Foggy Morning At Eaton Canyon

Seems we rarely get much fog around here. I enjoy it when we do.  So, when I saw it was foggy early yesterday morning, I took the dog and headed over to Eaton Canyon for little hike.  When we started out it was see-your-breath cold and fog draped the mountainsides.  

 After a while, the fog started to clear.  If you just stay on the trail and keep your eyes open, you will find spots in Eaton Canyon that are simply beautiful.

Bobcats at Eaton Canyon

While hiking in Eaton Canyon early this morning, I crossed paths with two bobcats.  Initially, I saw one cat peak its head out of the bushes, then walk across the trail.  That all happened too fast for me to get a picture. Then, I was surprised when a second bobcat appeared in the bush.  That cat looked our way and was still for a minute or two.  Then, like the earlier cat, the cat pictured above calmly walked across the trail.  

 As I have posted here, we have seen bobcats before strolling through our yard and jumping over the fence into the neighbor's yard.  These sightings have been at dusk and each time we have seen one lone bobcat.  The sighting today was early in the morning on the main Eaton Canyon trail.  According to Wikipedia,  bobcats are  mostly nocturnal and typically solitary.  So, I got lucky with the early morning sighting.  But, it seems unusual that I saw two bobcats travelling together. 

Though I have seen several bobcats by now, I have yet to get a decent picture.  When we have seen the cats at our home, it has been dusk.  Combine the lack of light with the bobcat's propensity to skirt the edges of fences and trees and you have a tough photo.   

Today, I was walking with our 6 month old puppy who,, even without wild cats on the trail ahead, was a frenzied nut wanting to smell every tree and rock in the canyon.  So, I had to use one hand to hold the dog leash which was whipping back and forth.  That left me only with one hand to hold my camera phone and take the photo.  Definitely not optimal camera conditions.  Still, the cats are beautiful to see and, even in subpar pictures, the distinctive bobcat markings are easy to see.    

Spanish Bayonet

You do not have to walk far into the local mountains to see one of these.  The bright flowers on these Spanish Bayonets stand out against the generally brown-green landscape.   It takes five years to produce a mature plant that flowers like this.  After flowering, the plant dies. These photos were taken on my hike a couple weeks ago through Eaton Canyon up to Henniger Flats.

The plant goes by many names -- Spanish Bayonet, Our Lord's Candle, Foothill Yucca and Quixote Yucca and Chaparral Yucca -- all of which make sense when you see the plant.   The botanical name, Hesperoyucca Whipplei, needs explanation.

The species is named after Ameil Weeks Whipple.   An Army engineer, in 1856, Whipple was ordered to lead an expedition from Little Rock, Arkansas to Los Angeles to plot a railroad route along the southern part of the country.  Whipple surveyed a route that that traversed Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California, which route was later used for the famous Route 66.  After his expedition, Whipple surveyed the Mexico-US border and then worked to improve naval navigation through New Orleans and the Great Lakes.   When the Civil War started in 1861, engineer Whipple created maps that guided Union forces into battle and provided Union generals reconnaissance by going up in hot air balloons that floated across Confederate lines. He also fought in the battles of Fredricksburg and Chancellorsville, where he was mortally wounded by a Confederate sharpshooter.   He died in 1863 with the rank of Major General. He was 44 years old.      

Henninger Flats Hike from Eaton Canyon

 This morning I walked into the Eaton Canyon Natural Area and just kept going.    I walked through the parking lot, around the native garden, on to the wide trail that leads down to Eaton Wash, then on to the steep Walnut Canyon trail which leads to the Mt. Wilson toll road and on up to Henninger Flats.

This is the view from Henninger Flats.  The view is expansive.  If you enlarge the photo, you can see St. Lukes in the foreground, downtown Pasadena and downtown LA at the middle left and if you look hard toward the center of the photo there are the vague outlines of Catalina Island with its two conical hills.   Directly westward, toward Santa Monica, you can see the Pacific Ocean.

 The Mt. Wilson toll road dates back to 1891.    All the way up the road, you can look down the mountain to see tiny cars traversing the streets below.   I thought this contrast was interesting -- the old dirt toll road on the left somewhat paralleling the shining sliver of 210 freeway down below.  The freeway is the white line toward the upper right of the photo.

Though not an easy hike, I crossed paths with many other hikers, some runners and a few mountain bikers.   Here's a mountain biker making his way up the trail in the face of the morning sun.

Hike to Eaton Canyon Falls

The trail starts at the end of the parking lot in front of the Eaton Canyon Nature Center. It is 1.5 miles to the falls.

The trail soon dips down into a wide and rocky arroyo. A seasonal stream flows at the arroyo bottom. This the first of many stream crossings.

Once on the other side of the arroyo, we were treated to an inviting stretch of oak- lined trail.

Sycamores, oaks and lots of sage. The trail continues north skirting the east side of the arroyo. Some shade along the way, but mostly the trail is in the sun.

Every now and then you can see (and hear) the stream from the trail. This picture is taken just south of the (Mt. Wilson) toll road bridge. The arroyo is still very wide at this point.

Sign along the trail as we go under the bridge. Ain't it the truth.

On top of the bridge looking south.

OK. We've gone under the toll road bridge. This picture was taken looking back toward the bridge. It is cool and shady. The rock wall to the right foreshadows what is coming up. The canyon gets increasingly narrower from here on.

Millipede curled up in the hollowed end of a log. You know they only have a few hundred legs; not a thousand.

Very quickly the trail leads to some absolutely stunning scenes.

As the canyon narrows and the stream winds around solid rock walls, the trail jumps from one side of the stream to the other. Here we're crossing from the left side to catch the trail again on the right side.

Then crossing back to the other side. There are lots of big boulders and logs to help at the stream crossings. But, unless you are very nimble, you're going to get wet.

Into the canyon. The falls are around the corner and I can almost hear the roar of rushing water.

A short scramble over some boulders and after crossing the stream again, we've arrived. Eaton Canyon Falls drops about 40 to 50 feet into a shallow round pool.



I think I'll wade in next to the falls. Ready to get wet?

That was refreshing! I'll just sit back on the warm rocks, dry out a bit and enjoy the falls. Watch for the little dog jumping in the pool to fetch a stick.