Date: 2/4/26 1:04 pm From: Kimball Garrett via groups.io <cyanolyca818...> Subject: [LACoBirds] Road openings on the north slope of the San Gabriels
Birders,
You may be aware there were numerous road closures in the San Gabriel Mts. and Antelope Valley after the heavy rains in late December.
While the Angeles Crest Hwy remains closed west from Big Pines (I believe the closure at the west end is at Santa Clara Divide Rd.), the Big Pines Highway is now open and accessible through Valyermo Rd., Bob's Gap Rd., or Largo Vista Rd.(all of which had been closed for some periods after the rains).
Table Mountain Road is also open (as is Hwy 2 east to Wrightwood and Hwy 138). [A note to Atlasers who may visit Table Mtn, -- the campground itself is in a different Atlas Block (Mescal Creek SW) than the "Angeles NF--Table Mountain" hotspot, the pin for which is barely within Mescal Creek SE. The hotspot includes most of the parking lot and disc golf course and the buildings and trails to the east, but not the campground (which is where most birders go). Create a personal location for the campground, or preferably use the new Atlas hotspot once it is created (and named something like "Angeles NF--Table Mtn.Campground (CA Atlas--Mescal Creek SW)."
Big Rock Creek Road remains closed. Farther west, Mt. Emma Road is closed between Cheseboro Rd. and 87th Street East because of flood damage at the Little Rock Creek crossing.
Most of the road closures on the floor of the Antelope Valley appear to have expired (e.g., Palmdale Blvd. at Little Rock Creek wash was badly flooded but now open); however, Ave T at Big Rock Creek wash was still closed as of last week.
One minor bird note from the north slope -- yesterday (3 Feb) there were at least 12 Lewis's Woodpeckers at Mile Hi (Big Pines Hwy at Largo Vista); I imagine a thorough scan of the vast numbers of bare, burned trees in that area would yield even higher counts.
