This morning, I made an attempt to hike Devil’s Canyon, deep in the Angeles National Forest. I figured since it was a north-south canyon, it would have a healthy amount of sunshine and less snow than the surrounding peaks.
Turned out I was wrong. About an eighth of a mile into the route, I ran into a snow-covered mess — complete with a steep drop off. If the snow were more powdery, I could have continued, but this was the stuff that’s been melted during the day and frozen over again at night — tough, slippery, and unsafe to hike on.
I ended up getting back in the car and heading into a lower canyon instead — but be aware that there’s still snow up on the mountains, even though we haven’t had precipitation in a little while.
On the other hand, if you want to take a trip to play in some plowed snowbanks, head toward the Angeles Crest Highway ASAP.
