Canyoneering Route Description
Eaton Canyon (lower) - 3B IV
Angeles National Forest, California.
San Gabriel Mountains.
06-19-10, 6 people, 1 Day (Travel time in route 11 hours)
07-26-14, 8 people, 1 Day (Travel time in route 9.5 hours)
Time Required - 10 to 12 hours
Distance - 8.8 miles Total, 2.8 miles Technical
Rappels - 9 Rappels, Longest Rappel 50 feet.
(bring ropes for up to 75 feet due to anchor location needs).
Elevation Range - 1120 - 3500 Feet
Shuttle Required -No Vehicle - Passenger
Permit Required - No
Rappelling and anchor gear, Ropes and or pull cords for rappels up
to 75 feet (this accounts for largest drop and extra rope length
back to an anchor) and 60 feet of 1” webbing for sling placement.
Eaton Canyon is very lush and scenic. There are a lot of drops
where sliding and jumping are required rather than rappelling making
this canyon a lot of fun. Eaton Canyon is high on the must do list.
Be careful walking and rappelling in this canyon. Some of the rocks
on the walk and the walls of some rappels are insanely slippery.
Some things that look slippery are not and some that do not look
slippery are! Take your time with footing in here to avoid a
twisting an ankle or falling and hurting yourself.
The next to last rappel drops about 50 feet. Rappelling it is
optional though. You have the choice to sit and slide for about 10
feet, picking up a lot of speed, before shooting off the end and
dropping an additional 40 feet or so down to a huge pool. It is
common to find locals hiking up a bypass trail to get to the top and
slide over the edge.
Unfortunately on my first visit here (June, 2010), recent rains had
washed a LOT of sediment into the canyon filling in a lot of the
pools with sand and gravel. This made the slides and jumps
something to be cautious of or simply turned them into a rappel. I
was told about what the pools looked like previously and I could see
this canyon would be a whole heap of fun if things were not filled
in. We were not sure if the sediment was a result of the recent
fires in the area or not. Hopefully the sediment washes out some
day so the fun can return. With that said Eaton is still a very fun
canyon even when filled in.
There is hope to see Eaton Canyon with the gravel washed out.
Gannon later passed on to me what he was told from someone who had
been canyoning the area for a long time. Eaton Canyon always
fills in after a big rain season (which this winter certainly was)
and takes about a year to blow out the gravel.
At one time a permit was required for Eaton Canyon. I have
been informed that The Eaton Canyon Closure Order expired and the
Forest Service did not renew it. There is no need for a permit
anymore.
To get to the Trailhead
From the junction of Interstate 210 and Highway 134 in Pasadena,
drive East on interstate 210 about 3.3 miles to the exit for
Altadena Drive. Drive 1.7 miles north on Altadena Drive to the
entrance for the Eaton Canyon Natural Area Park. Continue north
on Altadena Drive another 0.6 miles to a dirt pull out on the
right (east) side of the road (PkEaton). This dirt pull out is
where you will park to start the route. The pull out is where
Midwick Dr. and Roosevelt Dr. both meet Altadena Drive.
The pull out to start the route is a very popular spot for
people to hike or take their dog for a walk. This parking spot
can get VERY busy. When parking try to park so you take up as
little room as possible to be courteous to others. Think about
it getting crowded by the time you return. You might find
yourself blocked in. Do yourself a favor and park in such a way
that will allow you to get out even if the place gets crowded
with a lot of cars.
To leave the Exit Vehicle / Escape Pod
No exit vehicle is needed. This is done as a loop route.
GPS coordinate information listed at the bottom. For information about waypoint naming and map symbols, refer to the
Glossary page.
Click the links for maps of the route.
Map of the entire route.
The Approach:
From the parking spot (PkEaton), hike down into the wash below
following a well used path leaving the north end of the parking
area. The trail drops down to the wash below (wEatonRP-01) about
450 feet after leaving the parking area.
In the wide open wash of Eaton Canyon Creek are many use trails.
Follow which ever use trail you like in the direction you need to
go.
Once at the bottom of the drop in trail (wEatonRP-01), follow use
trails north about 0.2 miles to get up onto a fire service road on
the other side of the creek (wEatonRP-02). There are many use
trails here so follow whichever one feels good to you. You should
be traveling mostly north and soon crossing the creek up to the fire
road (wEatonRP-02).
