Dec 01, 2017 — Park on Big Tujunga Canyon Road and follow the dirt road past a gate to the trailhead. Head up Trail Canyon to Trail Canyon Falls (dry during my visit), and then continue along the progressively deteriorating trail, questioning your life choices the whole way. The trail gets better toward the Condor Peak summit, but with a name like "Trail Canyon", you wouldn't expect to be bushwhacking through thorn bushes and route-finding small sections up the canyon. This would have been much more pleasant if I was wearing more than gym shorts, so I highly recommend wearing lots of clothes. Or body armor.
Once you summit Condor Peak, continue southeast along the ridge to Fox Mountain. The trail down was absolutely stunning and I almost recommend skipping Trail Canyon (my ascent) and enjoying the main Condor Peak Trail (my descent) as an out-and-back. The trails of the San Gabriel Mountains meander around the eroding, sandy mountains and the this lesser-visited trail offers the best of this style of trail construction. Really great viwes the whole way down. Once you reach Big Tujunga Canyon Road, head back a couple of miles along the paved road to the car.
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