Mount Gleason Standing Alone in the Angeles National Forest

Clear Creek to Mount Gleason: 23.78 miles, 4890 feet elevation.

The Angeles National Forest is a vast wilderness that even CiclaValley hasn’t completely triumphed yet.

Amazingly set right up against one of the biggest metropolis’ in the world, access to these mountains and solitude are a blessing for anyone who experiences it.

While my eagerness to explore will never end, covering every nook and cranny in the San Gabriel Mountains has never felt rushed.

I’m in a comfortable spot leaving room for discovery and the fact that I’ve never ridden up to Mount Gleason has only bothered me to a tiny degree.

You can see it riding up Angeles Forest Highway and have gotten a better view of it going up to Pacifico Mountain which I’ve done a few times.

The Station Fire of 2009 was the largest in our county’s history, but no spot marks it’s permanence more than Mount Gleason as Camp 16 completely wiped out below as well as taking the lives of two firefighters in the area.

There’s a little trepidation crossing sacred ground, but my friend Hamish’s invitation to ride up there timely filled a void where my rides of epicness was lacking.

My San Diego Killer B cohorts (Bill and Babak) came along and after meeting at the Shell Station at the bottom of Highway 2, we were off!

The ride up to Clear Creek is good enough for a day’s work, but we were just getting started.

Angeles Forest Highway offers more false pacelines than fast flats.

Either shoe problems or Hamish is trying to take off a few grams.

Mill Creek Summit is your last chance at water before Gleason. Footwear not included.

The other side of Angeles Forest Highway is metal.

The road up to Gleason is paved and is in good enough condition that road bikes are perfectly fine.

Ghosts….

This road surprised me the more we climbed as road formations introduced themselves.

Looking north into a valley I’ve never laid eyes on before.

It lasts longer.

The memorial at Camp 16.

It still contains memories.

How did we run into Max Duck and friends in all places? I don’t know, but he encourage us to finish the climb to Gleason which he called at being a ten minute climb. He was right that at least ten minutes was involved.