Stories from the 2025 San Gabriel Sheep Survey (Census)
San Gabriel Sheep Survey 2025
“It is the pleasure and the pain that makes us do it all again. “-Stuart Leslie Goddard
By David M’Greene
Once more, we were thwarted by circumstance. The 2025 Bighorn Sheep Survey is in the books, and the numbers were not great. Snow in some places, fog and rain in others. Whomever it is that is picking the dates every year, should have someone else help by randomly adding or subtracting a week to the selected date next year. Now don't get me wrong, I love that we have continued to beat our heads into the mountain side in an effort to have a successful, helicopter backed survey. But I am a glutton for punishments both earthly and otherwise, so of course I love it. I mean, who would I be without my suffering? Now, let me tell you about my 2025 Sheep Survey effort.
For those of us involved, the planning started months ahead of the actual survey. There was actually a concern that The Survey would not occur. SCBS Board Member Arioch M'Greene very passionately argued that the survey has for The Society always been a small fundraiser, and also a great source of new volunteers and members. SCBS Board Member Marty Ambrose added to this sentiment by reminding The Board, that he, like Arioch, was also now involved as result of having participated in The Survey years past. There were concerns about forest closures due to the recent wildfires, concerns about Group Leaders that were injured and recovering from life's events, and of course about what the weather would be. As the assigned leader for Deer and Day Canyons, I had additional concerns about how the storms had changed the topography over the past year, and also about whether my key to open the Cucamonga Water District gates would still work. I scheduled my scouting/trail clearing trip for Sunday, February the 23rd of 2025. That would give me an extra Saturday right before The Survey if additional hacking was necessary. A perfect plan! Attention to details!
I don't know what it is about this year, but it seems like just about every weekend thus far has had some event. And so, despite my best intentions, I did not get the chainsaw out of the shed until the night before I was to go scout. It was right where Arioch had left it. Two years ago when he moved to Monterey. For sure it would start right up. All I had to do was replace the worn out chain, scrape all the dried debris out of it, and oh yeah, disassemble and overhaul the carburetor. For good measure, I cleaned and re-gapped the spark plug. Pretty sure it started on the first pull. Well, mostly sure. My wife is saying something. Fine. It took a bit more than a few pulls.
Up and at them early on the 23rd! So begins the journey to adventure. My wife told me to be careful and away I went. Piled in the Crown Vic was my "has everything" backpack, a chainsaw that now starts within three pulls (maybe four.), a titanium bladed set of hedging shears, gloves and the will to put it all to use. It was early and the drive to Rancho Cucamonga on the 210 took less than twenty minutes. I was off to a great start! Nothing could stop me now. I would be warming up my MRE and watching the Bighorn by noon. I had a small moment of holding my breath while I unlocked the first gate, but the key went in with ease and the gate lock puzzle was removed in under eight minutes. I took a moment to examine a coyote trap that was set up at the first gate. It contained food and water and it had a sun cover. But no animal had fallen for it. I jumped back into the Crown Vic and headed for the second gate. The second gate only had a regular padlock on it, so not too much time was lost in getting through that gate, but......
At the second gate, now locked behind me, the Crown Vic would not restart. I had a very serious conversation with God at this location. For quite some time, I have had an electrical gremlin having to do with my installation of a thirty dollar aftermarket MAF sensor instead of a one hundred sixty dollar Ford Motorcraft one. Now for the most part, it works fine. Except for when it suddenly decides to throw a host of codes that make no sense and require clearing for the car to run correctly. On some occasions, like this special day, the car continues to act up and gives unreliable throttle response. Now, I did spend a moment or two thinking about going home rather than continuing to drive up to where we would typically park. I rationalized to myself, I am practically there, and there is only one really tough off road hill to climb. After that one climb, it is all scenic mountain views and sunshine. I was not worried about getting home from the parking spot because it is all steep downhill. I just needed to make it to the parking spot. Technically, I did make it to the parking spot. There were only a couple of issues along the way. At the steepest part of the climb, as you thread through a narrow corridor into a blind left turn, the car started to act up. I had no choice but to stomp on the gas as this was not a place to lose traction in a two wheel drive Crown Vic. As I rounded the turn, I could see where up ahead a large anvil shaped rock had fallen and was now blocking the road way. Expert off-road driver that I am, I quickly did the math and recognized where I could get the car around the anvil without letting go of the gas. It was a climb to glory! And then I saw the rock that the right front tire was going to hit. I figured there would be a jolt as I went up and over it. But what there really was, was a push through the frame that sent the left rear torquing to the left. The nose of the anvil somehow missed the fender flare and hit the top of the tire. I heard the explosion of air rushing out the sidewall and could only stay on the gas until I got to the next section flat enough to stop on. Oh, I forgot a detail. I had just replaced the rear BF Goodrich KO2 tires two weeks ago. By the time I finished changing the now destroyed tire, the morning temperature was in the eighties and the sun was glaring.
