly inaccurate. See my detailed note on the Mt. Islip hike description.
Last Hiked: August 30, 2003
|
|
Hikes / Trails
