Eaton Canyon Cleanup

[sonnylawrence]

Please help clean up graffiti and trash from Eaton Canyon. It is a MESS. The Coalition of American Canyoneers (CAC) in conjunction with the Angeles National Forest is having a canyon cleanup event. We will boldly remove trash and graffiti from the lower third of the technical canyon to the Pinecrest Bridge! The event will be held on Saturday, August 23, 2014. We need at least 25 people to assist. More participants would be merrier. There are various tasks to be performed, just to name a few: rigging ropes, hauling sand/mud, operating communications, scene safety, hauling water, chipping and scraping paint, raising gear above waterfalls. Come have fun, get dirty, play with all the gear and toys and make a difference. Enjoy the company of others who feel the same way you do. CAC will buy the pizza at a get together afterward.
Please email your intent to attend at eaton.cac.cleanup@gmail.com or call Sonny Lawrence at 909 DOT 255 DOT 6036. If you are unable to attend, please donate money to the cause. And of course while you are at it, please join CAC. It

[sonnylawrence]

The Eaton Canyon graffiti and trash cleanup project is gaining momentum. We have had quite a few sign up already. Plus, get this! Alpine Training Services, Five Ten and REI are sponsoring the event. We will have discount coupons, freebies and some raffle prizes for the pizza party at the end of the day. Meanwhile two SoCal technical rescue teams are requesting from their supervisors to be able to officially participate. Please come join us. Send your name to eaton.cac.cleanup@gmail.com. We are geared up to accommodate many volunteers. Take pride and have fun cleaning up the San Gabs finest canyon.

[Deathcricket]

Who is manning the laser?

[dougr]

I hope I'm in l.a. that weekend. Would love to help. Should I sign up on a contingency basis or hold off?

[Rick Demarest]

DC: The original sand blaster plan has changed. It can not reach to where the graffiti is really bad. Plus there were some other logistical problems. One major complaint is that sand blasting cleans the slate for future taggers to have at it. Instead we will be chipping the graffiti and then covering it with a sand/mud mix. The rough surface discourages future tagging. Also, instead of just the mouth of the canyon, we are taking on the whole thing.

dougr: Please sign up. It's fine to come for a short time. Any amount of help is appreciated.

The clean-up event is slated for August 23rd and will be conducted under a special use permit, allowing us to enter the closed area to do graffiti and trash removal. If you'd like to help with this event, please email eaton.cac.cleanup@gmail.com with your name and contact information.

[Steevo]

So, does this special use permit allow one to drive a vehicle up to the campground along the Wilson Toll Road, cause that would be cool if there was no hike to the top of the canyon?

[Rick Demarest]

So, does this special use permit allow one to drive a vehicle up to the campground along the Wilson Toll Road, cause that would be cool if there was no hike to the top of the canyon?

No, it's to access the area that will be closed on August 1st - the Razorback trail. Since it's officially closed it takes a special use permit to enter the area. We will be working in the lower third of the technical canyon.

[Rick Demarest]

Eaton Canyon Cleanup Day

The Coalition of American Canyoneers in conjunction with the San Bernardino Cave and Technical Rescue Team, Altadena Mountain Rescue Team, and the Angeles National Forest performed a canyon cleanup event on August 23rd, 2014. More than 60 volunteers from as far away as Arizona, picked up trash and cleaned graffiti from the canyon walls. Using hammers and chisels, the graffiti was painstakingly chipped from the rock surface. Afterwards, the rock was painted with a thin coating of mud, and a dusting of fine sand from the nearby stream bed using a technique that has proven successful in other outdoor areas. In this way, the tagger's "canvas" was made less attractive, hopefully decreasing the graffiti in the future. Since the mud will last only a couple years, the team will be at it again to help preserve this jewel of the San Gabriels.

A second cleanup day is scheduled for October 25, 2014.

Photos by Brian Olliver: http://www.americancanyoneers.org/so...cleanup-day-1/

[jman]

wow! That place is...err...was... a mess!

It boggles my mind why people think of "well...I'm going to to this waterfall....let's see I'll need some water, a few snacks...but most importantly...my spray! Oh, and if I have time...maybe my .45 to shoot at the nearby petroglyphs as well".

Some people just like to see to see the world burn.

Anyway.........

Congrats guys on a successful cleanup.

[ratagonia]

Good job guys. Thanks for doing this service.

Tom

[Eric Holden]

Great job! Wish I could have made it. Now we just need a way to legally descend the canyon and check out all the hard work first hand!

[Rick Demarest]

Great job! Wish I could have made it. Now we just need a way to legally descend the canyon and check out all the hard work first hand!

Eric,
CAC is still in conversation with the Forest Service about creating a special use permit for descending Eaton. This is a slow process, but so far all signs are in a positive direction. We also understand that this will not be the last canyon to warrant a solution. Many of the canyons in high population areas are facing similar closures due to dangerous user created trails and graffiti/trash issues. Although this cleanup effort was organized before the closure issue became known, following through and working with the FS has proven to be an excellent way to show our desire to be good stewards and work with land managers to maintain access for canyoneering.

Another Eaton Canyon cleanup day is set for October 25, 2014

[sonnylawrence]

Please help finish the graffiti clean up in Eaton Canyon. In August 70 people did a great job. But there is more to do. The Coalition of American Canyoneers (CAC) www.americancanyoneers.org, in conjunction with the Angeles National Forest, Altadena Mountain Rescue Team and San Bernardino Cave and Technical Rescue Team, is having a second canyon cleanup event. We will be using cement mortar to “paint” over graffiti. The event will be held on Saturday, October 25, 2014. We need at least 20 people to assist. They will carry dry mortar up the Razorback trail. Some will cover graffiti above the last waterfall. Some will continue upstream to the base of the second to last waterfall.
Please email your intent to attend at eaton.canyon@americancanyoneers.org. If you are unable to attend, please donate money to the cause. And of course while you are at it, please join CAC. It’s free.

[Rick Demarest]

Eaton Canyon Graffiti Cleanup - Round 2

The Coalition of American Canyoneers sponsored the second Eaton Canyon cleanup on Saturday, October 25. Twenty-five people attended, split into two teams. One team descended the entire canyon. The second ascended from the bottom until they met the first.

There are many ways to deal with graffiti. None are great and each has a trade off. One aspect of the process is to end up with a "graffiti canvas" that is less appealing to the tagger. Rough surfaces don't seem to acquire as much graffiti as smooth, so by painting on cement and then throwing dirt/sand on it, the canvas is not as attractive. However, the smooth, hard granite does not lend itself to cement sticking very well. In August, we tried chipping the rock with hammers, but that proved to be physically demanding work and we did not make much headway. This time the focus was on covering the graffiti with a mixture of Portland cement and sand. By comparison, we covered a huge amount of territory on the second cleanup.

However, there is still much more in the canyon. At some point in the future, CAC will schedule a third event. For that one, we will need at least 25 people to ascend from the bottom and finish the job.

Thank you to everyone who attended. You are great ambassadors for Eaton Canyon and canyoneering. For those of you would like to help with this and other projects in the future, please join the Coalition of American Canyoneers. It is free.
http://www.americancanyoneers.org/join-now/

Donations to help us cover the cost of materials are always welcome.
http://www.americancanyoneers.org/donate/

[hank moon]

Great work in Eaton Canyon! Thank you Sonny Lawrence and all 25 de-ffiti artists who did a canyon makeover last Saturday. An amazing result.