East Fork San Gabriel River Through Hike

This was a 3-day 2-night backpacking trip from Vincent Gap to Heaton Flats along the East Fork of the San Gabriel river. There were 13 of us, and with so much snow on Mt Baldy this year the river crossings were treacherous. We saw big horn sheep, snakes, trout, water falls, the bridge to nowhere, and gold mines! What a wild place! The date of this trip was from July 21st to 23rd, 2023.
Check out:
Alan's video from this trip: • Canyon full of legends
Robert's video from this trip: • EAST FORK OF THE SAN G...
Jason's video from this trip: • Vincent Gap to Heaton ...

[@puas2011versa]

my CITY

[@michaelchaney6118]

The plane crash was a Schweizer SGS 2-32 glider that crashed in 1974, thankfully the two souls onboard survived.

[@davidfeiler1279]

That is correct. Here is some more info on it: kzbin.info/www/bejne/e4S6f5dtr9qah6ssi=YzdTzYj1NITqC-8l

[@MichaelJones-hm9of]

Beautiful mini adventure. I think three days is perfect for that region. Thanks for sharing!

[@davidfeiler1279]

You are welcome and thanks for watching!

[@kenogster3059]

One of my favorite places when I lived in SoCal. I'll be back someday.

[@davidfeiler1279]

Definitely a gem of the San Gabriel's

[@cahayacinta-wg8qe]

thank you for good the video bos

[@davidfeiler1279]

You are welcome and thanks for watching

[@JesseStLouis]

Looks like a fun trip

[@davidfeiler1279]

It was fun. Thanks for watching

[@rosaarroyo3050]

Cuanta belleza nos ofrece la naturaleza gracias por compartir

[@davidfeiler1279]

Es verdad y es un placer compartirlo contigo.

[@nubiasista9709]

Do you have to hike just to get there. Or how close can you get by car before you have to go on foot to get to that river or area that was shown around 7:40: to 12:00 time marker

[@davidfeiler1279]

All sections of the river require a substantial hike to get there. Your best bet is to do the "bridge to nowhere" hike that starts at Heaton Flats. But be careful as the water levels can get quite high and fast depending on the time of year.

[@manuelagarrett8450]

Looking beautiful

[@fighton5417]

GOOD STUFF!

[@davidfeiler1279]

Thanks!

[@earthhorse5127]

Great video David! The water looks so blue right now. Defenitly some good insight for anyone planning on a EFTH. Thanks for all the efforts putting the Ol sign back together again 🙌 Not to mention nurturing the apple tree . What a great adventure and group.

[@davidfeiler1279]

Thanks Steven! Yeah, the color of the water was awesome. The others did the heavy lifting on the sign. I just carried a bag of cement and a fertilizer stick for the apple tree. Hope you can join us on the next one. Cheers!

[@pm1338]

Is Heaton flats where you started? Not sure where you started from

[@davidfeiler1279]

Heaton flats is where we ended the hike, but we started at Vincent Gap which means you need to do a car shuttle.

[@pm1338]

@@davidfeiler1279 thanks for the info. Safe hiking

[@susanguerrero9133]

My stomping grounds. My family and I use to hike these mountains

[@arizjones]

I used to backpack that canyon in the 1980s. Crazy to see all the people near the bridge to nowhere. In the 80s you wouldn't see anyone.

[@davidfeiler1279]

That must have been pretty cool to be there back then. Fortunately not many people get past the bridge because there isn't much of a trail.

[@MichalOlender]

Great job guys! I've literally been thinking about hiking that part as we just went to Stanley Miller and spent a night up there, looking down on where the river runs. David do you happen to have a recording of the route?

[@davidfeiler1279]

Thanks Michal. Send me an email and I will try to send you the gpx file for the route. However, you may not need it because one just follows the river.

[@MichalOlender]

@@davidfeiler1279 thanks brother, I've just sent you an email!

[@gordonchase8708]

Thanks for sharing. I had no idea you found another Gopher snake. And that Bighorn was just posing for you! See you on the next adventure.

[@davidfeiler1279]

With such a big group it’s good to have multiple camera people to get all the sights. Thanks for cutting that tree going down to Mine Gulch. And yes, see you on the next adventure! Cheers!

