Gabrielino Trail to Bear Canyon
Angeles National Forest, 4/19/03
 Middle
and lower Switzer Falls |
 Stream
junction |
 Painted
leaf tips |
 One
of many water slides and pools along the trail |
 Upper
Switzer Falls from the trail |
 Upper
Switzer Falls from above, after hiking down from the Switzer Campground |
One hiker I met along the trail told me that every place he hikes in the Angeles National Forest is the most beautiful place he's ever been. Every trail ups the ante, and this place was the best yet. I believe it. This trail was one of the most incredible places I've been to in Los Angeles. Rushing water in the Arroyo Seco, small and large waterfalls, deep and inviting pools, water slides, and a shady canyon made this a first rate hiking experience.
This was the first hike that I'd done off of the Angeles Crest Highway. I started from the Switzer Picnic Area around 9:00 am. The day was cool, and the sun was out above the forest canopy. The route crossed a bridge over the Arroyo Seco and led downstream along a paved section of the Gabrielino Trail.
After a short while the pavement ended, and it was just a single track trail. I crossed the stream several times, which wasn't too big a deal even though it had rained just a day before. I could see where the water was receding from the stream already.
A few stream crossings later, I came to the Commodore Switzer Trail Camp. There was one tent set up, but it didn't seem like anyone was awake yet. I walked uphill away from the stream, and the trail soon led up the sunny canyon wall to an overlook of the magnificent upper Switzer Falls. The view was partly obstructed by trees, but you could get a pretty good view of the falls nonetheless.
At the top of the grade, the trail forked with the left side going down towards the canyon floor and the right side going towards the Oakwilde trail camp and Altadena. I hung left and signed in at the trail register near the fork. The trail descended steeply on several switchbacks and quickly reached the shady stream again at a trail junction for Switzer Falls and Bear Canyon.
At this point, I headed upstream to a view of the falls from the bottom. After a few stream crossings later, I was at the bottom of a pretty two-tiered waterfall. I don't think this was the same waterfall that I had seen earlier. A rough trail climbed up the right side of the waterfall, and I took it to get a good view of the falls from above and the deep, round pool of the higher fall.
Returning to the junction, I continued hiking towards Bear Canyon. The trail followed the Arroyo Seco downstream, through a series of beautiful short waterfalls and waterslides with sun-dappled, deep and inviting pools at the bottom. It was a truly idyllic experience. At two points, the stream was joined by other creeks flowing in from side canyons. At the second stream, the trail turned uphill again to head up canyon, generally following the stream. In fact, at one point, the trail was on a tiny dry island in the middle of the stream!
After a mile or so the trail climbed up away from the stream and began contouring above the water. A short while later, I was at the Bear Canyon trail campground, a series of three or four campsites overlooking the stream. I rested here and ate my lunch. The whole while that I had been hiking between Switzer Camp and Bear Canyon, I saw only two pairs of hikers.
The trip back to the parking lot was just as wonderful as the way in, even though the trail climbed steeply after the Switzer Campground. The water slides and their pools were more beautiful heading upstream, tempting me to jump in the water and lay in the sun on the rocky stream. At Switzer Campground, I headed downstream to get a look of the upper falls from above. There were two ways to see the falls, either from the left side by heading uphill from the stream, or on the right by following the stream. It was quite impressive, with a small slide into a big, deep pool followed by a longer slide to a maybe 30 foot cascade. The views of the falls from above were not for the faint of heart.
Not much was left of the Switzer trail resort that used to occupy the campground. There were some concrete foundations and a series of steps near the left side of the falls. But beyond that, the campground looked to be like any other trail campground, with a few fire rings and some rusting iron stoves.
By this point in the day, a lot of people were coming down-trail to the river. I must have passed twenty or thirty people on the way back. I was glad that I had gotten up early, but a little sad that this hike had to end. On a scale of 10, I would give this river hike a perfect 10!