Short Hike: Short: 7 Miles, Elevation Gain: 1500 feet
Long Hike: 13 Miles, Elevation Gain: 2800 feet
Trailhead Directions: To get to Mill Creek Summit from the Valley take the Big Tujunga Canyon Road for about 25 miles from the 118. Others can take the Angeles Crest Highway to the Clear Creek junction and then the Angeles Forest Highway to the summit, about 23 miles. The Mill Creek Summit picnic area is clearly identifiable on the right as you reach the summit.
We will sort ourselves according to hike and then drive up the Mount Gleason Road (directly across the street from the picnic area) to the trailheads. The long hikers will be dropped in 2.5 miles at their trailhead, which is the point at which the Pacific Crest Trail crosses Mount Gleason Road. It is clearly marked.
All cars will then proceed 3.7 miles further to the prison camp entrance, which is impossible to miss. We leave the paved road at this point and take the descending dirt road to the left of the prison gate down to the bottom where there is a cleared parking area (1/2 mile). The short hike starts here and both hikes end here.
The Hike: The trails for both long and short hikes are fairly clear and should present no problems. We basiclly hike up and over Mt. Gleason, then descend to Messinger Flat campground. For either hike group it is possible to eliminate the descent from Mount Gleason to the Messenger Flat campground by stopping at the grassy wooded area on the Mount Gleason slope for lunch.
All hikers return the same way they got to Messenger Flat and end up at the short hike trailhead. We will do a headcount there to make sure no one gets left behind. We then return to the Mill Creek Summit picnic area for refreshments.