A long wait at Henninger Flats

Why is it taking three-plus years to repair a couple of landslides at Henninger Flats in Pasadena? That’s what area residents and hikers want to know, and this sign on Altadena Drive at the Pinecrest Drive gate pretty much says it all: there’s ANGER about the closure of Mt. Wilson Toll Road, the steep 3-mile route to the flats.

The Toll Road route — 1,500 feet of gain that's extremely popular with hikers training for bigger-elevation treks — has been blocked since early 2005, when a chunk of mountain 1,000 feet high fell onto the trail during winter storms. There are additional, smaller slides at Henninger itself.

Parking at this spot on Pinecrest gets hikers to the Toll Road quicker than hiking from Eaton Canyon Nature Center, cutting off about a mile of hiking. The road was used in the 1800s by gold miner/farmer William Henninger to transport produce down to Eaton Canyon and markets beyond.

I hadn’t hiked to Henninger since the slide, so decided to check it out last weekend. I went to the locked Pinecrest gate and while trying to snap a photo of the giant slide through the chain-link fence, a resident pulled up and was kind enough to let me trespass onto his driveway for an unobstructed shot. He urged calling the county to complain about the closure, “three years and counting,” he said, which is keeping people from a “beautiful resource.”

You can see in these photos from 2005 (left) and today (below) that the slide is now starting to morph into the hillside, with vegetation sprouting on the new “hillside.”

I called the county fire station at the top of the flats, and also the city of Pasadena, which has jurisdiction over the portion of trail from the Pinecrest gate to the Mt. Wilson Toll Road — including land the big slide is on. Pasadena Water and Power engineer Gary Pakara told me repair on the slide would tentatively begin on Oct. 1 — pending about $1.4 million of FEMA funding to help cover repairs. Repair work would be done by county fire, and Pakara said they hope to “wrap up” work by April 2009.

Whew. Six years to clear away a huge pile of rocks.

So how can hikers get to the flats in the meantime? They’re not supposed to be on the Mt. Wilson Toll Road at all, says Mickey Long, the natural areas administrator for L.A. County Parks and Recreation, based at Eaton Canyon. But it’s obvious people have been going around the lower slide; I saw footprints at the start of the Toll Road, which is marked by a closed sign. And, needless to say, the campground at Henninger has been closed since the slides.

Eaton Canyon Nature Center’s website has a good description of the three trails to Henninger, along with a map, but keep in mind they all involve the Toll Road, technically “closed.”

With Pinecrest closed, hikers can access the area from another parking area on Altadena Drive, at Midwick Drive. That was jammed when I went, so I parked at Eaton Canyon Nature Center and took the Eaton Canyon Trail toward the falls and Toll Road. A sign (below) about 1/2-mile in points the way to Henninger via the “horse trail” through Walnut Canyon, a steep 2.9 ascent.

It was stinking hot when I went so I only hiked about halfway up. The equestrian trail bypasses the big slide and connects with the Toll Road but, again, you’re not supposed to be on the Toll Road. I headed back down, made a right onto Eaton Canyon Trail and headed toward the bridge over the wash; just short of the bridge is the Toll Road turnoff. Beware of rattlers. People saw them the day I was there but all I saw was a garter snake.

Check back on Outposts for any updates as work progresses (or even hopefully begins) on the Henninger slides.

— Julie Sheer

Photo of landslide in 2005 by Al Schaben/Los Angeles Times
All other photos by Julie Sheer

Comments

[Kudzu Fire]

when danger turns to anger, I guess they have to fix it.

[Mack]

The truth is, nobody cares enough to open the road. A great resource lost because it is only used by hikers and mountain bikers, who count for nothing in the estimation of politicians and elected officials.

[Simon Burrow]

Thanks for writing this article. In the three years of buck passing and stalling since the slide and I very pleased that you noticed. If the slide had blocked a trail in West Pasadena or in West LA this kind of obfuscation and selay would not have been tolerated. Check out my blog on this story on http://mtwilsontollroad.swcamborne.com/
It contains some very cool arial photos of the slide area.
Simon

[Simon Burrow]

Thanks for this update. For a year now I have been posting a blog about the failure of Pasadena and LA County to reopen this trail.
Maybe your shining the LA Times light on it will help to get some better results than I have been able to get.
Thanks Again
Simon

[James Sullivan]

I don't understand: the hikers are complaining about not having a road for their cars. Why don't the hikers, I don't know...HIKE!

[whatever]

I know this is an old article, but it's relevant to me, as I just learned that the road is planned to be cleared.

To James Sullivan - The road was never used by hikers for personal cars. Private vehicles were never allowed on the road previously, I suspect that will remain the same. The road was used by hikers to do just what you suggest, to HIKE! The Mt. Wilson Toll Road is a dual-use road, used by hikers AND by the forest service as a fire access road. Since the land slide pictured above, the road has been inaccessible to forestry vehicles and by hikers who choose not to take the unnecssary risk to cross the unsteady landslide.

[F. Raymond]

Hiked up to the Flats from Eaton Cayon just a few days ago. (06-16-09). Some parts of the trail are in terrible shape. Because of smaller landsiides and over-growth some sections are now only wide enough for a single hiker. It's hard to believe vehicles once used that road. It's such a beautiful area, It really shouldn't go to waste.