Status of 2024 AC100

INTRODUCTION

The 2024 AC100 course will be the same as the 2023 AC100 Course.  Chantry Flats area remains closed due to ongoing major repairs to the Upper Winter Creek Trails and lower Santa Anita Canyon Trails.  The problem is the Bobcat Fire severely damaged the vegetation that retained the canyon drainage after a heavy winter storm.  After a big winter rainfall, large trees were dislodged and tossed like toothpicks in the deep canyon.  I don’t expect access to the Chantry area again, any time soon.  Luckily, we have access to Mt Wilson via both Gabrielino and Kenyon Devore Trail which provide a very challenging course, replacing Chantry.

The basic plan for 2024 AC100 is to finish in Altadena via Kenyon/Devore Trail to the top of Mt Wilson, bypassing Chantry. The race will pass through Shortcut and go on the Edison Road to Newcomb Saddle East but after Newcomb Saddle East, it will go on the Rincon-Redbox Road through West Fork Campground to Redbox, from Redbox it will take GabrielinoTrail to the Kenyon/Devore Trailhead on the Gabrielino Trail and take the Kenyon/Devore Trail to the top of Mt Wilson and to Idlehour, Sam Merrill, Millard and Loma Alta Park in Altadena. There is a GPX file and Google Earth map you can download as well as an interactive map on the website. Newcomb Saddle has been moved 2 miles east on the Rincon Redbox Road in order to make the course 100 miles, hence it is called Newcomb Saddle East.

Several runners and volunteers have asked for a map to drive from 210 Freeway/Angeles Crest Hwy (ACH) Hwy 2 to Shortcut Saddle and any Hwy Closures There are three sets of maps on the AC100 website under “Info” (at the bottom) under “Hwy Closure/Bypass Routes”:

1. Driving from Vincent Gap to Islip Saddle bypassing the ACH closure between VG and IS.  This map is primarily for runner’s crew that want to drive from VG to IS during the race, if ACH is closed between VG and IS on race weekend. 
2. Driving from Shortcut Saddle to Redbox or the Finish Line in Loma Alta Park, if ACH is closed between Big Tujunga Canyon Road and Mt Wilson.
3. Driving from 210/ACH to Shortcut Saddle.

DISCUSSION

The Angeles National Forest (ANF) currently has two Hwy 2 closures: 

1. The gate on Hwy 2 is closed between Redbox and Big Tujunga Canyon Road (2 miles west of Shortcut Saddle).
2. The gate is closed at Vincent Gap and Islip Saddle.

The Hwy 2 closure near Chilao has been completely repaired so Shortcut, Chilao, Mt Hillyer, 3 Points, Cloudburst, Eagles Roost, and Islip Saddle are now accessible via the Upper Big Tujunga Canyon Road (UBTCR) that accesses Hwy 2, several miles west of Shortcut.

We can access Inspiration Point and Vincent Gap via Hwy 2 from Wrightwood as we have in the past.  And we always had access to Redbox, Mt Wilson, Idlehour, Sam Merrill, Millard, and Finish.

The issue was access to SC, Chilao, MH, 3Pts, CB, ER, and IS.  When Cal Trans recently repaired Hwy 2 near Chilao and opened the gate at UBTCR half a mile west of SC, it opened a large section of Hwy 2 that has been closed since the 2023 winter storms.

After the 2023 winter storms in the ANF, there were three Hwy 2 closures: 

1.  Locked gates between RB and SC for Redbox Hwy 2 damage.
2.  Locked gates near Chilao for the Chilao Hwy 2 damage. 
3.  Locked gate at VG and IS for VG/IS Hwy 2 damage.

The Chilao Hwy 2 damage was the most severe damage with major structural highway damage that required a new drainage system to be installed under the new highway which has been completely repaired.  As a result of the repair, the gates between UBTCR and IS have been opened.

The Redbox Hwy 2 damage isn’t a major problem and the gates on Hwy 2 remains locked at RB and west of BTCR.  The highway in the immediate area is not damaged.  The problem is, there is a very large wooden/steel retaining wall that is backfilled with lots of loose rock and debris that needs to be removed and was initially scheduled to be fixed in November 2023 timeframe but was delayed to fix the Chilao problem.  Fixing the Chilao problem opened the entire ANF to the public!

The VG/IS damage to Hwy 2 is a problem and the gates are locked at VG and IS.  Large boulders (the size of cars) fell on the highway and severely damaged the surface of the highway.  The large boulders have been removed and the surface of the highway is being repaired.  The basic structure of the highway is intact.  Cal Trans is in the process of repairing the damaged area and resurfacing the damaged area.

CONCLUSION

As of today, we can access all of the aid station areas fairly easily:

• IP and VG is accessible via Hwy 2 from WW.
• SC, Chilao, MH, 3Pts, CB, ER, IS is accessible via UBTCR. 
• RB, Mt Wilson, Idlehour, SM, Millard and Finish are accessible as they always have been.

The big challenge for the 2024 AC100 will be for the runner’s crew to follow their runners after they leave VG, if ACH is closed between VG and IS.  Once the runner leaves VG for IS, runners crew will have a challenging high desert drive of an hour plus to drive to the UBTCR to reach Hwy 2 again, several miles west of SC, then drive to IS.  

This isn’t the first time we have had a closure between VG and IS. But this is the first time we had two highway closures.

However, there is no damage to the highway at the RB closure, so there is a good chance the problem at the RB will be fixed by 2024 race weekend.  

CalTrans’s plan was to fix Chilao highway damage first (which was a huge task), so now the public has access to the entire ANF, be it with some “workarounds”. Then fix the VG/IS highway damage next (which they are actively doing now).  And fix the RB area last (which is the easiest problem to fix).

This is the status of the 2024 AC100, as of today as we wait for the 2024 winter storms to clear.

The bottom line is “as of today”, we can put on the 2024 AC100.