About 350 feet up the fire road is a fork in the road
(wEatonRP-03). To the left is a smaller path. Stay right to follow
the larger obvious main road.
About 0.25 miles further up the fire service road is another turn
off (wEatonRP-04). A sign points left for a trail going to the
Lower Falls. Stay right here to continue along the main fire
service road.
About 350 feet further up, the fire service road joins in with a
larger dirt road near a bridge (wEatonRP-05). To the left is a
bridge that crosses over Eaton Canyon Creek. Turn right (south
east) and start up the road as it climbs up out of Eaton Canyon
Creek.
From the bridge the road does a slow steady climb of about 1200 feet
over about 2.3 miles. Along the side of the road on the way up are
3 park benches at various points to sit and look over Pasadena and
Eaton Canyon Creek below. At the top of the slow steady climb is a
sign for the entrance to the Henninger Flats Camp area (wHenningrFlts).
Henninger Flats has a lower and an upper camp area and quite a few
buildings. The Fire Lookout tower (lHenngrFltsLwr) is one of the
few left in the area and is worth a quick stop to look at.
Continuing past the lower camp and passing a few buildings the road
comes to a tee (wEatonRP-06) about 1000 feet from the fire lookout
tower. Turn right at the tee (wEatonRP-06) and continue up the
road.
A short distance up the road will be two turn offs to the right,
each of which go to the upper camp area for Henninger Flats.
Shortly after that will be a turn off to the left which drops down
to some water tanks.
0.5 miles from the tee in the road will be a turn off to the left to
a helipad (wEatonRP-07). Continue right to stay on the main road.
About 0.4 miles past the turn off to the heliport the road makes a
sharp right turn making a switch back. At the corner of this switch
back is a trail leaving the left (north) side of the road. The path
is narrow and easily missed. This trail is the Idlehour Trail
leading to Idlehour camp. Next to the trail where it leaves the
road is a sign (tIdleHour) saying pack it in pack it out. The sign
at a glance looks like a warning sign and may be mistaken to tell
you to stay out so pay attention. Leave the road and start down the
Idlehour Trail.
A few feet down the trail is a wooden bridge crossing a drainage.
About 0.3 miles after leaving the road, the Idlehour Trail tops out
(wEatonRP-08) shortly after passing over a small rock and cement
retainer wall.
From the top out of the trail it is about 0.9 miles to the Idlehour
camp area where the trail meets Eaton Canyon Creek (yEatonCanyonTp).
The descent down the Idlehour trail can be bad with flies to the
point of frustration but seems to be limited to pockets.
The Canyon / Technical Section:
When the Idlehour Trail meets Eaton Canyon Creek, drop into the
creek and start to follow it down stream. The walk down the wash is
a mix of wash walking and boulder hopping and has a lot of lush
vegetation to add to the scenery already present witht eh flowing
water.
Rap 1 (dEatonR1) is about 0.5 miles down canyon of the drop in by
the Idlehour Camp. Rap 1 is anchored from a tree LDC and drops
about 15 feet next to a water fall. If not full of sediment, this
drop is descended by sliding down the water fall and dropping about
10 feet to a deep pool.
Just below rap 1 is another slide of about 8 feet down a fall. It
is possible to bypass the fall by traversing right next to it RDC
but it is sketchy. Even with a significant amount of sediment this
drop can be slid down.
A little over 200 feet down canyon is a drop of about 12 feet
(wEatonRP-09). There is a bypass route to get below this drop RDC.
Extreme RDC is a tunnel type passage between the canyon wall and a
huge boulder. You will need to down climb about 15 feet in a
crevice under the boulder then walk under the boulder into the wash
below the drop.
Shortly after the bypass climb is another slide down a water fall of
about 10 feet and is sloped enough that sliding is ok even when a
lot of sediment is present. If you are careful you can bypass this
slide by traversing RDC. Then shortly after is another slide of
about 6 feet with a gentle slope.
Rap 2 (dEatonR2-4) is a little over 500 feet down canyon of the
bypass climb under a boulder. Rap 2 is anchored from a large tree
LDC about 20 feet back from the drop and drops about 30 feet down a
water fall. The wall on the water fall is VERY slippery so be
careful. The first person down should offer a fireman belay for
those that follow.
