6
DILLON DIVIDE TO PACOIMA CANYON, DUTCH LOUIE FLAT, DAGGER FLAT
HIKE LENGTH: 6 miles round-trip; 800' elevation gain
DIFFICULTY: Moderate
SEASON: October–May
TOPO MAP: Sunland
Features
Rugged Pacoima Creek cuts a deep swath from the west slopes of Mount Gleason to the San Fernando Valley. An all-year stream rushes through the canyon bowels, shaded by oaks, cottonwoods, alders, and a handful of sycamores lower down. Dense chaparral clothes the north slope leading up to Santa Clara Divide, while the more protected south canyonside, below Mendenhall Ridge, is spotted with big-cone Douglas-firs. The 2009 Station Fire passed just east of here, sparing the riparian habitat along the stream as well as the surrounding slopes, and the canyon remains a sylvan delight.
Pacoima is derived from a Gabrielino word, possibly meaning “running water.” American Indians once visited the lower canyon to gather acorns and hunt game. In more recent years, the canyon has been the scene of mining activities—for gold, silver, titanium, and graphite. Most notable were the G. C. K., or “Dutch Louie,” placers; several thousand dollars in gold were recovered from the streambed. An old prospector known as Dutch Louie discovered the placers; to recover the gold, he and his associates diverted the stream by tunneling a temporary watercourse through a rock promontory. Today you can see the crumbling tunnel of this late-19th-century operation just upstream from Dutch Louie Flat. Three-quarters of a mile beyond, above Dagger Flat, are the remains of an old titanium mine.
This trip starts at Dillon Divide, drops down the dirt road into shady Pacoima Canyon to Dutch Louie Flat, and follows up the canyon, close by the sparkling creek, to Dagger Flat. Keep in mind that this is an “upside-down” hike—you finish with the 600-foot climb back up to the trailhead. Wear a good pair of proper hiking boots—there are several stream crossings where you must boulder-hop, and, if it’s the wet season, plan on wading in two or three places.
Description
From the Foothill Freeway (I-210), just north of Hansen Dam, take the Osborne Street off-ramp. Follow Osborne Street north, with a short jog right at Foothill Boulevard, into Little Tujunga Canyon. Osborne becomes Little Tujunga Road; follow it 7.5 miles up to its intersection with gated Mendenhall Ridge Road (Forest Service Road 3N32) at Dillon Divide. Park to the right (north) of the highway without blocking the fire road. Be sure to display your Adventure Pass on your parked vehicle.
Pass the locked gate and follow dirt Mendenhall Ridge Road to a junction in 0.25 mile, go left and follow the dirt road down into Pacoima Canyon to Dutch Louie Flat (formerly a campground), 1.5 miles from Dillon Divide. Turn right and follow the eroded, rocky old road upstream as it disappears and reappears, crossing and recrossing the creek. In 0.25 mile you round a bend and see, to your left, the remains of the old Dutch Louie tunnel. Just beyond, along the creek, is where placer gold was once recovered. About 0.75 mile beyond is Dagger Flat, where a prospector was allegedly stabbed to death in the late 19th or early 20th century. From here, the old Dagger Flat Trail becomes overgrown and difficult to follow as it zigzags steeply up the north slope to Santa Clara Divide; don’t take it—it’s a shadeless bushwhack. You now have an option of lingering at Dagger Flat to check out the ghosts of the prospectors who once labored here for nature’s elusive treasure, or of exploring a short distance farther up the canyon—it’s mostly boulder-hopping from this point on. Return the way you came.
HIKE 7
GOLD CREEK TO OAK SPRING, FASCINATION SPRING
HIKE LENGTH: 8 miles round-trip; 2,000' elevation gain
DIFFICULTY: Moderate
SEASON: November–May
TOPO MAP: Sunland
Features
In the gentle hills above Little Tujunga Canyon are two delightful springs—little oak-sheltered recesses nestled in hills covered with chaparral. Both were largely spared by the 2009 Station Fire, although much of the surrounding slopes—particularly near and around Yerba Buena Ridge—burned. Oak Spring lies in a shallow recess near the head of Oak Spring Canyon, just over the ridge from Gold Creek. Fascination Spring—one can only guess how it got this intriguing name—is hidden in a narrow crease on the south slope of the mountains, 2,000 feet above the Sunland-Tujunga Valley.
You start from Gold Creek, Little Tujunga’s major tributary. As the name suggests, Gold Creek was once the scene of feverish mining activity. Most storied were the so-called Little Nugget placers, recovering gold right from the creek bed. The gold is gone now, and this is ranch country.
A good trail leads south from Gold Creek and climbs into the gentle hill country of Yerba Buena Ridge. A mile and a half up is Oak Spring, hidden in a small draw so that you don’t see it until you’re almost there. Then you climb over Yerba Buena Ridge and drop abruptly down to Fascination Spring. The two springs are shaded by oaks; the rest of the trip is through open chaparral. This is an ideal outing for a cool winter or spring day. Try it after a rain, when the springs bubble full and the aroma of damp chaparral perfumes the clean air.
Description
From I-210 in Pacoima, just north of Hansen Dam, take the Osborne Street off-ramp. Go right onto Foothill Boulevard, and then immediately left on Osborne Street, which becomes Little Tujunga Road. Follow the latter 4 miles to Gold Creek Road. Turn right (east) and drive 0.75 mile to the marked Oak Springs Trailhead, on your right. Park in the oak-shaded clearing adjacent to the trailhead. Be sure to display your Adventure Pass on your parked vehicle.
Burned hillside above Fascination Spring
Proceed along the footpath across Gold Creek and up the chaparral-coated south slope. Follow the trail as it makes one long switchback, and then climbs south up the chaparral-covered hillside. Vistas open up over the wrinkled Gold Creek basin. The ranch you see down to the north is Paradise Ranch, scene of many a Cecil B. DeMille film extravaganza. Below to the east are the stone quarries where 770,000 tons of granite rock were removed for Hansen Dam in 1938–1940. In 1.25 miles you cross a divide and drop down to lush Oak Spring, where you’ll find water except in the driest months. If it’s a sunny day, the shade here is welcome. You may see a fire road coming down to Oak Spring from the other side; don’t take it. Remain on the trail as it crosses the creek and contours around the slope (south). This section of trail isn’t as good as what you’ve just been over, but it’s easily passable. Follow the trail through dense chaparral and burn area from the Station Fire, around the slope, across a small gully, and up to the Yerba Buena Ridge fire road, 1.5 miles from Oak Spring. Here, you have a spectacular panorama southward over the Tujunga and San Fernando Valleys. Ignore the confusing trail signs here, which seem to point you in the wrong direction, and walk 100 yards down the road—toward the city—and then look carefully for the trail dropping south (left) down the steep mountainside. The pathway here is narrow and at times hard to follow as it contours around the slope in a generally southwest direction, follows a ridge, and then reverses course eastward. Fascination Spring lies nestled in a small gully, 1 mile from where you left the fire road and 900 feet lower in elevation.
Return the same way you came.
HIKE 8
ALDER CREEK TO BARLEY FLATS
HIKE
