Lower San Gabriels: Hiking the Mystic Canyon Trail

When I first moved to Los Angeles to be a college student in 1999, I never thought I would stay long enough to explore its mountain ranges. Yes, indeed Los Angeles has quite a few hiking trails! It's now spring and that means perfect weather to hike around-yey! I revived my dormant hiking self by joining one of my hiking meet-up groups this lovely Saturday morning to explore the lower San Gabriel mountains in the city of Glendora. We met at the bottom of the Mystic Canyon Trail/Big Dalton Trail. It was a moderate hike at 6 miles RT with an elevation gain of 1580'. It took us several hours to complete the hike but I don't have the exact number since I like to lose track of time when I don't have to lead a hike. The first half-a-mile was the steepest but the rest was pretty easy. I hiked with a friendly group of people to include two tough and adventurous dogs! I am going to admit that I've encountered many canines that can easily out-hike me! At the peak of the trail I was able to see a fairly nice view of the city of angels as I bit into my sandwich and a piece of dark chocolate-what a great way to spend a Saturday early afternoon!