In the Field: Photo Blog by Richard Wong

Photography field reports by Richard Wong. Richard’s work has been published in magazines, books, advertising, and offers fine art prints of his work. Images may be licensed as rights-managed stock photos by contacting Richard directly at Richard@rwongphoto.com or (626) 422-6151. California stock photography, fine art prints, photo blog: www.rwongphoto.com

Monrovia Canyon Falls

Posted on | February 2, 2008 | 6 Comments

It’s amazing to spend so many years in an area and still be able to discover new places to photograph. Monrovia Canyon Falls is about ten miles from my house and I hadn’t heard of it before today. I actually intended to photograph another waterfall but stumbled upon this one while looking up trail info on a local hiking website. My cousin lives down the street from the Monrovia Canyon so I called to see if he wanted to join me. He wasn’t home but was surprised to find out about the waterfall too.

Monrovia Canyon Falls, San Gabriel Mountains, California Monrovia Canyon Falls, San Gabriel Mountains, California

The waterfall is located inside of Monrovia Canyon Park so it costs $5 to park. Not bad at all because it is quite a scenic place to hike or picnic. The hike itself to the waterfall is relatively easy compared to most hikes in the San Gabriel Mountains because it isn’t high altitude and nor does it require dangerous stream crossings to access. It is a short trail; about a 3/4 mile hike though mostly uphill so I saw several people having a tough time. However, those folks clearly looked out of shape so take this with a grain of salt. It was funny. One lady heading up the trail (near the beginning) with her kids stopped to ask me how much further it would be. “About 15 minutes. It’s not that bad.” Then she had a look of horror on her face after I said that.

When I first got to the waterfall it was overcast so I took a few photos. The sun burst through within a few minutes so a lot of my images had harsh lighting. As a result, I waited nearly two hours for the sun to dip behind the canyon walls before I finished up shooting pictures, this photo included.

Probably the most eventful thing that happened today was after I got back to the car. This family apparently had just gotten into a dispute so their son stomped off in anger with the dad hot on his heels. The rest of them drove off afterwards. As I drove down the road a few minutes later, I found it blocked off with cops and the family. The son then re-appeared and accused the dad of punching him then proceeded to say he wasn’t armed. I on the other hand was more worried about making it home alive and wasn’t going to take his word for it so I kept my eye on the rear-view mirror. The cops handcuffed the kid without further incident so I let out a sigh of relief. The family should have gone to the waterfall. Nature is good for relieving stress. :-)

See more of my San Gabriel Mountains photos.

Category: San Gabriel Mountains
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Comments

6 Responses to “Monrovia Canyon Falls”

  1. Anonymous
    February 3rd, 2008 @ 8:04 pm

    Hey Richard,

    What a cool spot! I have never been there. Crazy story at the end of day.

    Ron

  2. Richard
    February 3rd, 2008 @ 8:58 pm

    Thanks Ron. Monrovia has some crazy stuff going on in general so that definetely weighed in on my mind.

  3. Anonymous
    February 4th, 2008 @ 7:08 am

    Hi Richard,

    Nice shot! It’s great that you are discovering new places to photograph, right in your own backyard!

    We have lived here in Auburn 20+ years and we have done a lot of exploring and discovering. But, there is still so much we haven’t seen.

    Sherri

  4. Richard
    February 5th, 2008 @ 12:02 am

    Thanks Sherri. It definetely gets more difficult to keep it fresh as time goes on but with an open mind then anything is possible.

  5. Al Quackenbush
    February 8th, 2008 @ 12:03 am

    Great find, Richard! I am definitely going to have to take a trek up there now. I had no idea such a beautiful waterfall was there. Love the story, too. I realize it was a bit scary for you, but you told it so well!

  6. Richard Wong
    February 8th, 2008 @ 9:33 am

    Thanks Al. if you want to meet up there, let me know.

    i knew something was suspicious abouot the situation as I was walking past them because the kid was shirtless and everyone else in the picnic area was staring at them.

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