Rap 3 is shortly after rap 2 with a quick easy down climb between.
Rap 3 is anchored LDC from a small tree and drops about 25 feet. If
not full of sediment, this drop is descended by sliding down the
water fall and dropping about 25 feet to a deep pool. If sliding is
an option in the canyon, this is the first slide that really builds
up speed and gets your attention.
Rap 4 is about 100 feet down canyon of rap 3. Rap 4 is anchored
from some rock wedge to along the canyon wall RDC. There is a
single bolt anchor for this drop but you need to down climb part way
down the rap to find it so it is easily missed. Rap 4 drops about
40 feet.
Just down canyon of rap 4 is a drop over 2 stages of about 10 or 8
feet each. This section can be down climbed but is pretty slippery
so use caution getting down these stages. If you have the time, it
may be a good idea to set a rope anchored form one of the large
rocks in the wash and use is as a hand line to help get down safely.
Next is a walk down the creek for about 0.3 miles with a few easy
down climbs along the way. About 0.3 miles down canyon of rap 4 is
a drop of about 6 feet with water pouring over a log (wEatonRP-10).
Bypass this drop by climbing down a crevice RDC.
Rap 5 (dEatonR5) is another 0.4 miles down canyon. Rap 5 drops
about 15 feet and is anchored from a fallen tree sitting above the
wash. Be careful if rappelling this drop, the slope in the water
course leading to it is very slick. The tree used as an anchor
appears to have washed in about the same time all the sediment did
in 2010 so it may or may not stay there in the future. If not full
of sediment, this drop is descended by sliding down the water fall
and dropping about 15 feet to a deep pool. If sliding, it might be
a good idea to meat anchor the first person down to check out the
pool. Since it is not visible from the top, there may be a log or
something floating below in the pool where you will land.
Rap 6 (dEatonR6) is about 350 feet down canyon of rap 5. Rap 6 is
anchored from choke stones RDC at the top of the rap. Rap 6 drops
about 15 feet over a huge boulder. It is possible to down climb Rap
6 down through a hole RDC of the boulder but is sketchy with a
possible out of control slide.
About 0.2 miles down canyon of rap 6 is a slide into a deep pool
with a drop of about 5 feet (wEatonRP-11). The sediment in 2010 had
not made it down this far in the canyon. In the future the sediment
may wash down and change how you decide to descend this drop.
Shortly down canyon is another pool with a small drop into it that
is best bypassed. There are rocks just below the surface and a
slide would be dangerous. Bypassing the drop in is a simple
traverse RDC.
Another 0.2 miles down canyon is what is left of a small dam that
used to dam water up over a water intake tunnel that was used to
collect water for the city in years past (wEatonRP-12).
Rap 7 (dEatonR7) is about 700 feet down canyon of the water intake
tunnel. Rap 7 is anchored from a tree RDC and drops about 15
feet. Rap 7 has a very awkward beginning with a large undercut near
the top of the rap. The undercut can make footing almost impossible
as you lower yourself into the flowing water. If you’re not so
bright (er uh I mean brave) you can run and jump down to the pool
below. You will need to jump way out to avoid rocks below so get a
run at it and do not slip at the last minute.
Rap 8 (dEatonR8) is about 500 feet down canyon of rap 7. Rap 8 is
anchored from a rock in the wash about 30 feet back from the drop.
The drop for Rap 8 is about 45 feet. On the way down the rappel you
are in the water fall at various points. With water flowing, you
quickly gain respect of the power that little amount of water can
generate. The pool at the bottom is the size of a very large public
pool and deep making it a good place to hang out when it is hot out.
You will likely see adventurous hikers hanging out at the bottom of
this fall.
Rap 8 is an optional slide and drop to the pool about 45 feet below
rather than rappel. There is a 15 foot slide at the top of the rap
where the water is flowing over. Sliding down that top part gets
you moving pretty fast and sends you sailing through the air down to
the pool below. Locals frequently climb up from the bottom of the
canyon to slide down this. There are bypass trails RDC that allow
access up to here. On my first trip through here, a couple people
in our group slid over the edge and enjoyed the rush. The rest of
us preferred to rappel.
