Hiking Mt. Waterman
For relief from last Sunday's heat, a hike to Mt. Waterman in the San Gabriels did the trick. How did I find a cool spot? I knew that Mt. Waterman rose to 8,015 feet above the front range of the Angeles Crest and that the high elevation would get us out of the heat. In late summer, even this mountain can get hot, so I decided to check the local weather forecast before heading out.
First, I Googled "Mt. Waterman weather" and found an hour-by-hour account of temperatures on Weather.com, with 80 being the high. Sounded fine to me.
Then my friend and I drove up Angeles Crest Highway about 30 miles above La Canada to the trail head. Along the way, bright bursts of yellow Scotch broom, orange monkey flower and purple prickly phlox were in full bloom. But the best surprise was huge white clusters of yucca blooms lighting up the chaparral. They seemed to be just about to peak; overall, the area was far greener than I had imagined.
The trail head is a little tricky to find. (From the 210 Freeway, take Angeles Crest Highway east to Buckhorn Campground — approximately 34 miles to mile marker 58.0. Once you pass the Mt. Waterman Ski Lifts (sign pictured at left), there’s a wide pullout parking area on the left. You need an Adventure Pass to park here. At the end of the lot on the south side, there’s a locked gate leading to the fire road. Follow this up about 30 feet, and on the left is a sign for Mt. Waterman Trail. Pick up the trail to the left. It parallels the highway for a short distance and begins to ascend the forested slope.
Just getting out of the car was a relief! The air was cool, the sky was deep blue and clear, and the pines smelled like summer in the mountains. I confess that I hadn't turned off the AC until we got there (I should have opened the windows much earlier!).
After we walked past a large Korean family enjoying the cool spring in the cedars in the first quarter-mile of the hike, we only saw two other people on the trail. We had planned to hike to the top — 3 miles up and 1,400 feet of gain — and eat lunch. The view was promising, and the hike was easy to moderate, but from the trail junction with Twin Peaks to the steep side trail to the top of the bouldered summit, masses of little flies buzzed around our heads and kept us moving quickly up the trail.
There was no way we could stop at the top after an hour and a half of hiking. The flies besieged us whenever we stopped, so we took the loop through the ski resort, which can be very tricky. (You have to find the fire road or risk getting stranded on the end of a run. It starts under the main chair near the ski restaurant.) There were fewer bugs on the dirt road, and it only took an hour and 15 minutes to come down.
We topped it off with a Craftsman Poppy Fields pale ale on tap at the spruced up Newcomb's Ranch, a rustic, sprawling restaurant catering to hikers and bikers with barbecue and burgers. Not a bad way to spend a Sunday afternoon!
—Leslie Carlson, Los Angeles Times staff writer
Photo of Mt. Waterman Trail submitted to Your Scene by Dan Simpson
Photo of Mt. Waterman Ski Lifts by Anacleto Rapping / Los Angeles Times
