Little Santa Anita Canyon
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| | Difficulty:3B III (v3a2 III) Raps:11-15, max ↨50ft
Red Tape:Closed to entry Shuttle:None Vehicle:Passenger | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Condition Reports: | 26 Dec 2024
"Anchors are in good form; there was one that looked recently reslung with a 9/16" BW tubular webbing (i want to say R7/R8, the one DCR in that narrow |
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| Best season: | Spring;Summer;Fall;Winter
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34.1840, -118.0468
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Introduction
CLOSED DUE TO FIRES Little Santa Anita is a short beginner canyon, adjacent to the larger Santa Anita canyon, with many short rappels. In the past, LSA contained many water challenges but sediment from landslides has filled in many of these challenges and it is rarely more than an easy class B canyon, except following strong rains.
Approach
Drive
Exit the 210 at Baldwin and proceed north toward the mountains. Park on Mira Monte Ave next to the Mount Wilson Trail Park.
Hike
Follow the paved Mount Wilson Trail road up hill for 530 ft until there is a trail head register and map on the left. Follow the unpaved trail 1.6 miles to a Y and take the trail to the right toward First Water as specified by the sign. The stream (First Water) is the beginning of the canyon.
Descent
The first rappel is approximately 15 minutes downstream from First Water with a lot of class 2 scrambling in and around the water course. Many other rappels follow rapidly until a short lull in the canyon. Most groups pass the exit at this point and continue with three additional rappels, the second-to-last of which may contain a pothole (class B) that requires swimming during the wet season. Because of the large number of rappels, a group not using efficient rigging and rappelling practices may take substantially longer to complete this canyon. Note that several of the rappels can be skipped by a competent down-climber.
R1: 43' bolts LDC
R2: 37' from log RDC, new bolts on boulder canyon center, or old bolts buried in the leaves RDC?
R3: 23' bolts RDC "The Spout" or jammed log LDC (will need webbing or ghosting)
R4: 45' bolts LDC smooth slippery sloped wall to thigh deep pool
R5: 34' bolts RDC to small pothole with large shallow pool immediately beyond
Short hike follows to:
R6: ~30' bolts LDC low angle rappel or downclimb RDC on granite slab
R7: 43' bolts RDC low angle then steep
R8: ~30' eyebolts up high RDC, or slab traverse LDC, or slide center
R9: ~50' glue-in bolts on a boulder (center), somewhat out of direct view
Moderate hike follows to:
R10: 25' bolts RDC "V" notch (now shorter; pool has filled in)
R11: 10' eyebolt high RDC, or downclimb RDC
R12: 17' bolts RDC, or chimney downclimb LDC
(Optional Ridge exit full of poison oak prior to last three rappels)
Moderate hike follows to:
R13: 16' bolts RDC
R14: 35' bolts LDC into large pothole, or jump (seasonal) RDC (check depth and debris issues first!)
R15: 10' bolts LDC or partner assist downclimb
Exit
There are two possible exits from LSA.
Ridge
Near the end of the lull in the canyon, canyoneers may escape up the ridge between them and the dam. The exit point is usually well-marked with a cairn at the canyon bottom, but canyoneers should study this location on maps beforehand because it is easy to miss without the cairn. The scramble up the ridge is approximately 150 ft of elevation gain, and then there is an additional 80 ft of elevation gain back to the Mount Wilson Trail.
This exit is steep, eroded, and often covered in poison oak. The Dam exit is preferable.
Dam
As you exit through the dam area, please uproot any castor bean plants you see. They're invasive and awful in every way. N.B. EXTREME CARE is REQUIRED. Wear gloves, don't let them touch you, they can cause severe dermatitis. Do NOT munch on seeds, that's where ricin poison comes from. There are some large plants up behind the hillside stabilization that need uprooting at some point. We will likely have to diligently do this for a decade to prevent their infesting the canyon.
Most parties continue their descent below the Ridge Exit and complete three additional rappels. The last rappel now has two bolts LDC that replace the two bolts RDC that were of questionable quality. It is also down climbable with the right conditions and skill set.
After the last of these rappels, there is a short walk to the debris basin of the dam protecting the end of LSA. Note that by taking this exit you will be trespassing. To bypass the dam, follow the road RDC over the dam, and then exit through the gate. This gate is often locked, necessitating climbing over it on the RDC side. From this point, take the middle of three streets (Idlehour Lane) down hill. Continue down hill until you reach the intersection of Mira Monte and Mountain Trail.
Red tape
The normal exit is technically trespassing through the LADWP / Amry Corps of Engineers property, but the workers that occasionally are there never seem to mind Canyoneers exiting that way. You will have to climb over the steel bar fence (it's easy enough on the right wall next to the gate). At least after the major via-duct construction, the fence no longer has sharp "spears" on top. It is now flat square bar steel.
Parking enforcement does ticket for not "curbing" your wheels in Sierra Madre. Be sure to turn your wheels toward the curb (in for downhill facing, out for uphill facing) at the trailhead to avoid a $40 ticket.
Beta sites
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Chris Brennen's Adventure Hikes (San Gabriels) : Little Santa Anita Canyon - Stav is Lost - April 28, 2023
- ATS
- uCanyon
- Super Amazing Map : Little Santa Anita Canyon
- CanyonChronicles.com : Little Santa Anita Canyon
- SummitPost.org : Little Santa Anita Canyon
Trip reports and media
- Candition.com : Little Santa Anita (LSA)
- Little Santa Anita after dark
Like all canyons, character can vary with conditions. This video was taken the day after multi-week rains in 2010:
Background
As of April 2022 the rappel numbers have been renumbered from 1 to 15. Before this point in time the rappels were 1 to 11 with 6 and 9 having an A, B, and C. For example the normal summer flow stops at R9 (new) vs. R7 (old). The big pothole is now R14, instead of R10
