Copter Ridge Lateral - Bitterroot Point

 

Another outing with Sean "Cucamonga Man" Green and DavidR to an obscure point in the San Gabriel Range. This time, the goal was Pt. 7,296 at the terminal end of a lateral finger coming off the southeast side of Mt. Hawkins. The USGS topographic maps reference this point simply by its elevation. It apparently has not been formally christened. Because we found Bitterroot growing along the ridgeline, I'm calling the finger Bitterroot Ridge and its related fingernail Bitterroot Point.

Photo courtesy of Sean "Cucamonga Man" Green

The day started at the Windy Gap trailhead in Crystal Lake Recreation Area. A shorter route is possible from Dawson saddle, but with the Angeles Crest Highway closure, this was the only realistic option. I pulled into the spacious parking area at 7 a.m. and was fortunate to get a spot. The lot was crammed full as was the surrounding campground. I've never seen the forests like this. There's people everywhere. And with them has come trash and graffiti and vandalism and break-ins. Every sign post, bathroom, rock, and tree trunk has either been defaced or destroyed. My car has been broken into twice. You can say what you want about increased access, and sling all the insults like "elitist" or "gate-keeper" you want, but objectively the democratization of the outdoors has not been a net positive overall. 

Fortunately, the blue morning was clear and beautiful and as we made the gentle climb away from the huddled masses, we were treated with stunning looks into the Crystal Lake basin. The tread here is in decent shape except a couple of spots that have been washed out by this season's heavy snow melt. About 2.5 miles and 1,800' later, we topped out at the notch where it was refreshingly breezy. They don't call it Windy Gap for nothing.

The path here intersects the Pacific Crest Trail as it traverses the San Gabriel range in an east-west orientation. Just west of this point, the PCT passes by reliable Little Jimmy spring and trail camp before descending to Islip Saddle. This is the route north-bound PCTers follow. We tacked east and followed the PCT against the grain for approximately 2 additional miles to the summit of Mt. Hawkins at 8,850'. Along the way, we encountered a couple of late season snow patches as well as a few downed trees blocking the way, but nothing that wasn't easily navigable. This is classic high-country territory dominated by conifers and sublime views of the Hawkins Ridge and the high desert to the north. The absence of distant road noise from the closed ACH was an extra-added bonus.

At Hawkins, we took a break, fueled up, and prepared ourselves for the drop down Copter Ridge and then into the unexplored. From the summit of Hawkins, the views are quite good and we spent a few moments identifying familiar landmarks like the Hawkins Ridge, the Islip Ridge, Mt. Waterman, the Twin Peaks, Triplets, Mt. Lawlor, Mt. Deception, Mt. Disappointment, San Gabriel Peak, Mt. Markham, Occidental Peak, Mt. Wilson, and the Ivy League Peaks (Harvard and Yale). We then cached some water and started down Copter Ridge which is now dotted with cairns and scarred by a not so faint use trail.

The standard route to Copter Ridge takes you straight south down the ridgeline to its terminus as Pt. 7,499. Around the 8,200' contour, we abandoned that trajectory and branched left (southeast) to follow the subsidiary ridge leading to Bitterroot Point. This is the point of no return. This is where you need to decide whether you have the juice to climb back out or not. Because if you commit, there is no easy way out. From this point, it's an additional 1,000' of elevation loss that is quite steep in places. Fortunately, the terrain is hospitable and open which makes travel less difficult than it might otherwise be. As you make your way toward the point, the Ross ridge looms in the immediate foreground while Pine Mountain, Dawson Peak, and the north side of Mt. Baldy sit sentinel in the rear-ground. 

The ridge bottoms out at a grassy depression before a rocky outcropping that sits atop a small rise. This is Pt. 7,296 aka Bitterroot Point. Although the point is obvious and distinct, the ridge continues gently downward past this point into the depths of the Iron Fork. We paused here for a spell to enjoy the accomplishment, take in some food and water, and place a register. Then reluctantly started to retrace our steps back up the ridge.

