One of several emergent issues in Altadena is the gate on Pinecrest, which is one of three entrances to Eaton Canyon and the nearby trail systems (the others are an opening at Altadena Drive and Roosevelt, and the entrance to Eaton Canyon proper on Altadena Drive). Popular with hikers and mountain bikers, the Pinecrest gate is the main entrance to the Mt. Wilson Toll Road. The gate is the responsibility of the City of Pasadena, but some residents of the adjoining Altadena neighborhood have keys and handle opening and closing.
The gate is usually locked at sunset, and that has been the source of complaints and ill feelings in recent months. If a hiker or biker is locked out at the gate, they have to hike over to one of the other entrances. While the route is treacherous in the dark, it's particularly bad for mountain bikers, as biking is forbidden in Eaton Canyon.
The Altadena Crest Trail Restoration Working Group and the Concerned Off-Road Bicycling Association (CORBA) have been vocal in their feelings about keeping the trail open, and have lobbied the city of Pasadena and Mayor Bill Bogaard to remove or modify the gate in recent months.
Trail advocate Paul Ayers sent this first-hand report Sunday night that highlights the problems with the locked gate:
My wife and I decided to drive down Christmas Tree Lane tonight and once in Altadena decided to take in the Balian Mansion at Allen and Mendocino. Just because I hadn’t done so in a while I decided to swing past the Pinecrest gate on the Mount Wilson Toll Road which has been the subject of some controversy due to the fact that this public trail head is gated and that the keys to the gate are in the hands of private individuals.
About 5:30 pm we got to the gate and discovered Vivian and her dog trapped behind the gate. In the photo below, Vivian is indicated by the red arrow, her dog by the green arrow and my shoulder by the blue arrow.
Vivian, 24 years old, cried during the entire time I talked to her. She was dressed in a long sleeved t-shirt and running shorts and was already shivering. She said she knew the gate was locked at sunset and thought she was in time but arrived to find the gate locked. I started to explain the other ways to get out of Eaton Canyon but stopped when it became clear she was not up to it. She said she had called 911 and received some vague assurance that someone would come but no one had. I left her and drove directly to the Altadena Sheriff’s station, made my report and was told they would deal with it. I called Vivian back and told her to call me if no one came within the hour. That was thirty minutes ago.
While I believe it wrong to gate a public trail, it is doubly wrong for such a gate to be controlled by private individuals. In circumstances such as this, how are they to be contacted to let people out? It is only a matter of time until someone gets hurt as a result of this stupid, and in my opinion, unlawful arrangement. Once that happens the County, The City of Pasadena and the private gate keepers are going to have innocent blood on their hands and, incidentally, are going to get the beejesus sued out of them.
