[pct-l] Angeles Crest Highway Reopens

[Carl Siechert]

It's strictly in the realm of fantasy (sort of like recovering Hetch Hetchy
Valley), but it is fun to imagine what the San Gabriels were like before the
highway was completed in the '50s. Descriptions of the great hiking era
(1920s and '30s), with frequent forays into the front range and occasional
treks deep into the wilderness (now easily reached by car), sometimes make
me wish the San Gabriels were still as "rigidly inaccessible" as they were
when John Muir visited.

On Tue, Dec 1, 2009 at 7:39 AM, <gwschenk at socal.rr.com> wrote:

> I like long approaches. I prefer mountains without asphalt and the
> associated noise and vandalism that follows. Angeles Crest Highway serves no
> real purpose. When they finally reopened it after being closed for so many
> years, Caltrans had to drive up and down the closed section honking horns
> and trying to scare away the deer and big horn that had reclaimed the area.
>
> Hopefully it will get avalanched out again this year, and with the
> California budget crisis it will be abandoned, much like the old route 39.
>
> Gary
>
> ---- Stephen Adams <reddirt2 at earthlink.net> wrote:
> > Why would you say that?  I've been using that route for a long time and
> have always enjoyed the area.
> > On Nov 30, 2009, at 12:55 PM, <gwschenk at socal.rr.com> wrote:
> >
> > > With any luck, this winter will take that highway out again, and
> hopefully for good.
>