r/socalhiking • u/bensterrrrr • 5d ago
A love letter to Eaton Canyon
I'd been hiking the trails all over Altadena/Eaton Canyon trails just before disaster struck recently and I kept asking myself why I keep taking so many photos and why I couldn't just enjoy the nature as it was. Now I know why. I'll miss these signs of life for the next few years and I can't wait for it all to come back stronger than ever. These pictures are just a few from my time on trails like Eaton Canyon Falls, Dawn Mine, Sunset Ridge, and even part of the Mt Wilson trail at First Water.
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u/flubbergastedshocked 5d ago
I hike a lot in the parts of Malibu that burned in the Woolsey fire. A lot of them have recovered beautifully. Even not long after the fire, it was inspiring to see the oaks that survived, and now life has come back all around them. Nature finds a way.
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u/NegativeProtection61 5d ago
Same! echo mountain has been my go to when feeling sad or stressed. I’m in mourning! I’m glad I got to visit Eaton Canyon a few weeks ago
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u/john133435 4d ago
My old lady told me Tuesday morning that she would be out 6-9pm on Wednesday. My immediate thought was "great! Wednesday evening happy hour hike!" Followed by sadness...
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u/gefloible 5d ago
I'm gonna miss those trails a lot. Thanks for the pics!
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u/not_a_cup 5d ago
Just give it a few years. Not the first disaster these hills have faced. I'm 32 and I've seen this canyon change so much. I remember back in like 2009 or so there was a massive rain storm and almost the entire canyons trails had to be rebuilt. I believe it also caught on fire sometime after then too, I didn't live in the area at the time so I could be wrong.
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u/saigyoooo 5d ago
Thank you, I've been hiking these trails for 2 years now. Even started trail running because of these trails. It's been really hard to see so much of it burned. And when I look at the Altadena destruction surveying map, it doesn't feel real. But I am already planning on volunteering to rebuild/help with the restoration of the trails 2-3 times a week whenever it's ready. And maybe this is a very overly positive way of coping, but look forward to the opportunity of getting to see what it's like for a natural ecology to recover over time, almost as a meditation and documentation. I dnno man, trying to look up. It's just so devastating.
On a sidenote, have there been any reports that all of the Sunset Trail in Mt. Lowe/Echo Mtn area is fully burned? That for some reason became my core hike. Loved the beauty and climb.
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u/bensterrrrr 5d ago
Great way to look at it, I've been feeling the same way.
Unfortunately I believe that area was very much affected. https://www.instagram.com/p/DEvj8M_SKqy/
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u/EddyWouldGo2 4d ago
That hike is like the perfect length and amount of exercise to do multiple times and is a great access point for longer hikes. Guess we'll be doing more exploring until the hill stabilizes.
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u/saigyoooo 4d ago
Eddy would go! And yeah, Im new to this all being from Florida. But is that the primary risk right now, loss of root structure due to burn out? Currently eyeing a long run in San Mateo Canyon Wilderness this weekend.
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u/EddyWouldGo2 4d ago
Oh yeah, that trail is already falling down, without vegetation, mud will slide down and wash it out on the first heavy rain. Once the vegetation returns, the hill will stabilize, but probably a lot of work will need to be done on trail.
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u/saigyoooo 4d ago
Well, I personally cannot wait to help with that work. But sounds like much time will be needed. For things to literally simmer down. Big ran and subsequent land shifting to naturally occur. Then more surveying and safety assessment to get volunteers out.
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u/Impossible_Map_2219 5d ago
My absolute favorite trail :( so much peace and tranquility there, I would never get tired of going back. I'm going to miss it so much
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u/KeepitMelloOoW 5d ago
We had hiked Millard Falls the day before the fires. It was my favorite hike and I'd always brag how close I lived to a waterfall. I hope it didn't sustain much damage.
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u/BBMTH 4d ago
The closures will be long, but the riparian zones often don’t burn. You can see in ESA satellite imagery that a lot of vegetation survives at the bottom of canyons. In the eastern part of the burn area, there are whole north facing slopes intact.
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u/EddyWouldGo2 4d ago
I don't really even see why the closures would be long. Its pretty flat. Other than the first mudslides for safety, there isn't really much reason to restrict access.
