"Gone riding. Be back whenever."
When I created my Updated Bucket List for YEAR 77 I listed a Harley day-ride on the 7th of each month. The idea was to ride to a place that had an interesting history and a fun route to ride on a motorcycle. The 7th of each month won't always work and this month the 27th seems to work out the best. So this morning I climbed on the Harley and headed out for a ride.
When I left home this morning about 7:00 am it was partly cloudy and about 70 degrees. However, the forecast was for 100 degrees by mid-day. I decided to ride up into the beautiful San Gabriel Mountains to Camp Williams, read this week's Barron's magazine and have a light breakfast (is a Western Omelette, with potatoes and toast, a "light" breakfast?). The ride to Camp Williams is short (I only rode about 55 miles this morning), so it isn't really a "day-ride" but serves the purpose of getting out and enjoying the mountains. Camp Williams is a trailer park and campground located along the East Fork of the San Gabriel River. It's a beautiful location and just right for a quiet, relaxing place to visit.
The last time I visited Camp Williams, the cafe manager and waitress, Kitty, said she didn't have a cook and was having a difficult time finding one. So today I was assuming my light breakfast was going to be coffee, Kitty announced that Cherie was on duty as the cook, thus the omelette.
Bill, the camp's manager, told me that during the summer they have as many as 600 people visiting the site on the weekends. Their campsites have been sold out since April 1st, which is about 300 campers. They have about 200 people as "permanent" residents in the mobile home park. And they have many visitors that just drop in for a drink or meal. It's an interesting place to visit and a great feeling being along the river and in the mountains.
Photos below from left - 1st row: An old (very old) sign as you approach Camp Williams; the cafe; the entrance to the mobile home park; one of the permanent garages in the park with a motorcycle image above and a Harley Davidson flag flying. 2nd row: A shot of a few of the camp sites (there are many along the river and many hidden by trees); Cherie and Kitty; a patio outside the cafe.
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The trail-head for the Bridge to Nowhere, a hike we will be doing in October, is just about 3 miles further up the canyon from Camp Williams, so I rode up there to take a look. There were a number of hikers assembling to begin the trek to the Bridge, but it was not as crowded as I had expected. The first photo below is taken from the trail-head and you can make out the trail along the right-middle of the photo; the second photo is of two girls I talked with as they were beginning the hike. I asked them if they had done the hike before and they said no, but a friend had told them it was about a 2-hour round-trip; the third photo is of a couple as they were beginning their hike. The guy said he had done the hike before, that you had to cross water (the river) several times to get to the bridge, and it was about a 5-hour round-trip. I think the girls are going to be surprised (if not in trouble).
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A Little History: In the mid to late 1800s the East Fork of the San Gabriel River was a prime area for gold mining. Jim Williams founded Camp Williams and Ralph Follows founded Follows Camp, which became the largest and most famous camp in the San Gabriel Canyon. These men were instrumental in serving the needs of the miners, and eventually the needs of fishermen, campers, tourists and other guests to the canyon.
When I first began riding in the beautiful San Gabriel Mountains, one of my rides was up Highway 39 from Azusa, to the East Fork Road, and to Follows Camp. At that time Follows Camp was open and serving a good breakfast, and they had a good combo beer & sandwich for lunch. In 1990, Follows Camp had 230 permanent residents living in cabins and mobile homes, and 200 campsites on 85 acres. I went quite often to Follows Camp in those days and didn't venture up the canyon a few more miles to Camp Williams. Unfortunately, Follows Camp is now a dilapidated ghost camp, devastated by the big flood of 2005, and ravaged by thieves and homeless encampments since the flood. The first photo below is of the San Gabriel Dam on the way up Azusa Canyon; the second photo is the sign at the bridge to turn up East Fork Road, the third photo shows the boys playing with their truck-toys in the riverbed below the bridge; and the last photo shows what's left of Follows Camp on the San Gabriel River bed. Camp Williams continues today as a flourishing mobile home park and campsite.
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