This was a suprising good time in the local mountains. Due to recent snows, my hiking buddy Ben and I decided to start off the season with a low elevation hike. The abundance of rain this year in Southern California made the lower trails (which are usually in the creek bed) more difficult to follow, and much more beautiful to see. There were numerous cascading waterfalls throughout the first mile of the hike, unlike most years in the Angeles National Forest.

approximate trail shown on map

The first two miles of the trail were a pleasure cruise, lush wildflowers and moderate temps coupled with a gentle elevation gain made it easy. After reaching Joesphine Saddle, we rested than began the real climbing towards the summit of Strawberry Peak.      The next mile was another story. Since is was early in the season, and the winter was very wet, the trail was overgrown substantially in places. Especially fun were the Yucca spears crossing the entire trail path as it wound up the mountain.

After battling vegetation for a bit, the next thing to conquer on this hike was the rock itself. The steepness sharply increased, forcing the use of hands to pull myself up and over numerous ledges. It was a lot of fun, but slowed down our progress. After about an hour and a half of climbing we reached the summit. Since there were recent rains, the sky was clear and we could see all of Pasadena below us. The trip down was relatively uneventful, highlighted only by the thick growth of Poison Oak along the wetter parts of the trail. Overall a great hike, (even though it's in LA) made all the more enjoyable by the abundance of waterfalls along the trail. If you're thinking of exploring this area, do it as soon as possible, as the temperatures are quickly rising with each passing week, and high waters are subsiding.

RECOMMENDED BOOKS
Afoot and Afield in Los Angeles County - great guide to all the Angeles National Forest hikes

APPROXIMATE ELEVATION PROFILE OF THE HIKE

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