101 Hikes in Southern California. Jerry Schad
than the possibility of your getting lost or pinned down by a rare sudden storm, the most common hazards found in the Southland are steep, unstable terrain; icy terrain; spiny plants; rattlesnakes; mountain lions; ticks; and poison oak.
Falls
Exploring some trails—especially those of the San Gabriel Mountains—may involve traveling over structurally weak rock on steep slopes. The erosive effects of flowing water, of wedging by roots and by ice, and of brush fires tend to pulverize such rock even further. Slips on such terrain usually lead to sliding down a hillside some distance. If you explore crosscountry, always be on the lookout for dangerous run-outs, such as cliffs, below you. The sidewalls of many canyons in the San Gabriels may look like fun places to practice rock-climbing moves, but this misconception has caused many deaths over the years.
Snow and Ice
Statistically, mishaps associated with snow and ice have caused the greatest number of fatalities in the San Gabriel and San Bernardino Mountains. This is not because our local mountains are inherently more dangerous than the Sierra Nevada, the Cascades, or other ranges. Rather, it is because the novelty of snow and easy access by way of snow-plowed highways attract inexperienced lowlanders, who never picture their backyard mountains as true wilderness areas. Icy chutes and slopes capable of avalanching can easily trap such visitors unaware. Visitors can explore the gentler areas of the high country on snowshoes or skis, but the steeper slopes require technical skills and equipment such as an ice ax and crampons, just as other snow-covered mountain ranges do.
Winter at 6,000 feet in the Laguna Mountains
Puncturing Plants
Most desert hikers will sooner or later suffer punctures by thorns or spines. This is most likely to happen during close encounters with the cholla, or jumping, cactus, whose spine clusters readily break off and attach firmly to your skin, clothes, or boots. A comb will allow you to gently pull away the spine clusters, and tweezers or lightweight pliers will help you remove any individual embedded spines. Another problematic spiny plant is the agave, or century plant. It consists of a rosette of fleshy leaves, each tipped with a rigid thorn containing a mild toxin. A headlong fall into either an agave or one of the more vicious kinds of cacti could easily make you swear off desert travel permanently. It’s best to give these devilish plants as wide a berth as possible.
Rattlesnakes
Rattlesnakes are common everywhere in Southern California below an elevation of about 7,000 feet. Seldom seen in either cold or very hot weather, they favor temperatures in the 75°–90° range—spring and fall in the desert and coastal areas and summer in the mountains. Most rattlesnakes are as interested in avoiding contact with you as you are with them.
Watch carefully where you put your feet and especially your hands during the warmer months. In brushy or rocky areas where you cannot see as far, try to make your presence known. Tread with heavy footfalls, or bang a stick against rocks or bushes. Rattlesnakes will pick up the vibrations through their skin and will usually buzz (an unmistakable sound) before you get too close for comfort. Most bad encounters between rattlesnakes and hikers occur in April and May, when snakes are irritable and hungry after their long hibernation period.
Red diamond rattlesnake
Mountain Lions
Mountain-lion attacks, although statistically rare, have been increasing all over California in the past three decades. This trend may continue as the natural habitat for these carnivorous cats becomes more and more fragmented by suburban and rural development. Several attacks and many more incidents of threatening behavior by mountain lions toward humans have taken place in urban-edge park and national-forest lands, such as those covered in this book.
Here are some basic tips for dealing with this potential hazard:
• Hike with one or more companions.
• Keep children close at hand.
• Never run from a mountain lion. This may trigger an instinct to attack.
• Make yourself large: face the animal, maintain eye contact with it, shout, blow a whistle, and do not act fearful. Do anything you can to convince the animal that you are not its prey.
Ticks
Ticks can be the scourge of overgrown trails in the coastal foothills and lower mountain slopes, particularly during the first warm spells of the year, when they climb to the tips of shrub branches and lie in wait for warm-blooded hosts. If you can’t avoid brushing against vegetation along the trail, be sure to check yourself for ticks frequently. Upon finding a host, a tick will usually crawl upward in search of a protected spot, where it will try to attach itself. If you are aware of the slightest irritation on your body, you’ll usually intercept ticks long before they attempt to bite. Ticks would be of relatively minor concern here, except that tick-borne Lyme disease, which can have serious health effects, has been reported within Southern California.
Poison Oak
Poison oak grows profusely along many of the coastal and mountain canyons below 5,000 feet in elevation. It is often found on the banks of streamcourses in the form of a bush or vine, where it prefers semi-shady habitats. Quite often, it’s seen beside or encroaching on well-used trails. Learn to recognize its distinctive three-leafed structure, and avoid touching it with skin or clothing. Since poison oak loses its leaves during the winter months (and sometimes during summer and fall drought), but still retains some of the toxic oil in its stems, it can be extra hazardous at that time because it is harder to identify and avoid. Mid-weight pants, like blue jeans, and a long-sleeve shirt will serve as a fair barrier against the toxic oil of the poison oak plant. Do, of course, remove these clothes as soon as the hike is over, and make sure they are washed carefully afterward.
Other Safety Concerns
Deer-hunting season in Southern California usually runs through the middle part of the autumn. Although conflicts between hunters and hikers are rare, you may want to confine your autumn explorations to state and county parks, as well as wilderness areas where hunting is prohibited.
Poison oak leaves
There is always some risk in leaving a vehicle unattended at a trailhead. It may be worthwhile to disable your car’s ignition or attach an antitheft device to your steering wheel. Never leave valuable property visible in an automobile, so as to be an invitation for a break-in. Report all theft and vandalism of personal or public property to the local county sheriff or the appropriate park or forest agency.
Permits and Camping
Some trails on national-forest lands (Angeles, San Bernardino, and Cleveland National Forests) are at present subject to the National Forest Adventure Pass program. This applies only to vehicles parked on national forest land and not to users who arrive on foot or by bicycle. Adventure passes are available at all national-forest offices, ranger stations, and fire stations. They are also sold through hundreds of vendors—typically sport shops throughout the region, gas stations and markets near the principal national-forest entry roads, and small businesses within national-forest borders. Adventure passes cost $5 per day or $30 for a year. The adventure pass must be prominently displayed on your parked car—otherwise your car will likely be ticketed and fined.
If you plan to visit national-forest territory more than two or three times a year, it is time-efficient at the very least to purchase the $30 yearly pass instead of worrying about obtaining one each day you come up for a visit. Rules for the adventure pass program tend to change rapidly; in fact, the program may be rescinded in the future. Another option is the $80 Interagency Annual Pass, which also covers national parks and many other federal lands.
If you are planning an overnight trip of some type into the Southern California backcountry, be aware that camping in roadside campgrounds is not always a