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 Reporter |
Summary: I enjoyed this hike up the slopes of Mount Williamson. You traverse through a somewhat sparse pine forest with spectacular views of the desert to the north and bear canyon to the south. I particularly liked the are near the summit with lush green vegetation in addition to the pines. From the summit, you can see the rippled earth along the San Andres fault off to the north east. The trail heads up the sloops at a moderate rate for about 2 miles where you hit a junction at the ridgeline and then heads up to the right to the summit. There is one short section with about 200 foot of elevation gain near the top that I would rate strenuous. The summit has a short 100 yard side trail that leads up to it on the left. The trail continues past the summit along Pleasant Ridge for a mile or so, which is an option for those that want to extend their hike a bit (I mistakenly took this route not realizing I had already passed the summit!) Trailhead: From the 210 freeway in La Canada, take the Angeles Crest Highway (2) and drive 38 miles to the Pacific Crest Trail parking area on the left side of the road (just past the 2 tunnels). This area is called Islip Saddle. The trailhead is on the left side of the parking lot, just behind the rest rooms. (Lat:34.35685 Lon:-117.85134) Trail Guides for Mt Williamson: Day Hikers Guide to Southern California by John McKinney (Olympus Press) California Hiking by Tom Stienstra & Ann Marie Brown (Foghorn Press) Trails of the Angles - 100 Hikes in the San Gabriels by John W. Robinson (Wilderness Press) Best Seasons: Summer, Fall User Groups: Hikers, Dogs, Bikes, Horses Ranger Contact: Angeles National Forest 626-335-1251 Localhikes Reporter: This hike was submitted by Jim Zuber, who has posted 104 other hikes on this site Trail Reviews Page 2 of 4 Submit your own review 
Reviewed by scardy cat on 6/14/2007 My friend and I hiked this in May. I'm not much of a hiker. I whined and complained all the way up, "My Blackberry doesn't work, my MP3 player doesn't work...." I'm a scardy-cat hiker...i just came along for the exercise. Took us about 1.25 hours to get up....1.1 hours to get back. I was told the views were excellent, I'm afraid of heights, and it seemed like certain parts of the trail had a steep slope that led down to the EDGE, and since i couldn't see OVER the EDGE, I was scared i would stumble, slide down the slope, and fall off the EDGE!!!!! I was told the EDGE was nothing, and that I was being a scardy cat; if you are a scardy cat, and out of shape, you might want to pass on this hike. 
Reviewed by NPS on 1/8/2007 Tried this last Saturday. Temp at Islip Saddle was in the high forties at noon. Very high winds expected at the top. Made it halfway up the trail before encountering long stretches of ice, particularly on the steep sections/scree slopes. Since none of us had cleats and only one of us had poles, we made the painful but prudent decision to turn back. Didn’t want to end up the dufus who gets choppered out after taking a fall. Bummer - would've loved to see the top on such a clear day.
Reviewed by Dwight on 11/4/2006 Hiked today from Islip Saddle. Temp in the 50's with a strong wind. That was the only down-side. Well maintained trail and fun hike with great views of the desert. Clear sunny skies made the visibility excellent.
Reviewed by Drake on 10/29/2006 Hiked up to the peak today from Islip Saddle. The weather was cool at about 55 F, making the steep climb easier than in hotter times. The air was clear up in the mountains, but a little hazy looking north out over the desert. Down in the parking lot after our hike, we saw hunters gathered around the 3 bucks they'd shot earlier.
Reviewed by Brian on 10/23/2006 On 10/21/06, I hiked Mt. Williamson with the Sierra Club Forest Committee to the crest of Pleasant View Ridge Proposed Wilderness Area. The weather was in the 80s bight and sunny. The trail starts at 6600ft and rises to 8200ft with a short difficult section near the summit. The vertical incline wasn't hard, with a few short breaks we were able to catch our breath and slow down our heart rate. All eight of us totally enjoyed the workout and desert vistas from the ridge. I was hoping to see a bear in Bear Creek Canyon but no such luck. I did see several trees which were hit by lighting and a few which had burnt bark and were do just fine. I was totally impressed that I did not find one single piece of trash the whole way one and out.
Reviewed by gil13 on 8/26/2006 i hiked up on 8/24. on the final trail going north towards the summit, i saw a bear. bear went from west to east and left me alone. very cool. i cautiously made it to the top. great views. lots of bugs in some parts going up and down.
Reviewed by CAHIKR on 5/21/2006 Really nice hike. Highway 2 still closed one mile west of trail head. Met a couple of P.C.T. though-hikers on the way. Enjoyable hike. Had an impending storm that didn't materialize during the hike.
Reviewed by chris on 1/27/2006 hike is still there and well mantained. i personally like the trail from islip saddle because of the variety of views and lack of switchbacks. Hikers should note that the ACH (hwy 2) is now CLOSED about 1 mile before Williamson Rocks, loosely to discourage climbers from going there because of the endangered frogs. Notice: Traveling in the backcountry can be hazardous. You are responsible for informing yourself about these hazards and taking necessary precautions. Information on this web site comes from volunteer reporters and may contain errors or omissions. A current guidebook and proper equipment are essential for safe enjoyment of the hikes posted on this site. Keys: California Hiking, California Trails, California Hikes, Los Angeles County Hiking, Los Angeles County Trails, Los Angeles County Hikes | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||