Sturtevant Falls Hike with Snoopy

Boy oh boy did I wear Snoopy out on Saturday! I brought him along with me to hike about 3.5 miles in the San Gabriel Mountains near Sierra Madre. We met my friend, Julie, and her two girls, managed to secure the most perfect parking space near the trailhead, and started our adventure to Sturtevant Falls. There were a lot of people and dogs on the hike, as it is a very popular trail. I spoiled Snoopy and let him off leash for much of the hike. He loved exploring and generally stayed pretty close to us. He also loved running through the stream and even laying down in it to cool off.

Snoopy Resting on the Trail

When we got to the falls, I took Snoopy’s backpack off of him and let him go swimming. Another dog owner had a tennis ball that he let me throw in the water again and again for Snoopy to retrieve (the other dog owner’s giant German Shepherd refused to swim to the ball and spent the entire time standing chest deep in the water crying!).

Snoopy Swimming

Snoopy and Me at Sturtevant Falls

On our hike back to the trailhead, we saw a huge rattlesnake cross the trail right in front of us (luckily, Snoopy was on the leash then)! We also saw a bear cub eating lunch near the stream (again, luckily Snoopy was on the leash then, too)! I’ve seen a few rattlers hiking in SoCal before and I’ve seen bears in the Sierras, but I’ve never seen a bear hiking so close to LA. It was pretty cool!

Bear!