From the category archives:

National Forests and Recreation Areas

Adams’ Pack Station Under Threat From Health Department

March 15, 2010

The Adams’ Pack Station at Chantry Flats is one of the last operating pack stations in the country. It, along with most of Santa Anita Canyon, was spared during the Station Fire, but now the historic general store may be forced to close its doors by the L.A. County Health Department.
According to a recent [...]

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Hiking Los Liones Trail to Parker Mesa

January 4, 2010

A 7.3 mile hike from the Pacific Palisades to a popular overlook in Topanga State Park. The first part of this hike – the Los Liones Trail – is one of the most lush riparian canyons I’ve seen in the Santa Monica Mountains. It’s gently graded, moderately shady, and definitely worth a [...]

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Early Photos of the Station Fire Area

December 10, 2009

A combination of work busyness and recent rain closures … along with a desire to not get too depressed … have prevented me from driving through the Station Fire burn area to take pictures, but it didn’t stop the GeekHiker, who made the trip last weekend.
He posted a pretty stark set of photos on Flickr [...]

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Wet Weather on the Way

December 4, 2009

Today, the National Weather Service released a Special Weather Statement for Southern California, warning of an incoming weather system that has the potential to pour a significant amount of rain in the Station Fire burn area.
Beginning late Sunday, a very cold low pressure system will settle in across Oregon and Northern California, increasing our onshore [...]

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Station Fire Image from Space

November 25, 2009

If you were wondering exactly which areas within the Station Fire burn area were burned and which were spared, you can thank NASA for giving us some information.
On November 19th, an unmanned Predator B drone flew over the Station Fire burn area and took detailed images with an Autonomous Modular Scanner. Unfortunately, the picture’s [...]

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Angeles National Forest Roads to Re-Open

November 24, 2009

Starting soon, some roads in the Angeles National Forest will re-open to general traffic.
Big Tujunga Canyon Road, Upper Big Tujunga Canyon Road, and the Angeles Forest Highway are scheduled to re-open at 5AM on Monday, November 30th. Until now, the roads have been closed except for construction, National Forest employees, and residents due to [...]

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Hike to the Hollywood Sign

November 20, 2009

If you’re one of the few non-natives who actually stick around Los Angeles when Holiday Season hits, and you want to try to work off some of that Thanksgiving turkey, you might want to join up on a ranger-led hike to the Hollywood Sign in Griffith Park.
On the mornings of November 27th and 28th [...]

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Freak Rainstorm Offers Glimpse of Near Future

November 15, 2009

On Friday, a freak rainstorm dumped 1-2 inches of rain in the foothills of the Angeles National Forest, offering up a preview of what will most likely be a much more common scene this rainy season – mudslides.
According to the LA Times blog, a few streets were closed and some messes were made, but overall [...]

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Trails and Photos in the Santa Monica Mountains

November 13, 2009

With the Angeles National Forest still mostly closed off, the Santa Monica Mountains are the place to be this weekend. With some cooler temperatures in the forecast, it’s the perfect time to bundle up (SoCal style) and hit a trail in the mountains.

The longest stretch of the Backbone Festival is tomorrow, Saturday the [...]

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Station Fire Still Burning

November 10, 2009

While the Station Fire has officially been contained over a month ago, that doesn’t mean it’s not still burning.
Smoke can still be seen around the Mount Wilson area, and that’s because many of the root systems are still smoldering – and could potentially be whipped up into full-fledged fires again by a strong wind. [...]

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