Photo Essay: Gabrielino Trail, Chantry Flats to Sturtevant Falls

I went to Chantry Flats in the Angeles National Forest, up the road from Arcadia, because I was in nearby Rosemead and San Gabriel checking out some cemeteries for Memorial Day.



I braved the overcrowded access road, with very little available parking, thinking that if this trail was this popular, it must be worth it.



Little did I know I would end up back on the Gabrielino Trail on my way to Sturtevant Falls.



The hike to Sturtevant Falls is an "upside down" one, with a steep descent into the "bowl" past lush wildflowers...



...down a paved road that soon ends...



...before reaching a bridge that crosses the creek.



Turns out, the Gabrielino Trail actually runs 28.5 miles, created in 1970 with the renaming of several other trails...



...so on my way to Sturtevant Falls, I got to experience another stretch of it.









There are plenty of rustic canyons along the trail, many of which appear to be still occupied.











The parking area was full, necessitating pulling over onto any free strip of road shoulder, but thankfully the trail was peaceful enough...





...until arriving at the falls, of course.



Then all I had to do was hike all the way back up to my car.

Related Reading:
Photo Essay: Gabrielino Trail at JPL, to Gould Mesa Campground

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Photo Essay: Gabrielino Trail at JPL, to Gould Mesa Campground

When I embarked on the Gabrielino Trail in Altadena, near the JPL, I was looking for some rustic cabins that predated the area being designated a national forest...





I had no idea I would find so many wildflowers...







...and charming bridges...









...and vestiges of the populated area like old retaining walls along a thriving creek...





























With a few creek crossings...




...I made it as far as Gould Mesa Campground. I could've gone farther, but I was stopped by a family, whose father asked me, "You're not going to the campground, are you?"

"I'm going as far as the bathroom. Is that where the bathroom is?"

"Yeah, try to avoid it if you can. There's a psycho up there."



He then described a creepy vagrant who tried approaching his daughter and wife, and who became aggressive when confronted by the father. I thought of the pepper spray in my kitchen drawer instead of my hiking pack, and decided to go anyway.

When I got to the campground, I saw a thin, bedraggled man with a long, grey beard wandering away from the restroom. I made a beeline to pee, opening the door half-expecting to see him standing there, and when he wasn't, cut my hike short and hightailed it back the way I came.

But even though I didn't do as far on the Gabrielino Trail as I'd wanted to, I would return to another portion of it the next day...

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Photo Essay: San Gabriel Mission, Rest In Peace

The Savannah Memorial Park Pioneer Cemetery may be the oldest American cemetery in Southern California, but the cemeteries of the area's many missions - including the very successful San Gabriel Mission - predate it.



On Memorial Day, when I paid a rare visit to some oft-neglected gravesites, I swung by the Mission to say hello to some more passed souls.





Though older, these headstones were typically in better shape than at Savannah, though they had experienced their own wear and tear...



...and featured etchings that were both more anonymous and more primitive.







After a while, after seeing so many graves, the stones start to blend in together, until you see a face...



...and then you start to see many faces, earthly and heavenly...











...and innumerable crosses...







...trying to ensure that those buried there may truly rest in peace.

Related Reading:
Photo Essay: Savannah Memorial Park Pioneer Cemetery
Photo Essay: The Faces of Hollywood Forever Cemetery
Photo Essay: Past the Mission
Gloom (Photo Blog)

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