Trash heaps and wild parties: Blight invades a beloved L.A. escape

Moises Rivera and Marisol Medina had a clear vision in mind when they began their summer excursion in the mountains above blistering Los Angeles recently — and that vision definitely included a cooling dip in the East Fork of the San Gabriel River. “It’s disturbing.” Moises Rivera and Marisol Medina encountered a harsh reality when they visited the popular East Fork of the San Gabriel River last week — piles of trash left by visitors. A discarded float toy greets visitors wading into the water at the East Fork of the San Gabriel River in San Gabriel Mountains National Monument last week. “Visitors could help,” he added, “by not throwing trash down on the ground.” East Fork Road and California 39, the winding mountain highway that provides the only access to Crystal Lake and other recreational areas north of the East Fork, are patrolled by Forest Service rangers, the California Highway Patrol, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, firefighters and Caltrans crews. “We’re very concerned about an obvious lack of law enforcement and maintenance at the monument,” said Mark Stanley, executive officer of the state San Gabriel and Lower Los Angeles Rivers and Mountains Conservancy.