Thanks for a great page of info. All of the routes and
instructions for access were accurate and were a great help to us. The photos are helpful as well.
This page and the web site are the best. Trail info and routes into the mountains from the forestry service are sadly lacking. Thanks for your hard work.
bluebird8888 - Oct 19, 2009 5:40 am - Hasn't voted
we mourn the loss of life on Strawberry Peak
For those of us who loved to use the "climber's route" up Strawberry Peak, we mourn the loss of plant and animal life on this wonderful mountain. I have gone up the steep trail over 200 times in 20 years, taking many friends and family with me.
I have not seen the devastation from the Station Fire myself, but I have seen a videotape showing the barren mountain in the background. If anyone has information on the effect of the fire on Strawberry Peak, please post here.
It would be good the help restore the trail after the area opens again, particularly after the winter rains and snow will take their toll.
bluebird8888 Bill
bluebird8888 - Jan 23, 2011 4:55 am - Hasn't voted
bluebird8888 Bill
Does anyone know when the Angeles Crest Highway will reopen?
I think the area is still closed as of June 13, 2011. The Ranger District and Forest Service haven't done a very good of communicating online what areas are actually closed now -- their pages link to a map, but it's a broken link. But apparently the general area that's still closed is the Big Tujunga watershed. Both the Jospehine Peak road and the Red Box trailhead have signs saying they're closed.
It was illegal to hike in the Big Tujunga area for years after the Station Fire, due to concern that hikers would carry invasive plant seeds on their boots while the vegetation was still getting reestablished. It's legal again now.
Immediately after the fire, some of the burned areas had huge amounts of poodle-dog bush: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turricula_%28plant%29 This stuff is a horrible skin irritant. The plant has microscopic hairs that are like little syringes injecting its irritating chemical. They stick in your skin and you can't get them out, and it's much, much worse than poison oak. I had a case that made life miserable for a full month. As of 2014, the stuff has mostly retreated from the road cuts and hillsides, but there is still a ton of it on the west ridge of Strawberry Peak, in the area leading up to the final scramble. It's possible to avoid a lot of it, but not all of it. There is one big bush of it directly blocking and obscuring the start of the scramble. Definitely wear long pants and a long-sleeved shirt, avoid contact, have a change of clothes in the car, and throw the stuff in a garbage bag when you get back to the car.
The trail from Red Box is back open as of April 2015. There are no signs, but the route is in good condition all the way to the summit, and it is easy to follow. The portion of the hike from the saddle to the summit is still difficult, but the trail is easy to follow.
MelbaToast - Jul 6, 2004 9:58 pm - Voted 10/10
Untitled CommentThis is a vast improvement. Now I can go there and know what I'm doing. Thanks!
Rob - Jul 6, 2004 10:25 pm - Hasn't voted
Untitled CommentHey Melba, you funny girl. Can I go there with you?
MelbaToast - Jul 12, 2004 12:05 am - Voted 10/10
Untitled CommentPlease!
Good job, Rob.
MelbaToast - Sep 7, 2004 1:29 am - Voted 10/10
Untitled CommentFunkness, darling, I think you mean a strawberry with it's blossom end down, don't you? Pointy end up?
Rob - Sep 7, 2004 2:13 am - Hasn't voted
Untitled CommentGeez I don't know. I borrowed that info from here. It says "up". But I agree with you, it's surely a typo, I'll change it. Thanks.
hgrapid - Jul 22, 2004 11:14 am - Voted 10/10
Untitled CommentGood job on the update
desainme - Jul 22, 2004 2:16 pm - Voted 10/10
Untitled Commentlooks vaguely like Borah Peak after you reflect that standard view and minaturize it. Deserving page
Borah picture comparison at SP
http://www.summitpost.org/images/6694.jpg
Dean - Nov 4, 2004 9:21 am - Voted 10/10
Untitled CommentNice effort.