Similar to upside-down hikes like Ross Mountain and Copter Ridge, the crux of this route is on the return trip. From Bitterroot Point, it's 1,000' of gain back to Copter Ridge and then another 600' back to Hawkins. The climb is mellow to start but then steepens significantly as you continue upward. The steepest section is immediately before you reclaim Copter Ridge. DavidR charged up the ridge like a big horn sheep, but I found myself having to stop every 25-50 yards to gain my breath and let the lactic acid in my legs dissipate. Back on Copter Ridge, the terrain moderates some, but I found that the last 600' of gain getting back to Hawkins to be the most physically demanding portion of the day. 

Back on top Hawkins, we reclaimed our cached water and lounged in the brilliant high country sunlight. When we were good and ready, we took the "shortcut" off the summit and rejoined the PCT for an easy, yet long stroll back to the trailhead. To finish the day, we stopped at the Crystal Lake Café to drink carbonated beverages laced with caffeine and sugar in the shade, shoot the shit, and exaggerate the details about the day's exploits. 

Stats for the day: ~13 miles, 4,600'

Wright Mountain Hootenanny and Grilled-Cheese Extravaganza

 

I'm into grilled cheese. Grilled cheese makes me feel beautiful.

~Emma Stone

The poets have been mysteriously silent on the subject of cheese.

~Gilbert K. Chesterson

Men only need two things: grilled cheese and sex.

~Emmy Rossum

Ruminations on Grilled Cheese

The grilled-cheese sandwich. Two slices of white bread, butter, and cheese. A gastronomic staple of childhood and the culinary stuff of adulthood nostalgia. I never really thought that much about how enjoyable the combination of hot cheese and toast could be. And I certainly never considered the absolute epicurean genius one must possess to imagine, and the actually grill, grilled-cheese sandwiches on a mountain top. But a recent group outing to Wright Mountain in the San Gabriel Mountains brought me cheesy enlightenment about these important subjects. 

The event that set the table for this sudden understanding was the 14th anniversary of the San Gabriel Mountains Discussion forum. The forum is a San Gabriel Mountains-focused on-line board for posting trip reports, photos, information, questions, nonsense, and other valuable (and invaluable) whatnot. To celebrate the forum's 14 circle around the sun, Sean (aka Cucamonga Man), one of the board mucky-mucks, planned a ramble to the summit of Wright Mountain from the east starting from PCT mile marker 356 at the end of Forest Road 3N31. The plan was to arrive Saturday afternoon, car-camp at road's end beneath Gobblers Knob, and then hike westward along the Pacific Crest Trail ("PCT") to the summit of Wright Mountain.

Meet Up Beneath Gobblers Knob

After a slow and bumpy ride up 3N31 from Lone Pine Canyon, I arrived at the designated spot late Saturday afternoon. It was the middle of deer hunting season in Zone D11, so I passed several armed hunters in full camo on my way in. David and Elwood were already there when I arrived so I settled in with them as a heavy blanket of clouds began to broil up the ridge from the valley below. It was an ethereal scene reminiscent of the Ten Commandments when the Lord sent the breath of pestilence to kill the first born of the Egyptians. Fortunately, none of us perished as the fog passed-over while we drank beer and waited for Cucamonga Man, our Moses, to arrive so he could lead us to the promised land on the morrow. Much later, as the fog retreated and darkness replaced it, Dima and Sondra arrived to join the group. 

We were still above the cloud bank the following morning as the sun began to rise in the crystalline blue sky.  In an over-used word, it was spectacular. While we waited for Cecelia and JeffH to arrive to round out the group, I made a quick dash to the summit of Gobblers Knob. There is no trail to the summit, so I just gutted it out up a steep and loose old firebreak the follows the eastern ridge. The top of Gobblers Knob is wide and flat so it wasn't immediately apparent where the actual high-point was. But on the far western side of the summit I found a rock-pile which, officially or not, marks the spot. I could locate neither a register nor benchmark on Gobblers Knob, but I did find one of those ubiquitous triangular signs known as "witness posts." And it was the only time the entire trip that the back-side of Mt. Baldy would be visible.

