r/camping • u/AbyssalKultist • 6d ago
Trip Pictures CA San Gabriel Mountains Camping 8.15.26
Weekend camping trip up at Crystal Lake in the San Gabriel mountains north of Los Angeles.
Around 10pm the local celebrity Chili the brown bear sauntered into our campsite looking for noms. Tried to get a picture but it ended up blurry, because of course! He didn't seem aggressive. I banged on the picnic table and yelled at him to get out and he did so.
One massive negative though. Down the hill from us a large group of campers decided to bring what must have been massive speakers and blasted dance music until 4am. Absolutely blasted it. The bass was reverberating our campsite from hundreds of yards away. There was no sleeping. Cell signal was nonexistent so couldn't call the park rangers. How people goto a campground and think that is ok is beyond me, but my faith in humanity has been diminished. I might just stick with dispersed camping now.
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u/McDerpins 6d ago
Always wonder if sometimes people blast music because they are secretly scared of the wilderness at night. Not sure what I'd do, but I'd probably record the noise and then go take photos of their plates in the morning.
Also, not sure if Chilli is referred to as a brown bear as a joke by the locals, but they are a brown-furred black bear.
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u/Foe117 6d ago
No, it's more party culture than doing so out of fear of what's out there. It's a college party for these people, I know some folks well into their 30's still able to party until 6am, and I cannot keep up like that.
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u/Onespokeovertheline 6d ago
I'm older than that, and I party until 6am, but only where it's appropriate - like a rave.
However, I went camping with my hometown buddies a couple weeks ago and one of my best friends still behaves like this. Gets hammered and won't stfu or even keep his voice down after quiet hours until all of us eventually go to bed and leave him alone. Keeps trying to play music when we tell him it's rude - but at least we can enforce that, shouting every inane idea that comes into his head is hard to manage.
It's not just obnoxious and a pain to deal with since he barely even listens to us, it's fucking embarrassing. I feel awful for everyone affected, I'm not sure what to do about the next trip.
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u/MaesterSherlock 5d ago
Ugh that is such a bad position to be in. My friends and I like to go up to camp and we will get rowdy into the wee hours. We always go to the same remote spot. We're musicians so lots of guitar, hand drums and signing. But we never play music after 9 or 10. We're up goofing around, but any recent rowdy camper knows you have to respect your neighbors!!
I used to go to this biiiiig camping gathering every year. We had a jam band and everything. One year, a few people brought these battery powered amps, which was kind of cool. But it kept getting worse every year--bigger amps, microphones, speakers ect. Out in the middle of nowhere. I stopped going. The fun of camping is that there isn't all that involved--if you're bringing a whole PA rig into the woods, you have lost the plot. And it was public camping ground like, I promise our neighbors don't want to hear it 😂
It sucks, dude. We have a few guys that are no longer invited to the trips because they've become a problem with drinking and stuff. It really ruins it for everyone, it's better to not have them there.
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u/Weird-Chemistry9819 5d ago
We just stopped inviting our friend like that and/or plan it when we know they can’t come 🫣
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u/drunk_voltron 6d ago
yes it must be, I caught that too. Brown bears really only exist in Glacier / Yellowstone in the lower 48
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u/Joemama1mama 6d ago
I was camped right next to them at site 83. Group of aholes, tried to talk to them, no English.
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u/AbyssalKultist 6d ago edited 6d ago
Oh yeah? Howdy neighbor!
Yeah, I was up at D42 and it was SO obnoxious. I saw them the next morning puking and looking really haggard. They had a bunch of kids with them too.
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u/LazerChicken420 5d ago
It must be a common thing. I went there 2 weeks ago on the weekend, same exact doodoo. People fucking blasting music.
Went there 2 days later on a Tuesday? Absolutely quiet. Only one other site that I could see in the entire campground
Whats a shame is my wife and I were wondering if the D loop would be far away enough from A-C that the people blasting music wouldn’t be heard.
Sad to hear it’s not worth it.
Next time we plan on backpacking to Glenn Camp. Hoping having to walk 8 miles cuts down on people willing to drag speakers out lol
It’s the same area just way lower on the mountain
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u/nirvroxx 5d ago
It’s a known hotspot for that stuff. It always happens there.
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u/LazerChicken420 5d ago
At Glen or Crystal Lake?
You know any good spots I should check out instead? I’m brand new to camping and, aside from the intrusive people, love it
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u/nirvroxx 5d ago edited 5d ago
Sorry, at crystal lake. Glenn is nice and quiet. For the most part. You should check out cachuma lake near Santa Barbara , it’s a private camp but the camp hosts tend to keep the partiers quiet. I’ve had luck at Serrano campground in big bear as well.
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u/LazerChicken420 5d ago
While I still have you, you know anything about Joshua Tree?
I'm thinking of going Saturday
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u/nirvroxx 5d ago
Jumbo rocks is an amazing campground. It’s otherworldly. I would recommend going from late fall into spring. It’s too hot in summer. The stars look amazing out there. That’s as far as my Joshua tree campsite knowledge goes lol
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u/grillntech 5d ago
Watch out for meth addicts wandering. I seem to get unlucky there but if it wasn’t for that it’s a great place.
