Confession they say is good for the soul. So with that in mind I submit the
following recital of errors made on this trip which fortunately resulted in only
a minor injury but easily could have had more serious consequences. The moral is
that mountains "don't care" and even minor errors in judgement made in a harsh
environment may lead to devastating consequences. Hopefully the reader may
profit from my mistakes.
For background information on this area, please first read Safety Committee
member Bill Oliver's article in the Mar-April
1997 Lookout on his trips to Allison Mine on the SW side of Iron
Mountain. Information on this area is also contained in John Robinson's "Trails
of the Angeles" (Sixth. Ed. 1990 and Seventh Ed. 1998) as trip #87.
In Robinson's Sixth edition, readers are given conflicting advice for the return
trip. They are first told to return by going down Allison Gulch but then later
are instructed to return the way they came in, namely the Allison and Heaton
Flat Trails. The Seventh Edition removes this contradiction by clearly advising
readers to return the same way they came in and to exit by Allison Gulch. Bill
concluded his article with the following admonition: "A trip to Allison Mine can
be a great adventure - or a great mistake. Please don't underestimate it!" Truer
words were never spoken!
I met my companion, Mark, a fellow member of the local cave exploring club, at
the Azusa rideshare meeting point (King Ranch Market Parking Lot) at 9:30 AM,
the earliest that Mark could make it. Mark had never been to the Allison Mine; I
had been there once several years before. We parked at the end of the East Fork
Road and started hiking toward the Heaton Flat Trail at 10:30 AM. About 4 miles
later, we reached Iron Mt Saddle. At the end of the saddle, a faint use trail
leads directly up to Big Iron. There is also a rather prominent trail on the
right (east) which leads after a mile or so to the old privately owned and
posted Widman Ranch and three old abandoned mines.
On the left (west) side is the Allison Trail, virtually invisible at its start,
but which leads after 3 miles to the Allison Mine. The Trail after more than 50
years of little use is heavily overgrown with yucca and other brush which caused
Mark, who had short sleeves and pants and no gloves, much discomfort.
Upon arriving at the Allison Mine area, we explored the first two horizontal
shafts. I then belatedly became aware of the time factor as it was about 5:00
PM. So we ceased further examination of the severed shafts and didn't bother to
try to locate the old trail to the semi-legendary Stanley-Miller Mine located
several miles up canyon. Mark did not wish to return to the Allison Trail
because of the yucca and brush problem. We therefore decided with some anxiety
to return down the right (west) side of the Allison Gulch below the waterfalls
until reaching the East Fork of the San Gabriel River and then go down the East
Fork to the road head. This proved to be a bad decision!
In any event we crossed the small stream and started down the faint return trail
used infrequently since the mine closed in 1942. After about half a mile we
contoured onto a ridge overlooking a small tributary. We needed to descend a
steep talus slope. At this point near disaster struck!
I climbed a short distance up the steep slope to gain a better perspective and
started to push myself up on a low rock ledge. Part of the ledge immediately
collapsed, throwing me down a slope about 10 feet where I landed in a thick
bush. A large boulder which had separated, went flying by within a foot of me.
Mark saw the boulder bounce down the slope several hundred feet or more and
believes I would have fallen the same distance had my fall had not been stopped
by the bush.
The sudden event was especially traumatic to Mark, as it reminded him of a trip
he made several years before to the Tri Peaks area in the Santa Monicas where a
similar rock fall severely injured his friend resulting in permanent paralysis.
As I landed I felt a sharp twinge in my right ankle which was lying under me.
Subsequent X-Rays showed a ligament separation. By now it was about 6 PM and the
nature of the trip had suddenly changed. I could stay where I was overnight,
even though I lacked camping equipment, relying on Mark to get assistance which
would hopefully result in the sheriff's department helicopter evacuating me
sometime the next day or I could try to get out on my own. As soon as I got up
and found I could still hobble, I decided to try to get out. I descended about
600 ft. down the talus slope to the stream bed of the tributary sliding on my
rear end most of the way and then hobbled down another 600 ft. to the junction
with Allison Gulch. From there I shuffled along down the gulch with the aid of a
trekking pole and stick for about a mile until we reached the East Fork. By now
it was 8 PM and daylight was fading.
We were still three miles and 10 stream crossings away from the road head. The
three miles proved to be endless. Even with lights we invariably lost sight of
the trail after making a stream crossing. We just continued on and on downstream
the best we could shuffling around and over boulders. On several occasions I
lost balance while crossing the stream and fell in the water which was quite
high.
After six hours of this torture we finally reached my car at 2 AM. The trip would
ordinarily take about two hours. Upon reaching the King Ranch Market we phoned
our worried spouses and canceled their previous request for assistance with the
Sheriff's Department.
The next day Mark stayed home from work and I visited an Orthopedic Surgeon. I am
a recent list finisher which involved a marathon day hike to Rabbit from Clark
dry lake but no hike I have ever made compares with the utter misery experienced
on the return from Allison Mine.
I hope to be up and around shortly and resume exploration in this area. Any
reader interested in accompanying me is urged to call. Don't get discouraged if
the line is busy as I anticipate heavy response. You might want to bring along a
satellite phone.
Mistakes Made
1. I should not have started a day trip to the Allison Mine area so late.
2. I should have informed my companion prior to the trip that long sleeves, long
pants, and gloves are a virtual necessity on the Allison Mine Trail.
3. At 5 PM I should have insisted we return on the Allison Mine Trail in spite of
the excess yucca and brush. By nightfall we would have reached the Heaton Flat
Trail, which would have been far easier to navigate at night than the East Fork.
4. I wore low cut cloth Nike hiking boots which did not give me much ankle
support. My regular leather boot might have prevented this injury.
5. Preliminary testing of the rock ledge would probably have prevented the
accident.
However there will always be some inherent risk when going cross country and
scrambling over rocks. Many hikers and climbers far more capable than myself
have died or been injured by rockfall. Perhaps Edward Whymper, the renowned
Victorian climber who first climbed the Matterhorn but lost four of his party
during the descent said it best: "Climb if you will, but remember that courage
and strength are naught without prudence, and that momentary negligence may
destroy the happiness of a lifetime. Do nothing in haste, look well to each
step, and from the beginning think what may be the end."
