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On the Trail Again

By Bill Young Volunteer 6-18

On Saturday, June 3, 2000, Steve Vitanovitz, Volunteer 6-01 took me on a trail hike up Ice House Canyon. I should explain that I have not been hitting the trails lately due to a herniated disk in my low back. Our plan was to see how far I could hike and fulfill out duties as AVA members along the way.

We were at the parking lot before 0630 hours ant there were already several cars of "the beat the heat early birds", so we got started. The flowers were in full bloom and the air filled with the rich aroma of the flora and fauna. Less than a mile up the trail we caught a glimpse of a still unidentified animal running through the trees and brush across the stream, apparently having been startled by us. We scurried up the trail trying to position ourselves for a better look hoping to see a bear (I have seen bear in that area in the past), but never saw the mystery mammal again.

Along the way we spent time with a Korean hiking club at the last cabin on the trail. For those of you familiar with the trail, the last cabin has a large level shaded area, and the hiking club meets there every Saturday morning for exercise and meditation. Steve and I spoke extensively with members of the club and issued several wilderness permits to hikers passing by.

We continued on, speaking with several people along the way to include Sierra Club members, lone hikers, families and overnight backpackers. We stopped just above the two-mile marker for a break and wound up staying for awhile. We issued several more Wilderness Permits and one fire permit, answered a lot more questions and even recruited some folks for the AVA. It was getting was getting very warm, and every-known species of bug and fly were in a holding patterns around my head waiting for an open spot to land ( I should have used the insect repellent Steve offered ). I decided not to over exert myself the first time out, so we headed back from that location.

On the way down, just above the Cucamonga Wilderness sign, we found a tree that a bear had apparently enjoyed using to scratch itself. There was a lot of black fur left behind, so I picked most of it up and placed it in a small zip lock bag. From that point on we enjoyed showing the fur to fellow hikers we met on the trail. Everybody, including myself, was surprised at how soft the fur was. It sure lit up a lot of kids eyes.

As we continued to down I was walking in front of Steve. We were about a half of a mile from the trailhead when I heard Steve say, "you just walked by a snake." I looked back and observed the reptile stretched out a couple of feet below the trail. It appeared to be a rattlesnake (head shape), but it slithered away through the brush so quickly we were unable to make positive identification (which didn’t bother me in the least).

We reached the parking lot at about noon, and left AVA literature on the vehicles windshields of those I had promised on the trail. We gave our remaining water bottles to a fellow hiker getting a late start on the trail that had forgotten his water. We gave up our parking spot to a couple that were waiting (yes, every spot was taken and cars were parked along the road ).

We stopped at the Mt. Baldy Visitors Center and checked in with Jim and met one of the Forest Service Law Enforcement Officers.

It turned out to be a great day! We issued 15 Wilderness Permits, one Fire Permit, and got a chance to talk to a lot of great people.

Bill Young is an avid hiker and a volunteer for the Angeles Volunteer Association (AVA), if you would like more information on the AVA program you can visit their web site at www.angelesvolunteer.org.

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