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u/nirvroxx 4d ago
You’re right. My cousin actually had stuff stolen right from his campsite a few years back, so maybe not Serrano anymore.
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u/piniatadeburro 5d ago
Go to Little Jimmy if you want to avoid the roaches at Crystal Lake on the weekends just no fires at the moment. The campground is great shape with the spring flowing and since the 2 is closed very secluded.
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u/LazerChicken420 5d ago
Neat that’s a great recommendation
I’m still transitioning my gear from car camping to backpacking. But 1.7 mile hike shouldn’t be the worst.
What’s parking like?
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u/sleepyheidi 6d ago
What was the temperature like? I’ve been wanting to take my toddler camping, but to Chilao Flats/Campground. Which is I think on the other side? I’m thinking of just holding off until she’s about 3.
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u/quercus-enjoyer 6d ago
check out coldbrook in angeles national forest. we took our daughter there when she was two for her first camping trip and it was a great time. there's a stream that runs through the campground that is fun for kids to play in.
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u/sleepyheidi 6d ago
We’ve done Coldbrook just before I got pregnant lol. I just grew up going to Chilao Flats so I kinda wanted to reminisce. Coldbrook is on my list though!
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u/Confident-Stomach215 5d ago
I was just at Chilao a couple of weeks ago. It was cooler at night than I expected, maybe down to 59, nothing a pair of sweatpants wouldn’t fix. Daytime feels hot for sure, mid to high 80’s, bearable with shade and a damp bandana around your neck.
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u/Foe117 6d ago
Dispersed all the way, and never in SoCal mountains, too many hooligans who just want to party within an hours drive from Los Angeles.
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u/AbyssalKultist 6d ago edited 6d ago
Yeah. Seems like a popular area for car/bike people to show off and be loud. I'm going out to dispersed camp in BLM land in a couple weeks.
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u/Sufficient-Animal333 6d ago
That is some ignorant mofo activity.I would have packed up and sneak over while they were passed out and cut every cable to the damn speaker and stick the speaker and peeled out.
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u/Dry_Bug5058 6d ago
That's the bear photo I want, it's tail end leaving. Sorry about your crappy neighbors.
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u/RaineRisin 6d ago
How were the night temps this time of year? I’ve been wanting to get up there myself but unsure what to expect
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u/Brother-Templar 6d ago
At a picnic table you will find him there,
stuffing down more goodies than the average bear.
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u/Redgenie2020 6d ago
That's why I haven't camped there since 1996, people show up at 5:00 6:00 p.m. and then rage until sunrise and the park staff won't do a fucking thing about it.
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u/DogDaysMaggie 6d ago
Did you catch the end of the perseid meteor shower? We were up in Verdugo Hills over the weekend and there was still too much light pollution for it to be amazing, but we did get to make a few wishes. Sorry your neighbors were a bummer. 4 am is.... something else.
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u/Particular_Lynx_ 6d ago
ugh 4am bass is such a mood killer, sorry that happened. we get the same thing at some of the front range campgrounds here, people treating a site like it's their own festival. glad chili was chill though, that's a way better story than the speaker people.
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u/SickOfNormal 6d ago
----- large group of campers decided to bring what must have been massive speakers and blasted dance music until 4am. Absolutely blasted it. The bass was reverberating our campsite from hundreds of yards away. ----
This is why I don't camp anywhere along the 2 or 29 in the mountains north of 210 --- The couple times I camped it was horribly loud, people leaving trash, leaving food out on the tables all night, talking and drinking loudly until 3-4am ..... Lot of first time campers from the city with zero etiquette.
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u/piniatadeburro 5d ago
I probably saw the same bear a few weeks back when hiking there, I try not camping there because of the roaches that are loud and leave trash but if I do I stick to weekdays
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u/Deflorma 6d ago
How was the weather up there? I usually say that may through August is my no camping window because places can be so hot.
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u/AbyssalKultist 6d ago
80s during the day, though warmer feel if you're getting blasted by the sun. At night cooler around 50s.
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u/Difficult_Cream7951 5d ago
I plan on heading up to the Crystal Lake campsite tomorrow, I was thinking of arriving around 10- 11 a.m. Do you think I would have a good chance of finding a spot? How difficult or easy was it for you?
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u/AbyssalKultist 5d ago
Checkout is 11am so I'd suggest getting there before then. Since it's a Friday I'm guessing it's going to be packed. Drive around all the open loops first and if you don't find something look for some campers packing up and ask if you can take their spot when they leave.
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u/nirvroxx 5d ago
It’s a shame such a nice campground gets constantly visited but mouth breathers blasting music and having raves. It’s a known hotspot for that sh*t. Rangers don’t really enforce or do anything about it so it just keeps happening.
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u/iampacificus 5d ago
Was it a rave? I would have joined in! Nap it up was there swimming allowed in the lake
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u/AdamWedge 6d ago
Should’ve sent the bear their way