Community Corner

Remembering Eaton Canyon Hiker (Guest Column)

A friend of hiker John Jutiyasantayanon, who fell to his death in Eaton Canyon in Aug. 6, remembers his life and recounts the search for answers about his death that led her and John's family back to the Eaton Canyon waterfalls.

This is a guest column written by Cathryn De Guzman, a San Gabriel resident and recent Cal Poly Pomona graduate who was a close friend of a hiker who earlier this month.

John Jutiyasantayanon recently graduated from Cal Poly Pomona with a Bachelors of Science in Electrical Engineering and became a nuclear engineer at San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station. He was full of life and excited to be living on his own.

He had just moved into his first apartment at Laguna Niguel and was thankful to finally be starting his engineering career.

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John had a good heart, beautiful smile and amazing spirit. With John’s first paycheck, he wanted to help give a percentage of his salary to his family, in order to help with household expenses.

In addition, after recently choosing to be a Catholic two years ago, and become confirmed, John actively chose to serve Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Montclair as an altar server, where he attended mass every Sunday at 8 a.m.

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John was also a passionate photographer and was taught by his high school friend and life-long mentor, Ronnie Chung. Ronnie says, “Photographers are not hired and paid for their photos, but for their eyes and talent for capturing the beauty of people, places and memorable events.” John had a true gift and talent for capturing beauty through his photos and was an enjoyable person and photographer to be around.                 

John appreciated not only beauty and photography but also the gift of life. Although he loved photography and always tried to capture marvelous shots with his camera, John respected his life and the lives of others. He would never put his life or the lives of others in danger. John was always careful and never negligent on warning signs or dangerous habits. He never picked up his cell phone while driving nor did he text while driving, something that most drivers cannot relate to.

Always Prepared

He always came prepared with a first aid kit in his backpack and a Band-Aid in his wallet. John’s personality of being careful and safe is one that all of his family and friends can always recall.

John’s tragic fall on Saturday, Aug. 6, at Eaton Canyon came as a shock to all of his loved ones. We were all in disbelief as we found out he had fallen off a “deer trail” while hiking up to the second waterfall with a female friend.

John would have never chosen to hike a dangerous path if it did not look safe and had warning signs indicating the risks and precautions needed when hiking towards the Razorback Trail.

After many hours spent with the family and friends and trying to understand why this tragic accident happened to John, we (his family and friends) decided to hike the same canyon and trail John hiked, the week following his death.

At the canyon, we were able to find a hiker who was there at the time John fell, and she showed us where John had fallen from and how to enter that trail. Unfortunately, it was too easy for us to find Internet forums on “How to Enter Razorback trail at Eaton Canyon” and “How to Get to Eaton Canyon’s Second Waterfall” through our smart phones and reviews that past hikers post on networking sites such as Yelp.

Many of the reviews are helpful and warn about the dangers of entering the trail, but others make hiking the trail sound like they are entering Disneyland and that the hike and risks are well worth the waterfall at the end.                

The female friend, who accompanied John the day of the incident, stated that she and John climbed to the top of the cliff and walked through a narrow, steep ridge. When John felt it was unsafe, they both turned around to walk back towards the entrance they had climbed.

However, as they were walking back, she says that either John slipped or the ground crumbled under him, causing him to slide off the cliff to his death.

Too Many Rescues

Most people do not understand that although there were many successful hikes to the second waterfall in the past, as indicated through personal stories found on online hiking forums, it does not mean that the next hike will be successful. There have been many airlift rescues this summer alone, where people have gotten stuck on the cliff and needed to be rescued.

Just a week prior to John’s fall, . With the large number of search and rescues Pasadena and Altadena firefighters conduct on a day-to-day basis, it makes one wonder why these “deer trails” have not been closed off yet?

Although the entrance to Razorback Trail is not one that is man-made, the truth is, it doesn’t matter if it is or not. What matters is that this trail is becoming more popular and more dangerous as the rocks and boulders that were once secure are now brittle and weak due to rain and sun.

Many people are misinformed about the dangers of this hike, and with no signs posted around the entrance of the trail, many people will continue to get hurt, or worse, die.

The deaths of John and Erwin were not only a tragedy but also ones that were preventable. I hope that someone of authority with good moral judgment can make the right decision and close off the entrance leading to the second waterfall. Warning signs notifying the public of the trail’s dangers will help those who are unaware and misinformed by other people and sources.

The trail leading to the second waterfall is not intended for human recreation, and people have gotten hurt and died on that trail. Although John and Erwin were taken from us too young and too soon, their deaths should be a reminder of the dangers of this “deer trail” and that government action needs to be taken before another loved one’s family has to bury one of their own, too.

John was a wonderful son, brother and friend. He will be missed greatly, and the memories he has given to his loved ones will be remembered in our hearts forever. Thank you for being one of my best friends, John. May you rest in peace and continue to capture all the happy memories of your family and friends with your camera in Heaven. We love you, now and forever.


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