CNC Dave - Mar 5, 2005 11:42 pm - Voted 10/10
Untitled CommentThanks for a great page of info. All of the routes and
instructions for access were accurate and were a great help to us. The photos are helpful as well.
This page and the web site are the best. Trail info and routes into the mountains from the forestry service are sadly lacking. Thanks for your hard work.
Jonodo - Mar 20, 2005 12:01 am - Voted 10/10
Untitled CommentVery nice page. I lived in La Canada for 18 years, and would have loved to have known about the peak. Thanks for the effort.
Rob - Sep 19, 2005 12:25 am - Hasn't voted
Untitled CommentThanks for your vote!
Bob Burd - Dec 25, 2005 10:19 pm - Voted 10/10
Untitled CommentNice page, Rob.
taikavuorimies - Jan 12, 2006 3:10 pm - Voted 10/10
Untitled CommentNice to see that there is a real Strawberry peak!
I used to call a hill next to my grandparents' mountain house that way because it looked like a giant strawbery to me. Here's a picture of it:
http://huin.uib.no/~beev/pictures/rhodopa/around%20my%20mountain%20house%20(north)/02%20-%20strawberry%20peak.jpg
Augie Medina - Jan 31, 2007 4:38 pm - Voted 10/10
Fabulous UpdateExcellent revision.
bluebird8888 - Oct 19, 2009 5:40 am - Hasn't voted
we mourn the loss of life on Strawberry PeakFor those of us who loved to use the "climber's route" up Strawberry Peak, we mourn the loss of plant and animal life on this wonderful mountain. I have gone up the steep trail over 200 times in 20 years, taking many friends and family with me.
I have not seen the devastation from the Station Fire myself, but I have seen a videotape showing the barren mountain in the background. If anyone has information on the effect of the fire on Strawberry Peak, please post here.
It would be good the help restore the trail after the area opens again, particularly after the winter rains and snow will take their toll.
bluebird8888 Bill
bluebird8888 - Jan 23, 2011 4:55 am - Hasn't voted
bluebird8888 BillDoes anyone know when the Angeles Crest Highway will reopen?
bcrowell2 - Jun 14, 2011 12:57 pm - Hasn't voted
closed?I think the area is still closed as of June 13, 2011. The Ranger District and Forest Service haven't done a very good of communicating online what areas are actually closed now -- their pages link to a map, but it's a broken link. But apparently the general area that's still closed is the Big Tujunga watershed. Both the Jospehine Peak road and the Red Box trailhead have signs saying they're closed.
bcrowell2 - Jun 29, 2014 8:19 pm - Hasn't voted
open; still some poodle bushIt was illegal to hike in the Big Tujunga area for years after the Station Fire, due to concern that hikers would carry invasive plant seeds on their boots while the vegetation was still getting reestablished. It's legal again now.
Immediately after the fire, some of the burned areas had huge amounts of poodle-dog bush: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turricula_%28plant%29 This stuff is a horrible skin irritant. The plant has microscopic hairs that are like little syringes injecting its irritating chemical. They stick in your skin and you can't get them out, and it's much, much worse than poison oak. I had a case that made life miserable for a full month. As of 2014, the stuff has mostly retreated from the road cuts and hillsides, but there is still a ton of it on the west ridge of Strawberry Peak, in the area leading up to the final scramble. It's possible to avoid a lot of it, but not all of it. There is one big bush of it directly blocking and obscuring the start of the scramble. Definitely wear long pants and a long-sleeved shirt, avoid contact, have a change of clothes in the car, and throw the stuff in a garbage bag when you get back to the car.
StartingOver - Apr 6, 2015 3:44 pm - Hasn't voted
Trail from Red Box is openThe trail from Red Box is back open as of April 2015. There are no signs, but the route is in good condition all the way to the summit, and it is easy to follow. The portion of the hike from the saddle to the summit is still difficult, but the trail is easy to follow.