Stockton Flat - Baldy Notch Road

Overview
Road Parameters
Road Description
Hikes Using This Road
Links To Further Information


Overview

This "dirt" road constructed in ~1894 connects Stockton Flat Public Campground on the Lytle Creek Road to Baldy Notch in the eastern San Gabriel Mountains. The road surface is mostly gravel-sized and larger rocks, hence the quotes around the "dirt" description used by Robinson.

This road was built by the Hocumac Company to service the 14 gold mines owned by them, and replaced a wagon road constructed in 1883 from Lytle Creek to Baldy Notch along Coldwater Canyon to reach the Banks (Gold) Mine. The new road was a vast improvement - wagons had to be lowered by winch on one part of the wagon road. These roads were the only access to Baldy Notch at the time.

The Banks Mine used hydraulic power to separate gold from sand and gravel in a gully just south of Baldy Notch. Hocumac was an Omaha-based Company named with the beginning letters of the three owners Holcomb, Cushion and Mackay.

Source: The San Gabriels, John Robinson, pp. 64-68.

The attractions of the Stockton Flat - Baldy Notch Road are:

John Robinson in The San Gabriels, pp. 65-67, tells the story of a dramatic food delivery in June, 1884 when four miners and their families were trapped at Baldy Notch by a severe late-season storm:

When word reached the Pomona Valley, a relief part of 17 men was organized, each man carrying 25 pounds of supplies for the marooned families. Bucking deep snowdrifts and felling trees to cross swollen streams, they struggled for three days to reach Baldy Notch. There, they found the snow-bound men, women and children were passing from cabin to cabin through tunnels within ten-foot snowdrifts, and their food supplies had dwindled to ten pounds of rice.

Think about that trip as you drive to the beginning of the road in the comfort of your car!

The only detractions are the following. The access via Lytle Creek Road is via a slow (10-15 mph) gravel road. Further, the access is controlled by a gate that is only open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. in at least parts of the year, limiting one's hiking options that involve leaving a car at Stockton Flats. The views are not as impressive as are found on many neighboring roads, and the scenery is similar along the entire hike.


Road Parameters

Maps: The road is shown on the USGS 7.5' x 7.5' Telegraph Peak topo map and on the Forest Service Angeles National Forest Map.

Season: June to October.

Roadheads and directions to roadheads: Stockton Flat Public Campground (6,015') is the only roadhead reachable by car. The other end is Baldy Notch (7,802'), which can be reached by hiking the San Antonio Falls Road from Manker Flat or by taking the Ski Lift (see Baldy Notch to Thunder, Telegraph, Timber Mtns., Icehouse Saddle, Icehouse Canyon).

To get to Stockton Flat, take the Sierra Avenue Exit of I-15, about 5 miles north of SR30. Go north on Sierra Avenue, which quickly turns into Lytle Creek Road, for 9.5 miles to the end of the paved road just beyond Lytle Creek Village. This section takes about 16 minutes driving time due to 25 mph speed limits in the Village. Just before the end of the pavement is a gate that is open only 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. which in fact was only unlocked around 8:15 a.m. on 11/28/99.

My 1983 Honda Station Wagon had no trouble negotiating the gravel road for the next 4.1 miles, taking 19 minutes, to the next gate that is open only 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Unfortunately, the gate was not unlocked until 9:20 a.m. on 11/28/99.

If the gate is locked, you have no choice except to park along the road outside of the gate and hike from that point, or wait to see if the gate will be unlocked. From that gate, it is 1.7 miles with 800' altitude gain to the beginning of the Stockton Flat - Baldy Notch Road. The total distance to the beginning of that road from I-15 is thus 15.3 miles, not the 16.5 miles quoted by Robinson.

Because the road gets worse beyond the gate, and because this second gate closes one hour earlier than the first gate, you may be at least 15 minutes better off by parking outside the second gate in any case, since the 1.7 downhill miles can easily be hiked in 45 minutes or less. You will also save the ~10 minutes required to drive the 1.7 miles.