Rap 9 (wEatonRP-09) is about 0.3 miles down canyon of rap 8 and is
anchored from 2 bolted hangers LDC. Rap 9 drops about 40 feet to a
large but shallow pool below. Rap 9 travels through the water fall
which gives a fun show for all the people that have hiked up to take
photos of this water fall. This water fall will get your attention
just like the last one as you feel the force of the water pound on
you. This is the last rap and the last technical obstacle in the
canyon, so don’t be surprised if you have quite a crowd waiting for
you at the bottom.
After rap 9 there are easy trails to follow down canyon. About 0.5
miles after rap 9 the trials cross under the bridge you saw on the
hike in (yEatonCanyonBt).
The Exit:
From where the trails and the creek cross under the bridge (yEatonCanyonBt),
Follow the use trails and find your way back up to the fire service
road. About 0.5 miles after crossing under the bridge start looking
for your ascent trail leading back up to the cars where you parked.
The bottom of the ascent trail (wEatonRP-01) is 0.6 miles after
crossing under the bridge. Follow up the trail about 400 feet back
to the parking lot.
Downloadable GPX files
available at
BG-Gear Store
(easier than manual entry and a great way to support
Bluugnome).
Waypoint naming convention and map symbol information can be found on the Glossary page.
Elevations are approximate.
BEFORE
manually entering coordinates set your system to WGS84 datum and Lat/Lon hddd.ddddd° coordinate format.
Inconsistent datum's and coordinate formats will result in location errors.
Click to show / expand the list of waypoints below........
| Eaton Canyon (1) - Approach |
- PkEaton
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 34.18428
W -118.10153
Elev: 1,140 Feet
Parking spot to start the hike into Eaton Canyon. This is a dirt pull out where Midwick Dr. and Roosevelt Dr. meet Altadena Dr.
- wEatonRP-01
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 34.18533
W -118.10211
Elev: NaN Feet
Bottom of the trail leading between the wash and the parking area up on Altadena Drive.
- wEatonRP-02
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 34.18816
W -118.10235
Elev: NaN Feet
One of many places the use trails might take you up onto a fire service road along Eaton Canyon Creek.
- wEatonRP-03
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 34.18886
W -118.10299
Elev: NaN Feet
Fork in the fire road. Stay right on the obviously main road.
- wEatonRP-04
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 34.19220
W -118.10402
Elev: NaN Feet
Turn off from the fire service road to the left to go the lower falls. Stay right to stay on the main road.
- wEatonRP-05
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 34.19308
W -118.10412
Elev: 1,300 Feet
Fire service road meets larger dirt road near a bridge.
- sEatonBench01
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 34.18884
W -118.09428
Elev: NaN Feet
Park bench along the road to sit and look over the city and Eaton Canyon Creek.
- sEatonBench02
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 34.19024
W -118.09383
Elev: NaN Feet
Park bench along the road to sit and look over the city and Eaton Canyon Creek.
- sEatonBench03
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 34.19101
W -118.09046
Elev: NaN Feet
Park bench along the road to sit and look over the city and Eaton Canyon Creek.
- wHenningrFlts
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 34.19224
W -118.08939
Elev: 2,530 Feet
Sign at the entrance for Henninger Flats.
- lHenngrFltsLwr
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 34.19351
W -118.09010
Elev: 2,510 Feet
Lower camp area in Henninger Flats. This point actually marks the fire lookout tower.
- wEatonRP-06
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 34.19526
W -118.08755
Elev: NaN Feet
A tee in the road. Turn right.
- wEatonRP-07
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 34.19717
W -118.08623
Elev: 2,890 Feet
Turn off to the left to a Helipad. Stay right to continue on the main road.
- tIdleHour
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 34.19920
W -118.07948
Elev: 3,200 Feet
Trailhead for the Idlehour Trail. The trail leaves the road where it makes a sharp switch back to the right. The trail is on the left on the outside of the switch back.
- wEatonRP-08
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 34.20273
W -118.07983
Elev: 3,500 Feet
Idlehour trail tops out then begins to descend.