North Fork Lytle Creek Canyon

Lone Pine Canyon

Sunset Over the PCT

Night Vision

Sunrise Over Lone Pine Canyon

Views from Gobblers Knob

View West from Gobblers Knob - L to R: Baldy, Dawson, and Pine

PCT West to Wright Mountain

Shortly after I descended from the Knob, Cecelia and JeffH arrived and we headed out, jumping onto the PCT which transects the parking area. The well-maintained trail skirts Gobblers Knob to the north as it climbs gently toward the Blue Ridge and Wright Mountain. As you go along, the transition from a more scrub-dominated environment to a lush evergreen plant community is obvious and striking. You also get good looks at Dawson and Pine which dominate the southern skyline. Ultimately, the trail tops out and joins an old fire road that wraps around the south side of Wright Mountain. Here, we stopped at a window above the slide area at the head of Heath Canyon for snacks and the sublime scenery. Wrightwood and the high desert were visible in the foreground, while the southern Panamints could be seen on the northern horizon.

The final push had us ascending a faint, old road bed of some sort to the summit of Wright. Like Gobblers Knob, the forested crown of Wright is broad and flat and the actual high-point is not immediately obvious or intuitive. To complicate matters further, a series of use trails criss-crosses the summit plateau in a sign that a good many others have also spent time and energy wandering around in search of the actual "top" of Wright. But Cucamonga Man knew the way and led us to a rock-pile on the north end that apparently qualifies as the official summit. 

Grilled Cheese Sammies on the Summit

As we settled in to luxuriate in our achievement with our bland old trail mix, beef jerky, and granola bars, chef de cuisine JeffH dug into his stash of secret goodies and pulled out all the makings for grilled-cheese sandwiches. In a flash of mad-scientist brilliance, he had packed a loaf of bread, slices of American cheese, a container of butter, a frying pan, a spatula, and his stove. He then went about grilling sammies one at a time for everyone. It was candidly delicious and we all sat around in the warm sun extolling the awesomeness of Jeff's gastronomical creativity and licking butter and melted cheese off our grimy fingers. 

Afterwards, we hoisted our packs back onto our backs and started the 4.5 miles back to where we started. On the way out, a few of our party climbed Gobblers Knob via its north ridge. That route looked much more accessible than the east ridge that I climbed previously, and I then wished I had waited to ascend the Knob using that approach. Back at the parking area, we cracked cold beers as Cecelia broke out chips, salsa, and guacamole. Another stroke of inspiration. That probably sounds a bit over-stated, but I rarely bring post-hike food and drink to enjoy (mostly because I'm generally solo), so this was a really tasty treat. 

On the way out, I took the long way down 3N31 out of Lytle Creek just because. Although considerably longer, the road out this way was an easier drive than the access from Lone Pine Canyon.

All in all, a fun day in a really nice part of the San Gabriel range.  

Along the PCT

Nearing Wright Mountain

Dawson Peak (L) and Pine Mountain (R)

To Infinity and Beyond

Wright Mountain Summit Cairn

The Mad Scientist at Work

Wright Mountain Beautiful Child

 

Views East to San Gorgonio and San Jacinto

Peak 6306: Rigidly Inaccessible and Thornily Savage

Peak 6,306 from the Winston Ridge

Cucamonga Man is one of those handful of guys who really knows the San Gabriels. He's been to every peak in the range that you and I have been to, and he's trod every established and un-established trail. He knows the location of obscure and long-abandoned mines and where to find water in the otherwise dry landscape. In short, he's a walking, breathing topographic map of the Angeles National Forest.

So he's always on the hunt for new places in the range to explore. When you've been everywhere, that task gets more challenging with each passing day, but the San Gabriels is a big place that holds a lot of secrets. So I don't know whether it is even possible to really ever see it all. Even if you're Cucamonga Man. But he's trying. And he'll probably succeed.

Last September, I made my way out along the Winston Ridge to Pt. 6,850. When I returned, Cucamonga Man asked if I got any good pictures of Peak 6,306 because he was scouting it for a future trip. Before I could answer him, I had to look at my pictures and review a topographic map because I didn't even know Peak 6,306 was a thing. Sure, I may have actually seen it from the Winston Ridge, but I had no idea that it was anything other than a bump along an ancillary ridge blocking my sightline to the high desert. And I certainly hadn't contemplated actually visiting the damn thing.