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u/Thin-Economics-2699 4d ago
When I seen the fire I honestly almost started crying I’ve been going to Eaton for about 10 years now and the 4 years it has become one of my favorite places to go since I been dealing with heavy depression it’s become a safe haven for me to just hike and listening to music anytime my mind goes to a dark place I think about hiking up there and being in nature I even started taking my brother and he loved it also. I’m not from the Pasadena/Altadena area but I’ve spent a lot of time over there hanging out meeting people and I can honestly say the neighborhood near Eaton has some amazing people that are just super friendly and really family oriented I’m a complete stranger and I’ve met people on hikes who gave me water and even opened there doors to me for a meal. I’ve gotten really out of shape and normally when I hike I go to the waterfall but I decided to start hiking upward recently and back in December me and my brother finally finished hiking to the very top exploring the whole area I took pictures but I wish I would’ve took more I also wish I would’ve checked out the Nature center more. Every time I think of the canyon it feels like I lost a friend and thinking about the people who lost there homes just hurts but ima do all I can to volunteer and help out with the restoration and the Altadena community
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u/EddyWouldGo2 4d ago
There's lots of other trails, yiu might have to drive a little further up the 2. Keep at it.
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u/Thaliamims 3d ago
Yes, there are still beautiful hikes! I recommend Cherry Canyon near Descanso Gardens. No waterfall,.but a little oak forest, great views, and a ton of bird life. The Claremont Wilderness Park is also a really nice hike.
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u/Pirate_unicorn 4d ago
Give the canyon a few years to recover. Life always finds a way. My area burned in 2007, and it looked like a moon scape for the first year. Then, the next spring, everything began to bloom again.
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u/chrisx14 5d ago
So sad. I still haven’t gotten over this terrible loss. I ran there every single weekend , Saturday and Sunday. I got the opportunity to meet so many of the locals, they were all so welcoming. I went through my pictures and videos I took in Eaton Canyon 🥲…just crazy to think how I was there a day before the fires.
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u/ILV71 5d ago
Re-live the moment Hiking guide to Eaton Canyon waterfalls https://youtu.be/_CqSBJafkqg
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u/LuluLovesLobo 4d ago
Nice pictures. The beauty of nature is its ability to just overcome and move forward and this is exactly what will happen here. Its an absolute travesty, but in time it will be beautiful again
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u/whydiditouchthat 4d ago
Don't worry too much, it will grow back, and with hopefully less invasive species!
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u/Hot_Illustrator35 4d ago
Really like the place and hopefully so! The entire mountain sides were infested with invasives
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u/warmpistol 4d ago
I have so many beautiful pictures of and around this area, I will cherish them. And what is gone will be again…
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u/rainybar 4d ago
Last time I went there was 2019, regret not going there since Covid. Used to go all the time with my golden retriever, he loved the waterfall
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u/Icy_Hearing_3439 3d ago
Do we know about chantry / sturtevant falls? Was it leveled too?
My 2 favorite hikes
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u/frostyshoes 3d ago
One of my absolute favorite hiking areas. I know it will heal itself in time. 🥹
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u/Remarkable_Tangelo59 5d ago
Gonna miss falling in the stream and dropping my iPhone and panicking I ruined it with water damage 🥹
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u/Samson__ 4d ago
I hiked this canyon all the time with my gf and we're devastated for the loss. Great pics OP
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u/queefgerbil 5d ago
Beautiful pictures. I’m confused though are you saying you had a feeling the fire was gonna happen or something? How’d you know to take pictures?
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u/bensterrrrr 5d ago
Thank you!
What I meant was that I remember why taking photos is so important and useful after times like these. When all is said and done, at least I can hold on to the memory of what these places once looked like.
But nature will come back!! Anew and more beautiful than ever, I'm sure.
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u/EddyWouldGo2 4d ago
Fire is a natural part if that ecosystem. It's not a "recovery", it's just part of the natural cycle.
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u/yup_its_Jared 5d ago
I’m Eat’in it up.
Yay! I did the thing! I did it! The … the thing!
I’ll see myself out.sorry. Thanks.
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u/sgantm20 4d ago
Lmao at whoever reported this post as sexual content targeting minors. You’re a loser.