Breakin' the Law (AKA Hiking with Rose)

Last Saturday, Rose and I headed up to the Angeles National Forest for a little spring hiking. When we arrived at our decided upon trail head, Chantry Flats, we were chagrined to find literally hundreds of other hikers choking the parking lots, roads and every tiny little bit of available free space. We looked at one another, shook our heads and said "no way." After a brief consultation with our forest service map, we decided to head 15 miles east to avoid the crowds.

We arrived at our new trail head and were ecstatic to find only a few other cars there. I had to take a picture of Rose with the outhouse.

The "trail" actually turned out to be a paved road leading eight miles back to a reservoir. But, we didn't mind--the day was perfect, and it was very beautiful.

We could see the snow-capped mountains in the distance.

And there was a wonderful babbling brook--water is a real rarity in Southern California, and I miss it when I am hiking here.

After hiking for about two miles, we encountered this truck coming from the other direction. It was a ranger who very sternly informed us that we were hiking in a closed area, and that he could fine us up to $5000 dollars. Wow! Luckily, he just gave us a warning after we very convincingly (and truthfully) told him we hadn't seen the sign. Well, actually, Rose hadn't seen the sign. I had seen this one...

but I just thought it meant we shouldn't leave the road.


However, this sign was a little less ambiguous, and I really didn't see it. Rose kept claiming that it had been erected after we hiked in but I think we just weren't paying attention.

So, we turned around. On our way back, we stopped and ate lunch right beside the nice little waterfall.