Canyon Depths

I think you should click to enlarge this picture.

The other day, Bellis (who often comments here) and I walked from Chantry Flat to Sturtevant Falls and back. (The road up from Sierra Madre is open during the day.) Our trusty pooches came along, too. The water is flowing clear and clean in Big Santa Anita Canyon alongside the Gabrielino Trail.

Bellis also showed me the trail that goes above the falls. High! Steep! Narrow! Wonderful. There's everything to love about a hike like this one--tall trees, a flowing stream and a waterfall, forceful now after the rain.

This place is extra special, perhaps because of 81 historic, privately-owned cabins, some of which you'll stroll by as you walk along the canyon floor. The cabins are what remain of the original 350 that were built from the 1890's to the 1920's.

I found myself envying the cabin residents but I have to be realistic. It takes a special kind of person to live there. Few of the cabins have central heat, plumbing or electricity (though we did notice some solar panels), and phone service is limited. Not only that, but unless you're a mountain biker with the thighs (and knees) of an Olympic athlete, your home is accessible only by hiking into and out of the canyon.

It's so beautiful there, for a minute I thought I could get used to it if I could heat with solar panels. Later in the summer this stream will be dry, or close to it. But right now it's heaven.

Then I thought about carrying the groceries.