We had a couple days of solid (mythical) southern California rain so I was eager to follow some of the water down one of the more interesting local watercourses. Alden rounded up a six-strong group for the trip and proposed entry to Eaton via a rarely visited tributary, Caltech Canyon. On the plus side the approach and canyon would be a completely downhill trip. On the down side we had an enormous car shuttle to complete on a road we were not completely sure was open. We met at the Eaton exit and then carpooled up the Angeles Crest and Redbox Road to Eaton Saddle where we parked in a snowy pullout. Great mountain views. I should have brought a jacket.
We filed on through the snow, and eventually dropped below it. The
approach ended up being considerably longer than I expected but pleasant
enough. The stragglers towards the rear of the group even managed to
see a bear. We had a quick snack where the trail crossed Caltech Canyon
and headed down. Lots of downed trees, small downclimbs, occasional
pools to skirt, a modest amount of flowing water. Occasionally short
stretches of bedrock would appear. It was trying hard to be a canyon
like it's big brother Eaton, but not succeeding very well.
Eventually the walls towered slightly and we reached our first unavoiable knee-deep pool. Just past it was the only real rappel in the canyon, though this could be easily bypassed. Correctly not expecting much more the the canyon, we rigged and dropped it. Shortly below was a nice 6ft+ deep hanging pothole and then a final short downclimb and stroll to Eaton. It was a lot of work for ~10 seconds of canyon. Worse still we had about a mile of stream strolling to reach the start of the technical section of Eaton.
Finally, Eaton! Flow could have been ten times higher and I would have been happy but we made the most of what we were given, hooning around on the many short slides and jumps near the canyon's start. The water was considerably colder than Caltech for some reason, perhaps just because there was more of it!
The first rappel was nice enough and the steep slide just after was in
good shape. I couldn't resist a half dozen laps since the rapline was
rigged. A short distance further brought us to "the gully" the nice narrow section with a beautiful chuted waterfall dropping into a slight grotto. Easily the best 100ft of the canyon, it left me wanting more like my last trip through Eaton.
Looking back up the gully
The gully is followed by a mostly walking interlude with a few jumps thrown in. At the top of a downclimb we ran into another group rappeling down. We'd touch and go with them the rest of the way through the canyon including a nice long snack break at the top of the main falls. Nice rappel. The pool at the base was shallower than I remembered. I was very impressed at the volunteer work cleaning up the canyon's graffiti. Hints were still noticeable but the experience was much improved.
The last rappel was a ridiculous show with about a hundred onlookers who had hiked to this last waterfall. An obligatory group picture in the final pool and down the trail we jaunted. Unfortunately we still had to drive up the hill to retrieve the shuttled cars. It was a great trip with a great group. Even at higher flow I'm not sure any San Gabriel canyon has enough interest for me to want to do twice. Thanks to Alden and the gang.
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