The community has spoken, and the wisdom of crowds works magic yet again. The results of our “Guess the Purpose” January poll about the Midwick gate pole are in.
Yes, 80 percent correctly guessed that the pole installed smack in the middle of the gate once featured a turnstile. We don’t have a photo of the turnstile mechanism in our archives, so if you have a picture please forward it to us for publication at [email protected].
Several clever folks reckoned the pole once held a fire department sign with a code number. That was an excellent guess, as there was signage of that nature at some Eaton Canyon trailheads to inform firefighters about the type of terrain they would encounter ahead.
Nobody was fooled that the pole was installed to prevent motorcycles from zooming down the canyon’s trails. As an aside, even bicycle riding is not allowed on the hiking trails within the Eaton Canyon Natural Area administered by the Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation. However, trail bikes are allowed within the Angeles National Forest portion of the canyon. If you park in the lot near the Nature Center or in the Equestrian Park overflow lot, you should always walk your bike until reaching the park boundary.
Since October 1, 2022, Eaton Canyon has seen 21.24″ of rainfall, 13.28″ of which fell during the December 26 – January 16 time frame. Rainfall in the canyon is measured at Eaton Dam, just south of the reservoir. Eaton Canyon is not known for it’s excess water, with the river not frequently flowing past the canyon mouth for more than a few months out the year. Plants throughout Eaton Canyon are adapted to drought, with even our native coffee ferns being able to go months without a drink of water. That being said, compounding drought, human encroachment, invasive species, and hotter summer temperatures are endangering some species in the canyon.
Another flash flood struck Eaton Canyon on the morning of January 10, 2023 after a whopping 5.14″ fell on the canyon. It was our 48th wettest 2-day period since 1908. The flood was nearly as large as one that occurred on December 14, 2021. Here are notable changes that occurred within the wash:
A significant landslide occurred 0.4mi from the bridge, just downstream and around the corner from the Eaton Canyon Waterfall. A negatively sloped wall came down, and several tons of rock and debris dammed up the river. The flash flood was still in progress when the cliff came apart, and copious amounts of sand and gravel backed up behind the rock slide, immediately filling the new watering hole that was just created. (34.19543946797055, -118.10191245661396)
A downed Mexican Fan Palm that was deposited at a location near the Walnut Canyon / Main trail intersection (34.18561917195616, -118.10078717633861) during the December 14, 2021 flood, was moved downstream to a location due east of the main Eaton Canyon sign at the north end of the main parking lot during the January 10, 2023 flood. (34.178346250196846, -118.09578901171221). These two locations are 0.65 miles apart from each other! Observers noted the palm tree floating past the main trail’s first crossing at 10:29 AM on the morning of the 10th. The palm tree was moving at just over 10 MPH.
Mule Fat (Baccharis salicifolia) is the species of plant that typically lines the riverbed in our wash. It is more hardy against flash floods than your average plant, but it too occasionally falls victim. Two areas on the right side of the riverbed between the Midwick entrance and the first crossing were significantly eroded away with this latest flood, ripping out tons of mule fat and lots of boulders that kept them in place. The two locations were nearby each other, once at 34.18293865515512, -118.09807790466684 and again at 34.18321650828237, -118.09888545820216.
This eroding riverside also destroyed a temporary waterfall that was filmed in the Trail Magic article “Slow-motion waterfall,” which can be found here.
With an average temperature of 69.64°F (20.91°C), Pasadena, California has just experienced it’s 2nd hottest year on record. The current record for our hottest year is 2014 with an average temperature of 70.44°F. Weather records have been kept in downtown Pasadena continuously since 1908, and during that time the average temperature has risen 6.84°F (3.81°C). Granted, that weather station is experiencing an urban heat island effect, but temperatures have still risen sharply in the canyon over the last ~100 years due to global climate change.
2022 saw a number of records fall, including the most afternoons in a single summer over 90°F (111 days), the most afternoons in a row over 105°F (8 days), and the hottest month ever. August 2022 beat July 2006 for the hottest month ever recorded in Pasadena. The month lacked any serious heatwaves. Rather, it was scorching hot for the entire duration of the month with no cooler than average days. Unfortunately, September 2022 hosted our longest, worst heatwave ever recorded in this part of Southern California with a whopping 8 days over 105°F in a row. It, not surprisingly, then stole the record from August 2022 to become our new hottest month ever recorded. With June 2022 also being our hottest June ever, summer 2022 easily slid into first place for our hottest summer ever in the canyon.
Temperature anomalies backed off in autumn, and October, November, and December were rather tame. After the scorching hot October 2020 and November 2021, it was nice to see those months cool off in 2022. The 2022-2023 water year stands at 13.51″ of rainfall as of January 6th, 2023, significantly above the average for this time of year.
