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HIKE 2

SAWMILL MOUNTAIN RIDGE TO ATMORE MEADOWS, GILLETTE MINE, BEAR CANYON

HIKE LENGTH: 14 miles round-trip; 1,700' elevation gain and loss

DIFFICULTY: Strenuous

SEASON: All year

TOPO MAPS: Burnt Peak, Liebre Mountain

Features

Just south of the great whalebacks of Liebre and Sawmill Mountains lies some of the loneliest mountain country in Angeles National Forest. This is a region of long, meandering canyons, gentle ridges, and rounded summits. Chaparral is king here; its prickly greenness blankets everything except the canyon bottoms, where tall oaks and sycamores grow and there are a few isolated stands of big-cone Douglas-firs and pines. This is also the realm of California mule deer, a favorite of hunters. Hikers are rare, yet the country has a multitude of trails. Unfortunately, many of the trails are presently overgrown, no longer maintained by the US Forest Service. You must be prepared for some bushwhacking, and a few spots of trail are so overgrown that it is difficult to follow. This trip is not recommended for beginners.

This trip begins near Atmore Meadows, contours over slopes of scrub oaks, manzanitas, yuccas, chamises, and chamises’ cousin red shanks, and then drops into Bear Canyon. (There are three Bear Canyons in the Angeles.) Here, you visit the ruins of the Gillette Mine, a gold-and-silver prospect dating from the 1880s. En route you pass several trail junctions, each offering opportunities for further discovery (see Description). The best time of year is spring, when there is still water in the canyons, when oaks and sycamores are dressing themselves in red and green, and when the air is sweet with the perfume of wet chaparral. Autumn is crisp and dry, yet the leaves of the black oaks on Sawmill Mountain—some yellow, some almost bright red—produce a vivid splash of color against the drab background.

Description

From I-5, 4 miles south of Gorman, turn right (east) onto CA 138. After 4.5 miles turn right again (southeast) onto the Old Ridge Route. About 2.5 miles farther, turn left (east) onto County Road N2. Follow CR N2 13 miles to Bushnell Summit, where it intersects Forest Road 7N23 leading right (southwest) up Sawmill Mountain. Follow CR 7N23 for 3 miles to the crest of the mountain, and then turn right (west) along the ridgetop. Continue 3.5 miles to the intersection with the Atmore Meadows spur road, CR 7N19. Park here. Be sure to display your Adventure Pass on your parked vehicle.

Walk around the locked gate and follow CR 7N19 down to a horseshoe bend just short of the abandoned Atmore Meadows Campground, 2 miles.

The trail leads south from this horseshoe bend in the road, passes a seepage, and in 0.5 mile reaches a junction. The left fork descends into Fish Canyon (see Hike 3). Go right, across chaparral slopes to a prominent saddle. Here, the mostly overgrown trail contours along the side of the ridge and climbs slightly before descending into Bear Canyon, 4 miles from CR 7N19. It’s easy to miss a switchback here, thanks to overgrown chaparral, so proceed carefully.

In Bear Canyon you meet a dirt road coming over the ridge from Knapp Ranch. Go left and follow the road down-canyon 0.5 mile to the Gillette Mine remains, marked by tailings and rusted metal. Across the creek is a more recent mine owned by the Benco Mining Company, not being developed as of this writing.

Return the same way, almost all uphill. You have the option of continuing 3 miles down Bear Canyon to its merger with Cienaga Canyon. However, the old trail has largely disappeared and you must follow the creek and negotiate some brushy areas. Unfortunately, the once-scenic trail over Redrock Mountain ridge and down to Fish Canyon (see Hike 3) has entirely disappeared in the dense brush.