Lovely Vivian Creek descends from massive Mount San Gorgonio, flowing through a lush alpine wonderland of meadows and old growth trees, before cascading spectacularly in a series of waterfalls to the Mill Creek Valley floor over 1000′ below. The Vivian Creek Trail is well-graded and easy to follow with plenty of parking at the trail […]
The Aspen Grove is in Full Fall Color!
Time to See the Aspen Grove! Go see the Aspen Grove in the San Bernardino Mountains now! Note that this is the only aspen grove in Southern California. A detailed hike description with directions and photos of the grove over several years is contained here on The Hiker’s Way as the Aspen Grove Hike. The […]
San Gabriel Mountains National Monument
San Gabriel Mountains National Monument now a reality! President Obama today declared a large portion of the San Gabriel Mountains a National Monument. The new San Gabriel Mountains National Monument includes approximately 350,000 acres, or 540 square miles, of territory. The move places the land under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service and is […]
Bighorn Sheep (Ovis Canadensis Nelsoni)
Our Southern California Mountains are home to a surprisingly number of these magnificent yet endangered animals. In fact, the San Gabriel Mountains prior to 1980 was thought to be home to the largest mountain herd in California, numbering some 780 individuals. Their numbers declined throughout their entire range in the 1980’s, but thanks to conservations […]
Tarantula Hawk Wasp
My buddy Lee and I were taking a late afternoon hike in a secret Santa Ana Mountain canyon Friday afternoon when we encountered what is unquestionably one of the scariest animals I’ve ever seen – the gigantic Tarantula Hawk Wasp. Its relative size when flying is about that of a small hummingbird. The wasp actually […]
Mountain Lion (Puma Concolor)
The mountain lion or cougar has the widest range of any predator in the Western Hemisphere – from the Yukon in Canada to the Southern Andes in South America. The Mountain Lion Foundation has a great deal of additional information on this magnificent animal, as does the UC Davis Mountain Lion Project which focuses on […]