I began my hike up to elevation thinking about how this was my first time ever, going on a decade of this, that I was not here in snow or rain. What a difference. I made excellent time to the abandoned and unmaintained truck trail that runs parallel with the wilderness boundary. Last year, this was under two feet of snow. This year, the sun was baking me. The road I had used to get the volunteers up to the aptly named Calamity Canyon last year, was in no condition for me to try that again this year. So, I knew there would be some extra time spent on a longer hike. Clearing the trail of the overgrown white thorn and yucca was a slow process. It took me almost four hours to clear a three quarter mile path to where next week's volunteers would be able to enter the wilderness and the start of the tough part of the hike. I did not break last year's record, but close enough. Having my lunch a few hours late, above the wilderness line, I marveled at how much water I had used. The heat, even at over seven thousand feet, was in the high eighties! I thought that this might be the first time in over a decade where we have excellent visibility and the helicopter would be able to be airborne while we were at the actual viewing area. With high spirits, I packed it up and started my descent back to the Crown Vic. I only fell once. It was at the end of the path I had just cut right at the Nestle Corp. vault. I got tangled up in some branches on rocks and went down. Hero that I am, I made no effort to save Arioch's chainsaw. It landed a few feet below me and seemed fine until I realized I had broken off the trigger safety. Despite my efforts, I could not find where the parts had landed. I spent an additional few moments clearing the obstacle that had taken me down. Does it count if there is no one else to see?
On the Tuesday before the orientation for the Sheep Survey, I was asked to give the safety brief. I was told there would be a guideline/powerpoint of sorts for me to follow. I agreed. I love to talk. And I know everyone loves my sense of humor. Except for Sister Barbara and her nuns. They don't get it. But I already wrote about that in another story. Anyway, Steve Marschke or Jeff Villapique have done the safety brief in the past, but this year, everyone is busier than usual. I appreciate being involved and I really did want to help. I was very excited to be able to tell people about proper footwear. I don't think I will ever get over the CSUN students that showed up in sneakers and thought they would be fine in eleven inches of snow. Then I got to lecture about the merits of the battle buddy system and how you should never leave someone behind. Because, yeah, that happened one year too. Despite the short notice, the brief went well enough and I got a few laughs. Next year will be smoother because Arioch has assured me he will help me create a new powerpoint this July. Naturally, I took notes on what worked, and what did not. With some careful crafting I will get next year's brief to almost fit in the allocated time. And I have a special someone from The Forest Service that has unknowingly invited me to work on the improvements.
If you have not heard, the orientation went well. I know we had over one hundred volunteers. There was a moment or two of Governmental resistance from one of the participating agencies, but with polish, charm, and persistence we worked our way around it. SCBS made a bit more than four hundred dollars selling t-shirts and caps. I know that Debbie, Arioch and I had several conversations with volunteers, Fish and Wildlife personnel, and a few Forest Service members while playing the video of our past exploits that David Hawxhurst had made for me for these recruitment events. The helicopter schedule was announced and volunteers picked which location they wanted to go survey. There was some concern about a storm coming in. But that was a problem for tomorrow.
