Much like trash, keeping the graffiti at bay in Eaton Canyon was a constant battle for Angeles National Forest volunteers. Nearly every week, park patrons with little understanding of nature’s beauty would enter Eaton Canyon intending to deface public property. While most of the blame went towards hoodlum teenagers, the culprits have been found in all demographics, including one mother (with three children under 10 alongside her) who was caught defacing a rock below the Pinecrest Gate in July 2023 and subsequently chewed out by other park visitors.
While Eaton Canyon enjoys its longest break from human activity in recorded history, a small group of certified Angeles National Forest volunteers has been coordinating with Eaton Canyon Natural Area Park staff to access limited areas of the canyon and get ahead of the graffiti battle before the eventual grand reopening. In previous years, volunteers were often so occupied with removing tagging from highly visible locations that they had little time to address more remote sites.
During a recent outing, USFS volunteer Pat Bylard mentioned that he was finally able to reach an area he had been monitoring for years but had never been able to prioritize because it was, in his words, “out of sight, out of mind.”