Following is a repost from October 21, 2018 when I took a few pictures on an early morning hike starting at the Eaton Canyon Nature Center up to Henninger Flats.
Hike to Henninger Flats
This morning I walked into the Eaton Canyon Natural Area and just kept going.
I walked through the parking lot, around the native garden, on to the wide trail that leads down to Eaton Wash. I crossed the wash, turned north as I normally do and walked along under the sycamores and oaks. I checked for deer and any other animals.
Then, I just kept walking. I passed the Coyote Canyon trail and then decided to head up Walnut Canyon. That’s a steep trail that leads to the Mt. Wilson toll road. I reached the toll road and then kept going on to Henninger Flats.
This is the view from Henninger Flats. The view is expansive. If you enlarge the photo above, you can see the now dry Eaton Canyon Reservoir and St. Lukes in the foreground, downtown Pasadena and downtown LA at the middle left. If you look hard toward the center of the photo there are the vague outlines of Catalina Island with its two conical hills. Directly westward, toward Santa Monica, you can see the Pacific Ocean.
The Mt. Wilson toll road dates back to 1891. All the way up the road, you can look down the mountain to see tiny cars traversing the streets below. I thought this contrast was interesting — the old dirt toll road on the left somewhat paralleling the shining sliver of 210 freeway down below. The freeway is the white line toward the upper right of the photo.
The trudge up the Walnut Canyon trail is narrow and steep. Didn’t see anyone on that trail. But, once I reached the toll road, I crossed paths with many other hikers, some runners and a few mountain bikers. Here’s a mountain biker making his way up the trail in the face of the morning sun.
I hung around Henninger Flats for a while and took this video of the place. Lots of trees and shade. And at 2,600 foot elevation you get a nice panorama of the world below.
Leave a Reply