Led by Elaine Eddinger and Gail Wise
By Jeff Johnson
Elaine and Gail had a good turnout August 9 for their hike on the Gabrielino Trail up Arroyo Seco to the Brown Mountain Debris Dam. Some pictures from the hike are below.
They planned it as a hike for a hot summer day, to be on a shady trail, with a cool and wet destination. The early start from the alternate trailhead they chose made a difference. Instead of starting at that crowded parking lot where Windsor Avenue turns the corner, where you have to walk half a mile on exposed pavement before getting to shade, they started farther north in a residential neighborhood, where you can drop right down onto the shadier trail. On the trail, the stream was still running at all 10 (count ’em, 10) stream crossings, but the water was much lower than earlier in the season.
We have all been very aware of the Eaton Fire which burned much of Altadena at the beginning of the year. The Gabrielino Trail trailhead is in Altadena. Arroyo Seco canyon was closed for months after the fire. A question before the hike was the extent of fire damage hikers would find around Arroyo Seco. The drive to the trailhead did pass some houses that had burned, but not like the complete destruction in other parts of Altadena. Once in the canyon on the trail, no fire damage was apparent to hikers.