Beyond that second gate, it is 0.65 miles and 300' to the turnoff for Stockton Flat Campground, marked only by blazes on two trees. The turnoff not marked, but it is the more traveled road and you may not even notice you have turned into the Campground road. The Campground road is marginal for travel by regular vehicles, so even if you have driven past the second gate you may choose to park here and walk the remaining 1.05 miles.

Length: 3.9 miles according to topo!, which should be fairly accurate. Robinson quotes 4 miles. Walking from the second gate makes the total one-way length 5.6 miles.

Elevation Changes: The elevation difference between Stockton Flat Public Campground (6,015') and Baldy Notch (7,802') is 1,787', and the Stockton Flat - Baldy Notch Road has a pretty steady grade up. Robinson rounds this up to 2,000' of elevation gain for some reason.
If you hike from the second gate, the total elevation gain becomes 2,582'.

Road Condition: The road is in excellent shape for hiking.

Road Maintenance: Probably via bulldozer.

History: Road constructed ~1894, and probably bulldozed semi-regularly. See above for more history.


Road Description

This description begins at the second gate. The road crosses the North Fork of Lytle Creek and heads west to Stockton Flat near the bottom of the cliffs to the south. At 0.65 miles (5,522'), the road forks, marked only by blazes on two trees, two wide bands of color around their trunks. Take the left branch, the most-traveled one, which leads to Stockton Flat along the bottom of the western face of the same cliffs. You'll see picnic tables, minor roads and campsites on the left, not marked on the topo map, but stay on the main road which travels next to the large wash on your right.

The campground road forks at the base of the cliffs in front of you (6,012'). The left branch leads immediately to the gated Stockton Flat - Baldy Notch Road, with a parking area just before the gate, 1.7 miles from the start. The right branch continues up the canyon for a ways.

The Road climbs steadily south and east along the cliffs until it is in Coldwater Canyon and heads generally southwestward. At 4.0 miles (~7,060'), the road switchbacks nearly 180°, and is only 0.35 air miles from Baldy Notch. At 4.5 miles (~7,250'), another nearly 180° switchback resumes the original heading and direct contouring toward Baldy Notch. Note the beautifully-layered rock along this part of the road.

Baldy Notch (7,802') is reached at 5.6 miles from the second gate, 3.9 miles from the start of the Road.

Detailed Trip Log

This log gives the mileage and time to features along the road from Vincent Gap, along with their altitude. The mileage is from TJC's pedometer reading, adjusted only to remove an extra excursion of 0.5 miles in Stockton Flat. The total mileage of 11.02 miles agrees very well with the 11.2 miles measured from topo!. The mileages are thus probably accurate only to 0.1 mile, but are given to 0.01 mile to prevent adding rounding errors.

Times are from the start of the hike. Your times may be shorter if you are less affected by altitude than I am. The altitudes are from the topo map, for features that could clearly be identified there, and from my adjusted altimeter reading for other locations.

#MileageTime From StartAltitudeComments
00.000:005220Second Gate on Lytle Creek Road
10.900:275600Road to picnic tables
21.000:315625Second Road
61.721:0660006012' junction. Left
71.751:086012Parking just before gate.
83.752:237060First major switchback
95.253:237802Baldy Notch
105.503:36780020 minute lunch on log at Baldy Notch after walking around
119.255:306012Gate
1211.026:165220Car


Hikes Using This Road

When available, the date of the information is given in parentheses for each link.

94 Stockton Flat Public Campground to Baldy Notch, T. Chester (28Nov99)

Trails of the Angeles, John W. Robinson, Seventh Edition, September 1998, #94, Stockton Flat Public Campground to Baldy Notch, p. 170. (??)


Links To Further Information

See the following three pictures from Anthony Sebestyen's Photo Gallery page:


Go to:



Copyright © 1999 by Tom Chester.
Permission is freely granted to reproduce any or all of this page as long as credit is given to me at this source:
http://tchester.org/sgm/trails/stockton_flat.html
Comments and feedback: Tom Chester
Updated 27 December 1999.