Eaton Canyon

Eaton Canyon is one of the crown jewels of the San Gabriels and the area-favorite of many. It has a lot of water for the area which transforms its many smooth granite slides into a natural water park during most of the year. The rappels are relatively straight forward and not very tall, but the watery conditions and shear length of the whole canyon can cause many problems for groups who are not well-practiced and well-prepared. In high-flow conditions, Eaton can become a difficult class C canyon.

Eaton Canyon is often in the local news for accidents and deaths occurring primarily when non-canyoneers bypass the final few waterfalls using exposed or non-existent trails, and when groups find themselves unprepared for Eaton’s substantially larger commitment as compared to other nearby canyons.

The general approach profile is:
· 1800 ft of elevation gain over 3.3 miles of nearly full sun exposure
· 1.1 miles of flat or down hill through brush sometimes containing ticks
· A steep 250 ft descent to the streambed

Most groups will want to park at the three-way intersection of Midwick, Roosevelt, and Altadena at 34° 11.054'N, 118° 6.086'W. Do not follow the signs to Eaton Canyon; they direct you to the nature center which adds unnecessary hiking to the trip. The dirt parking lot on the east side of Altadena is the most common place to park, but there is also plenty of space on the west side of the street and on Midwick or Roosevelt. The trail leading down to the wash begins through an opening in the fence. Cross the wash using any of the many small paths and find a very large trail running parallel to the wash on the other side. At this point, look back at the other side of the wash and the profile that the trees make against the sky. If you return in the dark, it can be difficult to find the right place to cross the wash, but the trees’ silhouettes will still be visible. Follow the very large trail downstream briefly until another smaller trail branches off to the left into a gully. Take this trail and you should be on a well-established horse trail heading up hill in less than 150 ft – the horse trail is located at 34° 11.151'N, 118° 6.005'W. Follow it until it intersects with the Mount Wilson Toll Road at 34° 11.354'N, 118° 5.913'W.

Follow the toll road to Henninger Flats. At the entrance, a microwave tower is visible 2000 ft away – this is the summit of the approach. As the road enters Henninger Flats, there is a shortcut on the right just before the port-o-potties, but most groups will want to continue down the road another 200 ft to find a drinking fountain off to the left of the trail. After refilling water bottles, continue on the road passing a non-potable water fountain on the right. There is a T junction at the microwave tower (34° 11.824'N, 118° 5.182'W) – this is the highest point of the hike. Turn left to follow the trail downhill. At the next fork, continue downhill to the right.

The turn off to the Telephone Trail (34° 11.884'N, 118° 5.415'W) is sometimes non-descript. It is the second partially-cleared area on the right side of the road, and you should find a much smaller trail heading in nearly the opposite direction downhill within 30 ft of the turnoff. Follow the Telephone Trail through a wooded area, across a stream, through a lot of brush that sometimes contains ticks, and along a steep hill face to a flat area on a ridge – this is Telephone Flat. The trail continues to contour along the hill side, and after 500 to 800 ft, there will be a steep gully with a fair amount of scree in it. Skip that first gully and come to another scree-filled gully shortly after. This gully will have a tree with a prominent exposed root system on the downhill side of the trail. Just before that second gully is a faint use trail that is the least-steep descent into the canyon, however many people descend the second scree gully directly, and many people appreciate or need at least a hand line for the scree gully. After a 250 ft descent, you will reach the stream bed and the start of the canyon.

Pinecrest gate
There is an alternate approach that saves 170 ft of elevation gain on the approach and 0.4 miles on the exit at the expense of 80 ft of elevation gain on the exit. The catch to this approach is that the gate is closed and locked near sunset (sometimes up to an hour before sunset), which forces either a steep climb and private property trespass to escape the canyon, or an extra 1.7 miles of hiking. Teams very confident in finishing appreciably before sunset can save some effort by starting at this point, but most teams should use the more conservative Midwick-Roosevelt-Altadena start.

The Pinecrest gate is located at 34° 11.503'N, 118° 6.331'W. There is no parking on this street on the weekends, so drive around the corner to park on Bowring Drive. Plenty of street parking is usually available within 700 ft of the gate. Start the approach by walking through the gate, which is very substantial, is topped with barbed wire, and has more than one video camera pointed at it. This gate is locked near sunset at unpredictable times. More than one group has tried to remedy this but none have yet met with success. The road the gate protects is the Mount Wilson toll road. As it bends to the right for the first time, note the smaller gully to the left (not the major gully in front of you). This is the gully you will have to climb in an emergency if the gate is locked when you return after the canyon. Doing so will cause you to trespass on private property. Continue on the toll road as it crosses the bridge and continues uphill. After a while, the horse trail from the Midwick-Roosevelt-Altadena approach will join the toll road (34° 11.354'N, 118° 5.913'W) and the approach instructions continue from the second paragraph.

