Conditions:Bear Creek (San Gabriel Mountains)-20231111175542
Latest: |
11 Nov 2023 (23 days ago) |
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| Reported by: | Jcsjcs (88 reports) | |
|---|---|---|
| Quality: | Great |
|
| Waterflow: | Deep pools |
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| Wetsuit: | None |
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| Water temperature: | ||
| Difficulty: | Normal |
|
| Time: |  7 hours
|
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Team: 1 people
Trip report URL:
Comments: Approach was 1.5 miles longer than in the GPX track since the road is closed right after Crystal Lake. A group of hunters was looking for deer near the drop-in so I dropped in at the next drainage instead, got cliffed out, and rappelled 50' to get to the canyon floor. This side canyon was steep and overgrown but not too difficult to travel down. Then as a succession of other side canyons merged progression down the wash became much easier. There were many interesting downclimbs and I followed Brennen's beta regarding when it was possible to bypass certain features.
Once in the main Bear Creek drainage the geography became much flatter with excellent animal trails on most benches. I saw a bear print and scat. The highlight of the canyon was the narrows in the last mile which involved four swimmers, some jumps, and slides! I didn't do any rappels in this section. The descent took 3:50 in total.
On the exit, the switchbacks were washed out at first but the trail quickly developed. At Smith Saddle, I climbed the firebreak to the north to regain Route 39. Bear Creek was a beautiful place to explore and deserves more visits!
All condition reports
| Date | Quality | Waterflow | Wetsuit | Difficulty | Time | Team | Reported by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
11 Nov 2023
| Great | Deep pools
| None
| Normal | 7 hours
| 1 people | Jcsjcs (88 reports) |
Comment: Approach was 1.5 miles longer than in the GPX track since the road is closed right after Crystal Lake. A group of hunters was looking for deer near the drop-in so I dropped in at the next drainage instead, got cliffed out, and rappelled 50' to get to the canyon floor. This side canyon was steep and overgrown but not too difficult to travel down. Then as a succession of other side canyons merged progression down the wash became much easier. There were many interesting downclimbs and I followed Brennen's beta regarding when it was possible to bypass certain features.
Once in the main Bear Creek drainage the geography became much flatter with excellent animal trails on most benches. I saw a bear print and scat. The highlight of the canyon was the narrows in the last mile which involved four swimmers, some jumps, and slides! I didn't do any rappels in this section. The descent took 3:50 in total. On the exit, the switchbacks were washed out at first but the trail quickly developed. At Smith Saddle, I climbed the firebreak to the north to regain Route 39. Bear Creek was a beautiful place to explore and deserves more visits! | |||||||
