Yosemite 2007
Smith Mountain
San Gabriel Peak
Mt. Lassen
San Gorgonio
Calabasas Peak
Mt. Wilson
Temescal Canyon
San Jacinto
Strawberry Peak
Mt. Baldy
Millard Falls
Strawberry Meadow
Kings Canyon
Ojai, CA
Hiking Devil's Chair
Something different: instead of the usual hikes of the San Gabriels from the south side, Devil's Chair is approached from the north side, via Pearblossom Highway (CA-138) near Valymero. Sophia's friend Mike lives nearby, so we drove up to meet up with him, then hit Devil's Chair.
It's a pretty mild 5 miles round trip and 1750' elevation gain, plus the slight detail that we parked about a mile from the trailhead, so we really did 7 miles. You hop across the stream, then if you're dumb like us you head the wrong direction for a few minutes. We headed the right direction about 3 minutes later, it turns out we had crossed the stream a few yards too far south and hence missed the extremely obvious trail markers.
Nice and easy up to the saddle on what was a beautiful day. One sign right at the start was completely obliterated, but not much else worth commenting on. Encountered some crazy kids doing some trail cutting, but they didn't get close enough to bother us. Soon as you hit the saddle, the trail gets some really narrow spots as it descends into the canyon and then crosses the stream again. The rock formations get a little more interesting and you pass what, indeed, looks like a big rock chair.
That's not actually it, though. Hike up some steeper areas, many of them reinforced with steel rods and fencing, then up to the top, where it flattens out til you hit the fenced off area of Devil's Chair itself and the expansive view. We encountered some rangers on horses as well, shared some stories, then Sophia and I wandered out onto the handrails and the rocks to soak in the full view. The change in rock formations, from the fairly generic hills, trees, and scrub comprising most of the San Gabriels gives way to a vast expanse of exposed rock overlooking the Devil's Punchbowl. It doesn't even get close to the grand views from Clouds Rest or Half Dome in Yosemite, or heck even from Mt. Baldy, but the unique geological formation of the Devil's Punchbowl is worth this little hike.
Heading back was downright easy, the narrow sections of trail are something we barely noticed.
