RIP ACH

[Beefmaster_Mark]

http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?se...les&id=7168000

http://cbs2.com/local/Landslides.Str...2.1366609.html

[rwalterk]

D'oh.     I'm trying to put that road out of my mind until next summer; I'm sure it's gonna be messed up until the rain and snow melt are totally done.

[John]

Fack...I was gonna ask if anyone wanted to go up this weekend.

[Beefmaster_Mark]

I WANT to go this weekend ...   

[rwalterk]

I went to ACH in my car on new year's eve to take some pictures; it was a little too cold for my taste to ride and I didn't know what the conditions would be like after the rain we had earlier this week.  The bottom part's kinda dirty in places but the rest of the road seems okay.  There was some black ice in spots just north of the ACH/Upper Big Tujunga intersection though.  There were a lot of bikes out and Newcomb's parking lot was packed with them. 

It was sad to see the destruction, but encouraging to see that big patches of trees have survived.  Even some of the burnt trees survived and are still sprouting new green stuff.  The forest will recover eventually, though it will be a really long time.  The good news is that the fire didn't do too much damage past Newcomb's; I think I saw the end of the fire line a few miles up the road.   Here are some pics.

Lower section


Big patch of trees that survived, lower section


Another surviving patch of trees, lower section


Lower section


Mt. Wilson was saved


Taken just south of Charleton flats


Same area as above; burnt tree survived and sprouting


This part didn't do so well


This mountain survived; Chilao is just to the right


Newcomb's was packed


Don't see this every day


A few miles up the road from Newcomb's and everything looks normal


One of the last burned areas past Newcomb's


Near Charleton flats; this used to be a beatifully thick wooded area

[aprilmaybe]

thanks for the update! you were up there during the big Norton ride.

We just got back from a run up there, man I love that road. Caltran worked really hard to get it back up and running, the pavement is great. There was some dirt at the bottom but not that big of a deal. I was watching for black ice in the shadies but it was clear. It was significantly warmer today though.

Newcombs was open and fairly busy with just a limited menu for now.

[wlk12]

Thanks for the update Ray.

Even though the fire was devastating, it's somewhat encouraging that things may not be too bad. After the winter snows/road closures, the portion from Nukes over to Wrightwood will still be awesome.

Bill K.

[Beefmaster_Mark]

  so sad to see all that burnt area.  The worst for me is the one near Charleton Flats, that is where the historic Vetter Mountain Fire Lookout stood for like 75 years in its current iteration.  It was the last one in the Western/Central part of the range, and now I think only the one at Baldy survives PERIOD.    Nerdy I realize, but it was quite a place. 

[aprilmaybe]

The back way is open!

You can't start from la Canada, You have to start in Sunland. Take Big Tunjga to Angeles Forest to Upper Big T to Angeles Crest. There is a fair amount of construction on Big T and it is dirty is spots. The dirt crossing at the bottom was muddy when we went through it and really bumpy. Upper Big T is clean. There is still some snow in the shadies which means runoff.

I'm glad it is coming back!

Newcombs was open. The bartender (not Darren) said they were going to be open on weekends. They have a limited menu going

[Wildgift]

This is good news indeed.  If we lose Nuke's, we have lost all...

[aprilmaybe]

Some news on the road front.

Talked to Darren at Nukes this weekend and the news from him is pretty good. The bottom from La Canada is scheduled to be open at the end of July--he doesn't think they will make it but I'll run with it for now. But he said the top--from Nukes to Wrightwood wwill be open by May 21. There is a huge bike race coming through then (Stage 6 of the Amgen Tour of California).


 

[rwalterk]

Nice!

[Beefmaster_Mark]

Awesome - sounds good, let's keep our fingers crossed!

[aprilmaybe]

Still closed at La Canada but it is open through to Wrightwood.

[rwalterk]

This is awesome!  We need to ride it to the Grizzly Cafe soon.