President's Day sunset hike @ Chantry Flat -- easy trail, great city-light views

It's President's Day, so if you have the day off work, you've got no excuses -- join my hiking group on its weekly outing to perhaps the best city-lights views in all of Southern California.

This beginner/low-intermediate hike takes advantage of some great views at and after sunset on a wide trail with secure footing. We'll take the San Olene Fire Road from its start at Chantry Flat up to a ridge overlooking the San Gabriel Valley and much of Southern California. It's a 7-mile round trip, with a gentle elevation gain of about 1,200 feet, the easiest of any trail out of Chantry.

To join us, meet before 4:30 pm in the UPPERMOST parking lot at Chantry Flat. Basically, drive up Santa Anita until it ends at the parking area, and then drive up to the third (the highest) parking lot and grab a space. If that lot is full, there are two others just below it that you'll pass on your way up, or you can park on the shoulder of the road leading in. Wherever you park, you'll need an Adventure Pass (http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/sanbernardino/ap/vendors.php).

We'll meet by the bulletin boards at the base of the picnic area on the upper level, and head up the road at 4:31 pm sharp, passing right by the familiar turnoff to the Upper Winter Creek trail. About a half-mile later, the pavement ends at a heliport slab, but the dirt road heads off to the right and keeps going for three more miles, winding around and offering a wide array of views up and down Big Santa Anita Canyon.

Finally, at about 3.3 miles, the road bears right and suddenly there's nothing in front of you except stellar vistas. We'll walk a bit farther to a large open space where the group can spread out on the side of the trail and look out over the massive light show that is Southern California. Depending on your speed, you should arrive between 5:30 and 6. We'll linger until perhaps 6:15 before heading back down. Be sure to bring a reliable flashlight. Even on nights with a large moon, the canopy of trees will block the moon in some sections and it will be quite dark.

We'll be back to the cars by about 7:30, in time to drive back down Santa Anita before the gate is locked at 8 pm. Anyone who wants to take it slow on the hike back may want to leave the summit a bit ahead of the rest of the group.

If you can't make it at 4:30 but would still like to join us, get there as early as you can and head up on your own. If you're fast, you should be able to make it to the viewpoint before we leave. If not, you'll run into us coming back down and you can join us for the descent to the cars.

If you'd like, bring something to share for the break on top -- nothing major, just whatever you might enjoy (fruit, nuts, cookies, anything). Also bring an extra layer for warmth at the break, a liter or two of water, and a reliable flashlight.

Hope to see you there.

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Important! Read me: Because this Monday is President's Day, parking will be much harder than what we usually find on Monday evenings. You'll need to get there early and watch for somebody leaving (most people will be on their way out when we arrive) or you'll need to park some distance down the road and walk up to the upper parking lot. Either way, you need to allow yourself some extra time. The hike starts at 4:31 SHARP. If you park on the road leading in, you still need an Adventure Pass, (http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/sanbernardino/ap/vendors.php) and you need to keep your tires outside the white stripe on the shoulder. Also read the signs regarding a few no-parking stretches along the road.