Upper Brown Mountain/Ken Burton

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hillharman

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Howdy folks. I've noticed in my El Prieto rides that there seems to be a new sign at the Brown Mountain Junction, and people are clearly riding the trail up to the Ken Burton Junction. Is there an official status change on this trail? The "trail closed" sign had been flattened at one point, but now it is simply gone.

Second question: any guesses on the status of Ken Burton? Has anyone ridden it post fire? When can we get up there and start to work on it?
 
Dirtmistress rode to the top of Brown Mountain not long ago. It was a mess but there was a trail. We didn't see any closed signs. No idea about Ken burton.
 
I've been riding it for a few weeks now. Forest trail number sign is back up and trail closed sign is no where to be found. I haven't received confirmation yet but I'm pretty certain it's open. The trail from lower saddle to KB trail head and upper saddle is actually pretty cool now. Yes, I said trail. Not much left in the way of the old fire road. It's become a nice tight twisty and some what technical single track with only one real dismount area. A bit over grown in places but aside from that, it's in superb shape, IMO.

As far as KB goes. I've also noticed someone or some group doing some brush clearance near the start but I couldn't tell you beyond that. I can tell you that once you reach the old switch backs that drop you down into the canyon, there is no longer switch backs and it turns into a real slide. No thank you.
 
Thanks for the info. I checked out Upper Brown Mtn to the KB junction and it was quite fun. Single/double track with lots of whoops.
 
Officially it is closed, but the signs were vandalized and taken down. But it is not being actively enforced. Ken Burton isn't worth taking a bike down. It's a difficult hike. The FS won't open KB until the Gab is rebuilt up to Paul Little, and if you've seen that section of the Gab, you know there's a lot of work to be done.
 
Hey everyone, I've been working on the Ken Burton trail myself over the past week or so. Never having ridden it before the fire probably makes me less frustrated than some of you who had. I recommend bringing a blade and/or a saw, I usually bring both, and it is slowly getting more and more rideable. There are some sections that are just very washed out, but as far as logs and overgrowth, I am doing the best I can and it is getting noticeably easier to ride.

If anyone wants to join me for a serious few hours commitment of hacking and hike-a-biking down KB, I'd love the company. That trail has so much potential! And more of a wilderness experience than most trails in the Angeles.

Of course, as pointed out above, actually the worst part is getting around the waterfall in the arroyo via the Gabrielino trail down to Paul Little. That is a brutal hike-a-bike as of now, but someone has at least flagged it with orange tape.

If anyone plans to go and hasn't been in a while, let me know, and I'll be happy to provide some hints for getting down with the least amount of cursing! Cheers!

Nick
 
I rode up Brown Mountain today and tried to ride Ken Burton. The first few hundred feet make you think it's possibly rideable but it's seriously overgrown. I carried my bike for a while thinking I would eventually get to a rideable section but eventually gave up and headed back down to El Prieto. It was my first time out to this whole area and I have to say it's a really nice place to ride. El Prieto is a really sweet technical ride and the way up to the top of Brown Mountain gives a nice work out.
 
I think it's about time for a coordinated effort to get this trail back in riding condition. I've only lived in Pasadena postfire, and I'm about to move (to Riverside). It would be great to have even more awesome trails to ride in that area. For the trail work experts: what would it take to get something like this rolling?
 
I was just up there this morning. Ran into a couple of bikers at the saddle on the way down. They were interested in the trail also. Maybe we should try to organize a trail building day to get things going.
The KB trail is going to need a lot of work-especially the bottom where it is completely gone. I was told a re-route was necessary at the bottom. Might have to get the Forest Service's permission for that....
 
I'll warn you that I got some insane poison oak from the attempted bushwhacking. Seriously. Bad.

If there's any upside, it's this
 
The forest service won't let us work on kb until the gabrielino from oakwilde is restored and open as they don't want a trail rebuilt to end onto a trail that no longer exists. Better to see if we can start on the Gab to oakwilde first. That will be a tough battle.
 
Just rode Brown to KB this am. Amazing how quickly the trail up to KB from the saddle can get overgrown. My arms were soaked from the dewy brush. The deer didnt seem to mind....Another beautiful day in the San Gabes.

KB is just a hint of a trail right now. So is the Gabrielino in the Arroyo. Seems like the USFS is working on geologic time....
 
Rode Upper Brown stopping at the begining of the almost non existent KB trail.
Hot day but beautiful day to ride.
 
Does anybody have any updates on the conditions of this Brown Mountain/Ken Burton loop?
 
There is no Ken Burton as of now. If you go up to the top, you will see a sign with a skull and crossbones on it at the trailhead. Still, it's a great ride up and down and then loop to El Prieto for a fun 13 miler from the lot near JPL.
 
It's my understanding that the trail can't be worked on until the Gabrielino trail is fixed - is anything happening with that?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
If anybody has any information about the above question that "cranky" just asked, you are awesome!
 
As far as I know, and I am awesome, there has been only one thru-hike "study" so far. According to my sources, (the NFL and TMZ) there will need to be complete re-routes and EIRs done before anyone wields a McLeod. I believe the focus is on fixing and maintaining trails with less damage as this stews on the back burner.
 

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