Mt. Islip review

On Sunday June 3rd we made a training hike to the top of Mt. Islip in the San Gabriel mountains. We got an early start to avoid the crowds that tend to invade Azusa Canyon during the summer.  The Crystal Lake Recreation Area had been closed for many years due to the 2002 Curve fire that destroyed much of the forest but it has all been rebuilt.  Everything except the small trading post is brand new and it's a great starting place for many hikes.

We chose to take the Windy Gap Trail that starts at 5700' and makes its way almost to the top before it intersects with the Pacific Crest Trail.  From there we took a slight detour to Little Jimmy Campground which is set along the north facing ridge overlooking the Mojave Desert.

After a short rest, we made our way along the Mt. Islip Ridge Trail to the summit at 8300'.  The summer haze made the visibility a bit poor but it was still nice to look out over the LA basin on one side and the desert to the other.  The four of us all made it to the top in good shape and stopped to sign the register and take a couple of photos. A few other hikers came up a few minutes behind us and took our picture and shared some strawberries with us...nice!

John, Casey, Jack & Victor

This is a great training hike for Mt. Langley and we plan to follow it up with a hike along the San Gabriel River to the Bridge to Nowhere in a couple of weeks.