Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Santa Anita Loop Hike


Originally posted on Aug 21, 2008

This Tuesday, I did another scenic hike through small portion of Santa Anita Canyon in San Gabriel Mountains. This is excellent hike for summer with plenty of forest cover all through the trail. We were group of 9 and started off around 6 pm and finished the loop in less than two hours with few minutes stop at Hodgees camp site. It was pretty dark when we reached the tail end of the hike.

With easy access from San Gabriel valley, this trail is a loop starting from Chantry Flats (exit Santa Anita on I-210 and drive around 6 miles towards mountain to parking structure), with plenty of shade, passing through several creek crossings and few campsites. The hike actually starts up the hill with steady gain and then goes down (around 400' feet lower then tail-head) before finally going up. About two miles into this trail you pass through Upper Winter Creek Junction Signpost for trails to Mt. Wilson (another 4 1/2 miles) and Mt Zion (1/8 Miles). Further down around 1/3 of a mile you reach Hodgees Campground. This limited facility small campground under dense forest cover has restroom and water. Interestingly, I was told that this campsite has highest recorded rainfall (26 inches in one day) in whole of California (could not confirm this fact though). Another two miles you reach Roberts Campground and the lowest point in the hike. Overall, the hike has moderate elevation gain rate throughout except at the end when you hit paved road of about half a mile with steep elevation of around 400 ft.

Here are quick facts about this trail.

Distance: 5 Miles
Altitude: Trailhead 2200', Minimum-1800 , Maximum 2900', Total Gain/Loss -1100'
Difficulty: Beginner
Trail Condition: Good
What should you carry (at minimum): One bottle of water

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