ANF Reopened Areas

Hiking in Our "Backyard" Available Again

I've been working on another trail report about climbing Mt. Islip that will appear BELOW this post when I complete it. In the meanwhile, as you can tell by my recent post(s), the USFS has reopened certain parts of the Angeles National Forest (after the devastating and deadly Station Fire last year) for the summer.

The map on their website is AWFUL; the resolution is lousy to the point of making the map worthless to us hikers. I thought I'd post this map that appeared in the local newspaper so you can better see what is open.

The written orders show the closure boundary is the north side of 3N17, so I'm sure that means the Santa Clara Divide Truck Trail will be closed for a lo-o-o-ong time west of the Rosenita Saddle/Mount Hilyer area.
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The only thing to the west that has reopened is the Magic Mountain Wilderness Area end of 3N17 near Sand Canyon (Saugus).

Although campgrounds such as Bandido and Chilao are open, the Visitor's Center at Chilao Flats remains closed. And of course, Hwy 2 is only open from Wrightwood to Red Box Road by Mount Wilson; Angeles Forest Highway is only open between Big Tujunga and Sierra Highway.

Still, there are plenty of (unburned) areas we can now access, so I'm sure we will be able to stay busy exploring "our backyard" this summer! We've already been out there having fun since Memorial Day and are planning more adventures. Enjoy!

Click on map to see larger version.

The Angeles National Forest is my "backyard."