Devil's Gulch Exploratory Hike

PLEASE READ THIS ENTIRE WRITE-UP. THANK-YOU!

THIS IS AN EXPLORATORY HIKE (meaning the leader has NOT done it before, and I would bet it has hardly been done by anyone much). PLEASE SIGN UP ONLY IF YOU HAVE A SENSE OF ADVENTURE AND ARE WILLING TO GET WET (we may have to wade through water a little and do some boulder climbing and bush-whacking! Could be lots of poison oak! Wild Wild West!).

11-13 mile (roundtrip),~1000 ft. gain hike beginning at the East Fork Ranger Station. We will go at a very slowpoke pace along the wild and beautiful East Fork of the San Gabriel River through the Sheep Mountain Wilderness area. Some boulder hopping, rock scrambling, and MANY stream crossings. We will go ALMOST all the way to the Bridge to Nowhere (about 4 miles in) along the East Fork, then instead of continuing to the bridge we will go into Devil's Gulch. It is near the Horseshoe Mine, if you know where that is. There may be some waterfalls in there?! SAFETY FIRST- if anything seems unsafe we may leave the gulch and try a different fork/canyon off the East fork. If anyone is interested we can see Horseshoe Mine. We will hike out the same way we went in.

The hike will take roughly 8-10 hours (including a few breaks)(not including driving time to the trailhead). WE MAY BE HIKING IN THE DARK FOR THE LAST 30-60 MINUTES OF THE HIKE. It takes about 30 minutes to drive to the trailhead from the rideshare point we are meeting at in Azusa (directions below).

Note: You MAY get WET! This is a challenging hike mainly because it is long- you will need energy!

If you think you might want to go faster than the leader and stray from the group, please don't sign up for this hike. For social and safety reasons I would like the group to stay together. Slowpokes only! If you have to be back by a certain time, please do not sign up for this hike.

BRING: At least 2 quarts water, lunch, WARM CLOTHES (just-in-case it gets cool later in the day), long sleeves and long pants if you are allergic to poison oak (just-in-case there is a lot of it in the gulch- there won't be too much on the East Fork), HIKING SHOES OR BOOTS THAT CAN GET WET, flashlight or headlamp, raincoat??, change of clothes for after the hike (in case you get wet).

******We may go out to eat after the hike. IF we have any energy left and get back to town in time, there is a great blues band playing in Covina at Thunderfest (Lil 'A' and the Allnighters at the Rude Dog).

RAIN DOES NOT CANCEL! (That's what raincoats are for)(unless it is raining SUPER hard- then we will cancel).

You will need an ADVENTURE PASS if you plan on driving to the trailhead from the rideshare point. They can be purchased from Sport Chalet or REI or any ranger station. There is a booth to buy them at in Azusa, but you can't always depend on it being open.

Directions to the RIDESHARE POINT in Azusa:

from the westside: 105 or 10 east, 605 north, 210 east, exit at Azusa Av. Go north (left) toward the mountains. At Foothill Bl. Turn left into the CVS parking lot. Park at the west end (back) of the parking lot.

from the valley: 118 east, 210 east, then follow directions above.