South Fork via Manzanita Trail
5.7 mi
Distance
2 hrs 45 min
Time
terrain
2,066 ft
Elev Gain
Overview
This is a moderate one way trail to South Fork in San Gabriel Mountains National Monument.
This trail goes by Big Rock Campground.
Rate this Hike
★★★★★
Solo day hiked Mon 1/15/24 – As the Dawson Saddle TH to Mt Lewis has been closed since August, I used the Manzanita Trail to approach the north base of Lewis and make a direct ascent up it. The trail is a nicely routed, narrow side hill trail with some damage from the Hilary storm like many Cal trails. As others have said, there are several washout areas and fallen trees along the trail that can be carefully bypassed without too much effort. There are a few spots with eye level branches to be careful of. Was interesting to see decent water flows at all 3 stream crossings in January. Did my part to clear branches off the trail that appears to be lightly trafficked and virtually litter free (only picked up a single balloon). After the next significant snowfall, micro spikes will definitely be required for going along the narrow sidehill areas. The direct route up Lewis was along the steep, westernmost northern ridge that had a lot of very loose talus and scree fields to traverse. Tried to climb the larger rocks along the ridge spine to lessen time spent on loose stuff which worked well. Used the segments of a very faint and steep trail that paws and hooves were still using. The snow on the last quarter of the ascent offered great traction for bare boots. Nice summit views of the San Gabriel peaks to the south and Antelope Valley to the north. Used micro spikes to speed up the first part of the descent and then had to boot ski, plunge step across the lower scree traverses. The steepness added some real speed on a few of the traverses that were like being caught in a downhill river. The trail back to Vincent Gap was all uphill but gradual so not too bad. Gave the Manzanita Trail 4 stars for the extra attention required but it was still a nice, scenic route worth taking. Nice to see fellow hikers putting up cairns to help navigate the washouts - thanks! Logged 11.5 miles/4547 vertical ft. with Gaia.
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