But fast-forward six months and there I was, trudging along the Winston Ridge in the early morning cool with the Cucumonga Man and Dima "the Billy Goat" Kogan on our way to visit this obscure destination that feels and looks more high desert than it does forest.

We met at Cloudburst Summit at 7 a.m. to get a jump on the day and the impending heat. After chatting briefly with two PCT-through hikers who emerged from the forest just as we were departing, we began down the fire road, our packs sloshing heavily with 5-6 liters of water each. After wrapping around Winton's Peak's eastern slopes, we left the established trail, traversing the western side of Pt. 6,903 to gain easy access to the Winston Ridge.

The undulations of Winston Ridge are an easy walk and a pleasant place to spend time. But it wasn't always the case. In the winter of 1893, Pasadena banker L.C. Winston got lost in a blizzard here and perished, giving his name to the the ridge and nearby peak. With the benefit of topographic maps and an established use trail for access, it's difficult today to imagine losing your bearings here. But this was wild and unknown territory in those days without neither trails nor the nearby safety net that is the ACH. I suppose in white-out conditions with hypothermia setting in and the light fading, getting disoriented in the back-country was much easier back then than it is now. But maybe that's just a dangerous false sense of security that I really need to come to grips with.

Squaw Canyon with Pacifico in Rearground

North Side of Winston Peak

Hiking the Use Trail Along Winston Ridge

View Toward Pacifico from the Winston Ridge

Looking West from Pt. 6,850

Our Objective - Peak 6,306

Beyond the high point, Winston Ridge begins a slow and bumpy northwest descent terminating ultimately at the South Fork of Rock Creek some 2,500' below. At the bump at elevation 6,850', we lightened our packs by caching water in the shade of the hardy shrubbery that call this place home. We then dropped another 200' feet to a shadeless and forlorn hump along the ridge where the dreaded Poodle Dog was still trying to make a go of things. From this vantage point, Peak 6,306 loomed tantalizingly nearby to the north. 

But distances have an odd way of getting compressed in the thin mountains air. Horizons always appear to be much closer than in reality they are. Obstacles are easily ignored, challenges minimized. And so it was with Peak 6,306.

The way forward from where we stood was obvious: a 600' drop to a shallow saddle at roughly 5,900', a short climb to Pt. 6,147, and then an easy stroll to our objective. The first leg of this journey was simple enough. The steep ridge was clear, the footing was sure, and we quickly made it to what we dubbed Dead Tree Saddle because there is in fact a dead tree located at the saddle. Here, we cached more water, ate some snacks, and contemplated the fact that every reasonable route out from this location involved a strenuous climb of one sort or another.

But because we had not come this far to fail, we gamely pushed forward. Pushing forward in this context meant clawing our way to Pt. 6,147 up a very steep and loose slope punctuated with an assortment of sharp, prickly, and/or spiney flora. Beyond the crest of the hill, we entered untrammeled territory. Here, forward progress was impeded by clumps of impenetrable brush that we were forced to penetrate anyway by bashing and crunching our way though it. By the time we finally arrived at our destination atop Peak 6,306, our legs were a scratched and bloody mess. When John Muir said of the San Gabriel Mountains that they were both "rigidly inaccessible" and "ruggedly, thornily savage," he could have easily been speaking of the ridgeline leading to Peak 6,306.

Atop Peak 6,306 we found a summit cairn protecting a pristine register. The register indicated that it was placed by R.S. Fink on May 6, 1984. Since that date, the register reflected only a handful of other visitors to the peak. The first entry after the register was placed was dated February 10, 1991, almost 7 years after R.S. Fink originally visited. The next entry after that wasn't logged until February 21, 2015, a good 24 years later! Three months afterwards, on May 19, 2015, the peak was visited for the final time by George Christiansen, Pat Arrendondo, and Bruce Craig. After that, the register was blank. We dutifully added our names to the short list of visitors and then prepared ourselves for the slog out.

