Trail Conditions: Vetter Mountain to Shortcut Saddle via Silver Moccasin

[kamaekia]

It was an absolutely gorgeous day to head up for a ride at some higher elevation. This is a trail condition report with some color commentary. I started at Shortcut Saddle, which is about 6 miles after the Mount Wilson turnoff from Highway 2 and about 4 miles before Charlton Flats. I only had about 2 hours to do a ride, so I thought I would head up to the Vetter mountain lookup and then return via the Silver Moccasin to Shortcut Saddle.

As usual, I prefer to do long climbs on wide roads and do the singletrack on the descents, if possible. This was no exception. I started by riding up the Angeles Crest Highway from the saddle. I tried to go as fast as I could, which for most people is slow!

The weather was in the low 60s, just right for a long climb. After about 4 miles, I hit Charlton flats. I turned into Charlton Flats and began the climb up to Vetter mountain. After about 1.5 miles from the turnoff, the road becomes dirt and the last mile is on a fireroad. The fireroad is in good condition with no noticeable rutting. Once Vetter mountain is reached, you can walk up to the lookout tower and see the expansive views. Below are some pictures of the views. You get a wonderful 360 degree view. This ride is on the backside of Mountain Wilson, so you get a little different view of Mount Wilson. I usually stare up at Mount Wilson as I drive along the 210 or from my office in Pasadena. The lookout tower was closed today. During the open season, I believe it is open Friday through Sunday. The volunteers who man the lookout tower are always more than willing to give you a tour of the tower and how the various instruments work.

Now began the fun part. From here to the end, it is all singletrack. Well, mostly. Just at the base of the lookout tower begins the Vetter mountain to Charlton Flats singletrack. The first quarter mile is a little rutted with several tree roots exposed with the soil eroded away. It is possible to get your tire stuck in the hole between the tree root and the trail. The rutting seems to be worse than when I was up there last, during the summer. But it is still very ridable. After the first quarter mile, it is super smooth singletrack back to the main Charlton Flats area. Of course, I was on the full squish today, so that helped. The trail is in excellent shape after the first quarter mile, fast and as of today, with excellent traction. There was no discernible water or other trail damage on this stretch. I had a big grin on my face at this point. I did see one large fallen tree branch, but it makes kind of a tunnel, so I thought it would be cool to leave it in its place as you can pass under it with no problems.

After about 2 miles, the Silver Moccasin trail is reached. This is a 53 mile long trail system, but I would be doing about 4 miles of it today. The trail begins a nearly 3 mile drop into a canyon. The trail is in excellent shape with no discernible water erosion. Although, a few spots on the trail are already sandy. But I suspect this trail is one that gets sandy more than others. I remember it being rather sandy during the summer. On the descent there were no fallen branches or trees until you get to the very bottom of the descent. Just before the trail levels out into the canyon, there is a very large tree that fell down. It appears to have wiped out the trail. I couldn't see under the fallen tree to tell for certain, but this is the only part of the trail that seems to be sensitive. There is a switchback right before the part where the tree has fallen and that is the only switchback I won't ride as it seems rather loose to me. I had to hike about 10 feet up and around the tree to bypass it. This will require some major chainsaw cutting and some trail work, in my estimation. Once the canyon floor is reached, I noticed more branches across the trail. Some will require a chainsaw. I moved what I could. Another large tree has fallen across the trail right near the creek. That will need to be chainsawed away as well. For those of you who have not ridden Shortcut Saddle, the final climb out of the canyon to Shortcut Saddle is an absolute beast. I think you climb 550-600 feet in about 3/4 of a mile. Too steep for me to enjoy. I chose the bailout right as the trail makes a hard left to begin the ascent. You can see Big Tujunga road from the trail, there is a trail leading to the road. I decided to take the road back to my car.

This is a ride that put a big grin on my face. For those of you who have not ridden in the San Gabriel mountains, the trails are simply amazing. The Chilao/Charlton Flats area has lots of trails and not as much climbing as other parts within the mountain range.

The following pictures were all taken from Vetter mountain. I was having too much fun on the way down to stop. :-)

[art23rockpile]

Nice RR, and thanks for all of the information.

The San Gabs are my new favorite local riding destination.

[kamaekia]

Motionbased link to ride:
http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/5363537