Sawpit Dam trail. I rode this on January 22nd 2000 - I passed 6 hikers and 5 other bikers, and it was about 60^oF at the bottom (700ft) and more like 45^oF towards the top (4000 ft).

The San Gabriel mountains run east-west parallel to the 210 "Foothill" freeway. From all parts of La Canãda, Alta Dena, Pasadena, Arcadia, Duarte, Rosemead etc these mountains loom up to the north. Beyond is the Angeles National Forest which is a huge desolate mountainous area - not really a forest in the true sense of the word. There are just a few roads through it which often close in winter due to snow at the higher elevations. There is some spectacular and very remote hiking to be found, as well as good views of the San Andreas Fault. One day back in 1997, I did a ride with some other guys preparing to do that year's California AIDS ride, which goes from San Francisco to Los Angeles. We set off from South Pasadena (elevation around 400ft) and reached a spot called Cloud Burst Summit, which is at 7018ft. A monster hill!

You start off from Canyon Blvd which you reach from the Myrtle Av exit of the 210 Freeway. You head north on Myrtle, then right on Hillcrest, left on Canyon. Thomas Guide® ref pg 567 H2. You can park on the street or pay $2 to park at the small lot by the ranger's gate. If you park in the street, the first five minutes riding gets you up to the gate. On the right you can't fail to notice an enormous spillway created to deal with floodwater from Sawpit Dam, shown here. Once you're past the gate, you're officially in "Canyon Park" and you're at about 700ft. The first few minutes of riding are pretty steep up to the level of the top of the dam (1000ft). They cut the notch in the top of the dam just recently. This is part of an overall renovation project in progress, to bring the dam up to current siesmic safety standards.

This dam was built in 1927 and the crest rises 157' - for 99% of the time, there's absolutely no water behind it. Here's a picture of the plaque describing the dam. When it does rain, the nature of the canyons means the collection area off the mountains is enormous, and in order to protect the neighborhoods in the San Gabriel Valley from destruction by flooding, a whole network of flood control channels have been built, to give the water somewhere to go.

The back of the dam looks like this. Back to bike riding....you pass with the dam to your left, then continue up paved road, which eventually turns into dirt. You pass by the entrance to a Scout Camp called Trask House Reservation and the trail head for the "Historic Ben Overturff trail".

A little further up, you pass a shooting range, operated by the Monrovia Police Deparment, which closes this trail area Tuesdays and Wednesdays. After a couple of miles and another 1000ft up, you reach White Saddle Junction. This is a logical stopping point, but I continued on the Monrovia Canyon trail (off to the left at this junction) headed towards Red Box trail, which runs for miles in the Angeles National Forest.

This is the kind of vegetation you see at this time of year. If I knew more, I could tell you what it is, but I don't, and nor does Eve. The trail continues on with great views (on a clear day, not like the day I was there) until you reach a locked gate, and the Red Box trail.

None of the riding is horrendously steep compared with other mountain trails and the surface is pretty good for the most part. On this occasion I turned back after reaching 3700 feet - I decided that 3000' elevation gain was enough for one day having not biked for a long time, but only walked up and down Broadway in Manhattan! Down hill time was about 20 minutes with plenty of good twists and turns. The windchill effect kicked in on the way down and I had the heating cranked in my car on the way back to thaw myself out!