Pine Canyon (Arroyo Seco region)
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| | Difficulty:3A III (v3a1 III) Raps:5, max ↨60ft
Red Tape:No permit required Shuttle:Required 5 min Vehicle:Passenger | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Condition Reports: | 12 Dec 2020
"Biked in from the power station and then hiked up Ken Burton. The trail has been restored since the last report. Technical section of canyon was okay |
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| Best season: | Nov-Apr
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34.2402, -118.1645
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Introduction[edit]
Pine Canyon, as labeled on the USGS topographic map, is a tributary to the Arroyo Seco running down from the west side of Brown Mountain. While the bottom of the technical section lies less than a mile from the Angeles Crest Highway (as the crow flies) and much of the canyon can be seen from the road, reaching Pine Canyon for descent can make for a long hike. Because of the long distance on mostly exposed trails, this canyon is best descended when the weather is cool.
Approach[edit]
There are many ways to approach Pine Canyon and most require a shuttle. Place your shuttle car at the desired exit and then drive to the desired trail head. The statistics for this canyon assume a Twin Canyon start and a power station finish.
Millard Campground[edit]
The Brown Mountain fire road serves as the most direct approach from the south climbing 1060ft over 4.6 miles and does not require the use of the Ken Burton Trail. Follow Chaney Trail to park at the Millard campground. Note that there is a gate controlling access to this parking lot and it is closed at night.
Ken Burton Trail[edit]
The Ken Burton Trail (nearly invisible at the Arroyo Seco) can be ascended 1100ft in 1.3 miles followed by 0.8 miles of less-steep uphill to reach the Pine Canyon drop in. The bottom part of this trail near the Arroyo Seco is entirely gone; canyoneers will need to ascend directly up a ridge and then bushwhack until the remains of the trail can be located. The trail improves as it ascends, however, ending on a very well-maintained trail by the time it reaches Brown Mountain fire road. There are a number of ways to access this trail:
Twin Canyon Trail[edit]
The Ken Burton Trail can be accessed directly by descending the Twin Canyon Trail (this is what the distance statistics assume). This is an 800ft elevation loss without any canyoneering, however, and may be disappointing.
Upstream Canyon[edit]
An alternate way to arrive at the Ken Burton trail is by descending a nearby Arroyo tributary such as CCC Canyon or Nerf Herder Canyon. This makes for a long, hard day however and should be planned accordingly.
Deep slot[edit]
A yet-to-be beta'd canyon just south of the Twin Canyon trail head can be descended to arrive just downstream of the start of the Ken Burton Trail.
Descent[edit]
Exit[edit]
The technical sections of the Pine Canyon forks are all pretty much finished by the confluence of the Left North Fork. After this point, the canyon becomes relatively wide, flat, and brush-free making travel down to the well-established trail in the Arroyo Seco pleasant and easy. Upon joining the Arroyo Seco trail, there are multiple exit options
Power station[edit]
To skip the need for a shuttle, canyoneers may both begin and end at the power station along Angeles Crest Highway. Just follow the exit track backwards for an additional 700ft of elevation gain over 3.7 miles until reaching the Ken Burton Trail in the Arroyo Seco. Note that the trail leaves the canyon bottom before Brown Mountain dam to climb above it.
The exit requiring the least amount of energy is probably via the power station. Follow the Arroyo Seco trail downstream until a campground and then turn right to follow the large fire road up and out of the canyon. This exit requires 2.5 miles of hiking with 500ft of elevation gain over 1 mile at the end after arriving at the Arroyo Seco trail.
JPL[edit]
Alternately, canyoneers may follow the large, well-traveled Arroyo Seco trail past the campground and JPL. This adds an additional 1.5 miles as compared to the power station exit, but it has almost no elevation gain.
Gabrielino[edit]
If you parked at the Twin Canyon trail head and want to avoid a shuttle, you may turn upstream at the major trail in the Arroyo Seco and follow it up over Brown Mountain dam back to the Twin Canyon trail.
Red tape[edit]
Beta sites[edit]
Trip reports and media[edit]
Background[edit]
Research and first documented descent by Alden Anderson
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