Sadly, when tomorrow came, my beloved Deer Canyon was filled with clouds that offered about forty feet of visibility. How could this happen? Just one week ago, I had been in the glaring sunshine wondering if I had brought enough water. Now I was looking up at where I thought Cucamonga Peak was. From under an umbrella! My intrepid volunteers were lamenting beside me. My son Arioch. He drove down from Monterey for this. He had brought his girlfriend Lauren Hearn with him. Not wanting to be like the CSUN students, she had bought new hiking boots for this. I had two rugged looking new guys, Jacob Marmon, and Brian Rhoades. They were both from Montana, but had not come together. Small world and all that. Jacob had driven from Atascadero for crying out loud! Brian was down from Apple Valley. And then there was my SCBS colleague Erich Steiner. Erich is a neighbor of mine from Glendora. He was here for what he had heard to be a brutal hike. Oh Erich. I have taken him to build new systems, repair old systems, and now this. It is almost like I am trying to get rid of him! We stood inside the Cucamonga Water District gate for almost an hour. We chit chatted and kept looking up towards where we were supposed to be. I thanked them for being there and I told them about the year I got texts from the jeep guys that were not going to come because it was drizzling and they did not want to get their jeeps dirty. The rain only got harder and the clouds only became more dense. I proposed trying to run to Lytle Creek to join another group, but after an hour of watching the weather, and after Brian shared what he had seen while coming down the Cajon, I think we all knew the writing on the wall revealed this year was a bust. I had received a text informing me the helicopter was a no go and not to wait for it. As if. We said our goodbyes and I really do hope to see these guys next year. The Montana guys looked like they could hike and they were definitely outdoorsmen. I wonder if I would have slowed them down?
In conclusion, thanks to this event, I did finally order the expensive and correct MAF sensor. You know, to compliment the replacement tire. I have noticed a boost in fuel economy. So a win. I think my learning curve is improving. Well, one thing I know for sure, next year we are going to get this right and the weather is going to cooperate. See you there for the head banging.
Report for the Middle Fork of Lytle Creek: Steve and I always volunteer to lead the trail group on the Middle Fork of Lytle Creek, but that doesn’t mean it’s become routine or dull. Just as David M’Greene has said, the weather is fickle and unpredictable. You pray for the best, prepare for the worst, and enjoy nature’s interpretive artistry. The Middle Fork never has a problem attracting great volunteer hikers, and despite what nature throws at them, everyone has a good time. When we did our briefing at the Lytle Creek Ranger Station at 8:30 A.M., it was misty and sprinkling. Once we drove up to the trailhead, the clouds were sitting on the peaks with magical wisps blowing down the mountain and wrapping the high points in gauze. It was sunny where I was posted at the trailhead, I honestly thought the helicopter would be flying this time. After an hour or so, the wind began to gust which was a sure tattletale that we were on our own again. A segment of our volunteers reported seeing a few “sheep butts” briefly but it did not constitute an official sighting for the data. I like watching the general public (not our volunteers) set off on a day hike with no provisions and totally inappropriate attire; it’s a wonder we don’t have more of these folks on the five o’clock news! ~ submitted by trail Co-leader Debbie Miller Marschke
Report for Highway 39: On Hwy 39 we had 7 participants and saw a total of 3 rams, a class 2,3, and 4. No fly over, so we hiked out around 9:30 am, according to the plan. .Low visibility on and off. Occasional light drizzle and a few minutes of very light snow. ~ submitted by trail leader Marty Ambrose
Report for Barratt-Stoddard: We had 11 volunteers sign up for the Barratt Stoddard count plus a DFW volunteer to shuttle us to the trailhead. With the Baldy trail closed this trail has become a popular hike. Several of us camped at the turnoff and there were hikers passing by at 4:30 in the morning. The weather cooperated until we reached our destination and then the clouds engulfed us. By 10am we had enough rain and cold to call it a day, we knew there was no way the helicopter was going to be able to fly. It was an enjoyable hike and they make good Bloody Mary's at the Baldy Lodge. Maybe next year. ~ submitted by trail leader John Nelson