THE OTHER CANYONS SERIES
(Altadena, California)

Placed by: Buzzard
Placed on: 5/1/03
Location: Altadena, California in Los Angeles County
Distance: Approximately 1.5 miles
Difficulty: Moderatethe park is located in a rugged wilderness
area, and you'll be traveling a little ways off the main trail,
sometimes up some steep hills, so very small children and strollers
are definitely out. Older children who don't mind walking through the
brush should be fine when accompanied by an adult (I don't have much
experience with children, so let me know if I'm wrong here). These
are my first planted Letterboxes, so please keep me informed of their
condition at trentlaudes@excite.com. Thanks!

These boxes are located at the Eaton Canyon Nature Area in the city
of Altadena (north of Pasadena). For specific directions, go to the
park's website at http://www.ecnca.org. Admission is free and dogs
are allowed on a leash. I suggest you stop at the Eaton Canyon
Nature Center for a map of the canyon, and to learn about the history
of the park and the local San Gabriel Mountains. The nature center
map is not created to scale, but it does roughly indicate the
locations of the canyons where these letterboxes are hidden. Because
the paths to two of these letterboxes travel up dry streambeds, you
shouldn't attempt this hike during the rain, or at any time there
might be rain in the San Gabriel Mountains. Be very careful of the
poison oak, which is endemic to Southern California's mountains (you
could fittingly change this park's name to Poison Oak Canyon). If
you don't know what poison oak looks like, get the Oak Terrace Self-
guided Nature Trail pamphlet from the Nature Center, walk to the Oak
Terrace trail located near the center, and go to Stop 1. At the time
of this writing, there are two other known letterboxes in the canyon
planted by other letterboxers: the Eaton Canyon Letterbox, and the
Eaton Hummingbird. I suggest you pack a lunch, bring water, and
spend the day exploring Eaton Canyon and racking up letterbox
stamps. These letterbox clues are given in series order.

#1. Meadow Letterbox
Walk through the parking lots to the yellow gate at the north end.
Walk past the gate and follow the main path past several picnic areas
and downhill across a creek bed. As you walk up from the creek bed,
you'll come to the main trail marked by a signpost reading "Eaton
Canyon Trail" (don't be confused by an earlier signpost). At this
point you have three choices of direction: You can turn left and go
west (the most popular choice), and follow the main trail to the
beautiful Eaton Falls and several other letterboxes. You can turn
right, but this trail just curves around back across the creek. Or
you can go straight, which is north, directly towards the mountains
this is the correct choice. Head north on this path about 100 feet
until the trail ends at a "T" in the road. Turn left at the "T" and
walk another 100 feet to a fork in the trail; at the fork, turn
right, and at a compass heading of 40 degrees (northeast) follow the
trail directly towards the mountains. There are a couple of rough
paths that branch off from this main path, but stay on the path that
travels northeast, directly into the canyon in front of you. Follow
this path through the meadow, enjoying the wildflowers, for about 500
feet until you enter a grove of oak trees marking the entrance to a
small canyon. Shortly after entering the oak grove you'll see a
rusty-yellow square to your left (horse tie-up, object from
space??). Follow the trail to the right of the yellow square until
you reach a boulder that completely obliterates the trail. You'd
have to step over the boulder to continue; instead, step on top of
it. Turn around and look south back down the trail from whence you
came. You'll see a tree with a hollowed-out trunk facing you to your
left. Walk to the other side of this tree and stand with your back
to the trunk on the opposite side of the hollow. You'll be looking
at another tree, due south, about 60 feet in front of you, that is
ringed with poison oak. Walk forward from the tree against your back
towards the poison oak-ringed tree facing you until you are
equidistant between the two trees. Tread carefullyyou are on a
steep hill, walking in tall grass, and there are large stands of
poison oak to the right and left. When you have reached the point
equidistant between the two trees look east up the hill, at a compass
heading of 110 degrees, to see two other trees. Climb up to the
first of these trees and look underneath a yellow rock at the base of
its trunk to find the letterbox. Be careful making your way back
down the steep hill.

#2. Coyote Canyon Letterbox
After finding the Meadow Letterbox, walk back down the trail and
rejoin the main trail at the signpost marking the Eaton Canyon
Trail. Now turn west and follow the Eaton Canyon Trail trail until
you reach the sign marking the entrance to Coyote Canyon. Turn right
and follow the streambed northeast up Coyote canyon. Stay in the
streambed. Streambeds change; at the time I planted the letterbox, I
had to leave the streambed at one point to scramble around an
obstacle (a tree), but I was quickly able to rejoin the streambed
beyond. Continue walking in the streambed until it takes an abrupt
turn to the left, just past three large rocks; it will now be heading
in a northwesterly direction (for the first time). At this point,
look for the first large tree on the left. Scramble up the steep
incline to reach the tree, and you'll find that the tree trunk has a
large hollow in the back which is not visible from the trail. The
letterbox is hidden in the hollow, underneath a rock and some
leaves.

#3. Walnut Canyon Letterbox
After finding the Coyote Canyon Letterbox, walk back down the canyon
streambed until you reach the main Eaton Canyon Trail, then continue
west until you reach the sign marking the entrance to Walnut Canyon
(the sign was knocked off the pole and is sitting by the trail, there
is another brown and yellow sign showing a horse marking the canyon
entrance). Turn right at the sign and walk 20 steps up the canyon
along a very well-traveled, well-marked equestrian trail that moves
steeply up the hill to join the Mount Wilson Toll Road above;
however, you are not going to continue on this trailat this point
you are stepping off to the right of the trail into the not well-
traveled, not well-marked streambed beside the trail, which moves up
the canyon through a lot of brush. Stay in the streambed. Continue
walking northeast, avoiding the stretches of bank covered in poison
oak. At one point in the streambed you'll have to walk underneath a
tree trunk "limbo-style." Shortly after you dance the limbo, the
streambed takes an abrupt turn to the left (sound familiar?). Stop
at this point and look to the left of the trail where you will see a
large eucalyptus tree. Now look to the right of the trail to see a
walnut tree. (You can tell this is a walnut tree by observing the
broken walnut shells on the ground around it.) Take a closer look at
the walnut tree and you'll see a large, flat piece of rusted metal
entwined in its rootsperhaps left over from the family that
homesteaded this canyon early in the last century. Scramble up the
hill to the right of the walnut tree and behind the piece of rusted
metal you'll find the rock that conceals the letterbox.