[@aaroncalderon5513]

Which trail is this?

[@davidfeiler1279]

There really is no trail except for the first and last part. The last part is the bridge to nowhere trail.

[@4kfamilyfunwalk206]

It's beautiful river and water falls, like to visit similar place like this!

[@davidfeiler1279]

You should!

[@victorgutierrez5826]

I see you guys get a lot of fun ..question?? what brand of camera do you use to take the video..i like it looks very wide the lent.

[@davidfeiler1279]

Yes it was a lot of fun, and work at the same time. I used the iPhone14 Pro as my camera and really like it.

[@20robertang]

Great video, David. That place is gem in this range, I think most part will remain wild for years to come. Tagay!

[@davidfeiler1279]

Thanks Robert. I totally agree, and now we know where all that snow on top of Baldy has gone, in to the East Fork 😉Until the next one. Tagay!!!

[@matteo42069]

What kind of tent were you using?

[@davidfeiler1279]

I was using the Big Agnes Copper Spur 1 person tent, which I highly recommend.

[@detarver]

Nice!!! is this trail available on Alltrails or any other backpacking app? I'd like to do it.

[@davidfeiler1279]

This is a point to point hike that requires a car shuttle. We started at Vincent Gap and ended at Heaton Flats. Except for the beginning and end there is no real trail, instead you just follow the east fork river. There is a lot of bush whacking and river crossings though. Hope that helps.

[@detarver]

@@davidfeiler1279awesome! thanks

[@teejay3272]

A lot of water this year. That's for sure. And not to be 'that guy' but a thru hike is a little different. Those are on long trails. Good clip. Hope it was a good one.

[@davidfeiler1279]

Yeah with so much snow this past winter, we knew there was going to be way more water than usual and we were not disappointed.

[@BrosephRussell]

What an awesome trip 👏 😊

[@davidfeiler1279]

It was the third time I've done it and definitely the nicest!

[@luperamos7307]

Super cool what you did. I wouldn't do it alone, but in a large group it's much safer. Snakes would still worry me though. Not sure what you can do about that.

[@davidfeiler1279]

Thanks. My friend is not afraid of the snakes and on this trip he even caught and ate a rattlesnake!

[@humbertovazquez3733]

This is what LA has to offer, Saturday at the beach and Sunday a hike in the mountains.

[@davidfeiler1279]

Exactly!

[@raymondkyruana118]

I'm excited to move there soon! Do you feel safe though? My family is a little worried from everything they see in the news haha but I figure it's like most cities: Just stick to the good parts, and keep your head on a swivel and you should be fine. Would be interesting to hear from you perspective though

[@humbertovazquez3733]

@@raymondkyruana118 Honestly, it is extremely safe, I have live here all my life and never had an issue with crime. I stay away from unsafe places. Mass shooting have happen in small cities too.

[@raymondkyruana118]

thank you!!!@@humbertovazquez3733

[@TreesVitaminD]

beautiful trail. That water was super blue

[@davidfeiler1279]

Yeah, I loved the color of the water too!

[@Ramb0ba]

Is this past the bridge to nowhere? Would love to do this hike one day 😊

[@davidfeiler1279]

The thumbnail is right next to the bridge to nowhere. From Heaton Flats it's 5 miles one way to the bridge to nowhere.

[@redwhiteblue7831]

Clicked your video right when I was notified... 3d later??? Great video, it was nice meeting you. I had a blast on this trip, great group. It was brutal and fun at the same time. Awesome video again, enjoyed watching. Thank you for sharing, take care David. 🇺🇲

[@davidfeiler1279]

Thanks Jason. It was great meeting you as well. Hope to see you on more adventures. Cheers!

[@jusontask]

How do you get to the mine with the waterfall?

[@davidfeiler1279]

It's difficult to explain, but it is between the bridge to nowhere and Heaton flats.

[@robertshy761]

What’s the Lat Long for this area or where’s the trail head

[@davidfeiler1279]

The trail head for the bridge to nowhere starts at Heaton Flats and it is 5 miles one way to the bridge. Hope that helps!