- yEatonCanyonTp
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 34.20796
W -118.08443
Elev: 2,670 Feet
Top entry for Eaton Canyon where the Idlehour Trail meets Eaton Canyon Creek near the Idlehour Camp.
|
| Eaton Canyon (2) - Canyon and Exit |
- yEatonCanyonTp
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 34.20796
W -118.08443
Elev: 2,670 Feet
Top entry for Eaton Canyon where the Idlehour Trail meets Eaton Canyon Creek near the Idlehour Camp.
- dEatonR1
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 34.20369
W -118.08968
Elev: NaN Feet
Rap 1 - Eaton Canyon Lower. Anchored LDC from a tree and drops about 15 feet along a water fall. If not full of sediment, this drop is descended by sliding down the water fall and dropping about 10 feet to a deep pool.
- wEatonRP-09
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 34.20399
W -118.09065
Elev: NaN Feet
Drop in the wash of about 15 feet. A bypass for the drop is extreme RDC down through a tunnel under some boulders.
- dEatonR2-4
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 34.20472
W -118.09204
Elev: NaN Feet
Raps 2 - 4 - Eaton Canyon Lower.
Rap 2 is anchored from a tree LDC about 20 feet back and drops about 40 feet down a water fall.
Rap 3 is shortly down canyon of rap 2 and anchored from a small tree LDC and drops about 25 feet. If not full of sediment, this drop is descended by sliding down the water fall and dropping about 25 feet to a deep pool. If sliding is an option in the canyon, this is the first slide that really builds up speed and gets your attention.
Rap 4 is about 100 feet down canyon of rap 3 and is anchored from rocks RDC and drops about 40 feet. There is a single bolt anchor for this rap but is easily missed.
- wEatonRP-10
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 34.20205
W -118.09402
Elev: NaN Feet
Drop of about 6 feet with water pouring over a log. Bypass drop RDC down a crevice.
- dEatonR5
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 34.19977
W -118.09617
Elev: NaN Feet
Rap 5 - Eaton Canyon Lower. Anchored from a fallen tree that appears to have washed in when all the sediment did in 2010 and drops about 15 feet. This anchor may move later. If not full of sediment, this drop is descended by sliding down the water fall and dropping about 15 feet to a deep pool.
- dEatonR6
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 34.20051
W -118.09677
Elev: NaN Feet
Rap 6 - Eaton Canyon Lower. Anchored from choke stones RDC of the rap and drops about 15 feet over a huge boulder. Can be down climbed but is sketchy.
- wEatonRP-11
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 34.19957
W -118.09897
Elev: 6,937 Feet
Slide off into a pool with a drop of about 5 feet.
- wEatonRP-12
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 34.19831
W -118.10070
Elev: NaN Feet
What is left of a small dam that used to dam water up over a water intake tunnel that was used to collect water for the city in years past.
- dEatonR7
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 34.19948
W -118.10198
Elev: NaN Feet
Rap 7 - Eaton Canyon Lower. Anchored from a tree RDC and drops about 15 feet with a very awkward start.
This is also the bottom exit of West Muir Canyon where it drops into Eaton Canyon.
- dEatonR8
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 34.19873
W -118.10317
Elev: NaN Feet
Rap 8 - Eaton Canyon Lower. Anchored from a tree rock about 30 feet back from the drop and drops about 45 feet down a water fall to a huge pool below.
- dEatonR9
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 34.19664
W -118.10247
Elev: NaN Feet
Rap 9 - Eaton Canyon Lower. Anchored from two bolted anchors LDC and drops about 40 feet to a large but shallow pool.
- yEatonCanyonBt
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 34.19339
W -118.10464
Elev: 1,230 Feet
Bottom exit for Eaton Canyon where the creek crosses under the bridge.
- wEatonRP-03
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 34.18886
W -118.10299
Elev: NaN Feet
Fork in the fire road. Stay right on the obviously main road.
- wEatonRP-02
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 34.18816
W -118.10235
Elev: NaN Feet
One of many places the use trails might take you up onto a fire service road along Eaton Canyon Creek.
- wEatonRP-01
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 34.18533
W -118.10211
Elev: NaN Feet
Bottom of the trail leading between the wash and the parking area up on Altadena Drive.
- PkEaton
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 34.18428
W -118.10153
Elev: 1,140 Feet
Parking spot to start the hike into Eaton Canyon. This is a dirt pull out where Midwick Dr. and Roosevelt Dr. meet Altadena Dr.
|