Water temperature
Eaton Canyon contains a large amount of water for a San Gabriel canyon and therefore the equipment and preparation necessary is highly dependent on conditions. Between November and March, continual exposure to cold water makes a wet suit essentially mandatory, and a full 3mm wet suit usually provides an appropriate amount of protection. In September, October, April, and May, the air temperature and a team’s cold tolerance will determine whether a shorty wet suit or a full wet suit is most appropriate. In June, a shorty wet suit can sometimes be appropriate, but some people prefer no protection. During most of July and August, temperatures are hot enough for many people to go without a wet suit, though some prefer a shorty. Unseasonally hot or cold days can occasionally alter these recommendations.

Water challenges
Most of the time, Eaton Canyon is a class B canyon requiring some swimming and the possibility of swimming disconnects. But occasionally, higher flows can change it to a much more difficult class C canyon. Even moderate flows result in a large amount of water force on the second to last rappel. If there is any question as to whether Eaton may be flowing more than usual, have a team member hike 30 minutes up canyon from the Pinecrest gate to check the flow rate of the final rappel.

Water depth
The Station Fire of 2009 substantially changed the character of Eaton Canyon and filled in many previously-jumpable locations. Make sure to have at least one team member check water depth before jumping, even if some team members have experience with the canyon prior to 2011. The second to last waterfall, which people have traditionally used as a slide, is still fairly shallow.

Rappels
While none of the 5-9 waterfall drops themselves are taller than about 35 ft, the rappels can be up to 80 ft because some anchors are set back from the rappels. Most of the rappels have good natural anchors nearby, but may need to be re-rigged with webbing and a quick link, and some anchors are in the watercourse. The final rappel has a 2-bolt anchor and the webbing may be missing because it is a popular location for non-canyoneers to climb up to. Some rappels have single-bolt anchors, but more appropriate natural anchors can be found nearby.

Escape routes
The technical canyon is divided into three major sections: beginning water park, long middle slog, and final section. Once down the first slide in the beginning water park, escape is very difficult. But, there are bypass routes around the second to last and last waterfalls if necessary. The second to last waterfall is characterized by a long slide that empties into a long drop to a pool below. The top of the rappel usually overlooks a large amount of graffiti. To bypass this rappel, simply climb 10 ft up RDC about 20 ft back from the drop – this should be easy class 3 climbing. A prominent trail parallels the stream and then switches back to end a few hundred feet downstream of the waterfall. The last waterfall has a well-traveled trail that departs RDC about 200 ft before the waterfall. This bypass trail is one of the leading causes of accidents in Eaton Canyon and should be approached carefully. It involves very exposed class 3 climbing, and some moderate-difficult class 4 moves that may or may not have the assistance of fixed hand lines. Attempting this trail in the dark for the first time is not recommended.

The final rappel ends at a popular hiking destination and it is likely there will be a sizeable audience on summer weekends if you finish before dark. Hike 0.5 miles on a popular trail until you reach a large bridge. Find the large trail LDC downstream of the bridge and follow it 0.7 miles to the point at which you crossed the wash to begin the trip. If it is dark, look for the tree line silhouette you observed before starting the horse trail.

If you started from the Pinecrest gate, climb up to the bridge either RDC upstream of the bridge or LDC downstream of the bridge and hike back to the gate. If it is locked and it is an emergency, find the small gully you observed at the beginning of the trip and climb up it. Otherwise, go back across the bridge and take the large trail that heads downhill from the bridge parallel to the wash for 0.7 miles. Cross the wash to find the beginning of a path (34° 11.122'N, 118° 6.125'W) that climbs the steep bank to Altadena. Walk north on Altadena, then turn right on Crescent, then Pinecrest and you will arrive at the Pinecrest gate 1.7 miles from the other side of the gate.

No permits are required. Most of the canyon is in the Angeles National Forest with few restrictions, but it begins and ends within Pasadena’s Eaton Canyon Park which may, in the future, create more rules. The Pinecrest gate is a local political issue and is currently locked before or near sunset, and not unlocked at a reliable time in the morning.

Probably primarily due to the tremendous popularity of the day hike to the last waterfall (“first” or “the” waterfall to non-canyoneers), Eaton Canyon is the site of a very large share of rescues and fatalities in the area. Multiple canyoneering groups have also been search and rescue targets. Because of this, many people in the area want to impose restrictions on the canyon. Please avoid making this situation worse – you can do this by ensuring you are well-prepared (skills and gear), have an overnight bivy plan, and that anyone who might be worried about you not coming back knows this plan and will not call the police first thing in the morning (or the previous night).