[@shusakuendo5150]

Hi there Great video! How many miles to trout area from the parking lot??

[@davidfeiler1279]

Thanks. It is about 7 miles from the Heaton Flats parking lot to where we caught the trout in the video. However, I'm sure you could catch trout much closer to the parking lot than that since the river flows all the way down there. Have fun!

[@shusakuendo5150]

@@davidfeiler1279 Thank you very much for details! Very exciting to get back to there for next hike fishing ! And Looking forward to see next up video ! Thanks David!

[@lopezexplora]

Beautiful video, amazing adventure. How many miles total? Subed! 🥾🥾

[@davidfeiler1279]

Thanks! It was about 26 miles total over 3 days.

[@raymondkyruana118]

Wow I'm moving to LA soon, this makes me so excited!!!! Do you guys live near the city? Wondering if all these places you film are accessible and doable for weekend trips. Coming from the East coast it blows my mind how far away everything is haha.

[@davidfeiler1279]

It's about a 30 minute drive from LA

[@fishingparadisecalifornia7764]

Why oh why would you want to live in LA 😅

[@raymondkyruana118]

Well first, my engineering job lol but also there's just nowhere else in the US that even comes close to the beauty! Mountains, beaches, deserts, off roading, rivers, islands, cities literally everything is within driving distance. But you're right, a lot of the people are just out of their minds and the politics are ridiculous. We'll see how long I last I guess.@@fishingparadisecalifornia7764

[@saramillan90]

Where is That Place please Let Me know.

[@davidfeiler1279]

This is the east fork of the San Gabriel river in Los Angeles county. Look up the bridge to nowhere and you will find it.

[@DavidNovaa]

Wish i had someone to hike that trail with

[@davidfeiler1279]

You can hike to the bridge to nowhere from Heaton Flats solo. It is 5 miles one way.

[@DavidNovaa]

@@davidfeiler1279 Yeah i saw the road ends and its about 4.2 miles one way. Will probably end up hiking it myself

[@anibalchavez3319]

@@DavidNovaa I’ll be there on August 27, 2023

[@HuckOutdoors]

That trail has changed a lot since we hiked it a few years back. It looks like not as many miners are back there anymore.

[@davidfeiler1279]

This is the third time I've done it and it always seems different somehow. I think you are right about the miners. I only saw one well established miner camp.

[@panatypical]

And we're lied to and told that it needs to rain so that water can gather and become rivers on their way to the ocean. The water is coming right out of the ground there. It also does that here on the flat but they build a fence around it so you can't see it and then sink wells.

[@davidfeiler1279]

Yeah, with so much snow on Mt Baldy this past winter there is a lot of water flowing in the river.

[@jguadalupebernardino3056]

En ese árbol viven los duendes

[@davidfeiler1279]

🧝‍♂️🧝‍♀️Si es posible

[@raymondkyruana118]

Wow what kind of snake is that? Did he just catch it? This is blowing my mind haha didn't know you could do that TBH

[@davidfeiler1279]

Yes, Alan caught and ate the rattle snake. He likes to live off the land 😂

[@katiapearson9541]

What a Paradise🤗💞🦈….. it’s my dream some day…. That’s real 🏕 camping, real fishing🐟, real hiking 🥾 and, lots of stamina. The Creation of God 🙏is perfect !

[@davidfeiler1279]

I hope you are able to make it out there one day. It is even more beautiful in person!

[@jimerhard4239]

The San Gabriel River can officially be called a River at this point. If there is a sure way to lower one's core temperature it should intail emersion in that icy water. No danger of heat stroke there and that's the damn truth. Peace!!

[@davidfeiler1279]

Without the river this hike wouldn’t be possible in the summer. It kept us nice and cool. Cheers!

[@stevemalibu99]

That was a great trip!!!

[@davidfeiler1279]

It sure was! And thanks again for suggesting we fix the sign and bringing all the materials for it!

[@loudawgs]

What plane crash is that? Thank you

[@davidfeiler1279]

February 6, 1974 in a Schweitzer SGS-2-32. Here is a link with more info: www.tapatalk.com/groups/sangabrielmnts/vincent-gap-to-the-site-of-the-glider-crash-and-th-t8440.html