Starting the Descent to Dead Tree Saddle (Photo credit: Sean "Cucamonga Man" Green")

Looking at the Descent from Dead Tree Saddle

The Climb to Pt. 6,147 from Dead Tree Saddle

The Dead Tree at Dead Tree Saddle

Dima Breaking Brush (photo courtesy of Sean "Cucamonga Man" Green)

Summit Register Atop Peak 6,306 (p. 1)

Summit Register Atop Peak 6,306 (p. 2)

Pacifico and Bare Mountain from Peak 6,306

High Desert from Peak 6,306

The return trip involved back-tracking the same way we came in. We fought our way through the brush back to Pt. 6,147, slid down the loose hillside to Dead Tree Saddle, and then slowly ground our way back up to the Poodle Dog infested hump at approximately 6,640.' Fortunately for me, Cucamonga Man had done trail work the day before in Dark Canyon, and Dima was operating on only 2 hours sleep, so I was able to keep them in view as I suffered up the steep incline.

Back on Winston Ridge, we reclaimed our cached water and then reclined in the cool shade and long shadows of the afternoon. Weary but rested, we then exited the ridge, skirted the north side of Pt. 6,903, rejoined the PCT, and returned to Cloudburst Summit satisfied to have experienced one of the lesser-visited locations in the otherwise heavily-visited San Gabriel Range.

Little Rock Creek Drainage from Dead Tree Saddle

Serrated Ridge Coming Off the North Side of Winston Ridge

Recharging the Batteries on the Winston Ridge

Skirting the North Side of Pt. 6,903 (Photo credit: Sean "Cucamonga Man" Green")

View East from the PCT

KML Track of Our Route

Passing Time on Copter Ridge

View to Mt. Baldy from Copter Ridge

Old man look at my life,

I'm a lot like you were.

Old man look at my life

I'm a lot like you were.

Old man look at my life

Twenty four and there's so much more

Live alone in a paradise

That makes me think of two.

Love lost, such a cost

Give me things that don't get lost

Like a coin that won't get tossed

Rolling home to you.

-Neil Young, Old Man

When I was a youngster, when time meant nothing and the outdoors was just someplace that I naturally spent the majority of my care-free days, birthdays were always a box on the calendar that I looked forward to because it meant that I would get more "stuff." It didn't really matter if I actually needed or even wanted the stuff I got, but the anticipation of simply getting it, enhanced as it was by the mystery of fancy wrapping paper and colorful streamers and bows, was sufficient in and of itself to eclipse that rather minor and inconvenient detail.

Now that I'm a grizzled veteran of life who (hopefully) has gained a modicum of experience, knowledge, and understanding, I predictably have a different perspective. I don't necessarily dread birthdays like some folks in my same life class do, and I don't yet fret about my steadily climbing age or the diminishing time I have remaining that it portends, but as I've grown grayer and wiser, my focus has decidedly shifted away from accumulating and hording more stuff, and toward maximizing sensory experiences and relationships. I know, I know, that personal awakening is neither particularly revelatory nor insightful, but it has taken me decades to get to the point where the absurdity of chasing and acquiring stuff for the sake of acquiring more stuff  has become apparent. Don't get me wrong, I still like certain stuff. But Lester Burnham summed it up best in American Beauty when he proclaimed: "This isn't life. This is just stuff."

So when my odometer rolled to 53 this year, the last thing I wanted was more stuff. Instead, I wanted out of the fluorescent-lit box that I now spend most of my time in during the week. I wanted see the mountains. I wanted to feel the warm sun on my face and cool breeze blowing through my now silver locks. I wanted to smell the scent of pine. I wanted to hear the call of the Stellar's Jay. I wanted to hear the crunch of the tread under foot. And I wanted share those experiences with folks that I consider my friends.

So early last Sunday morning, I headed for the Angeles National Forest high country along with Chris, Sean, Cecelia, and Dima for a day exploring Copter Ridge. We started at Dawson Saddle, ascended the trail to the junction with the Pacific Crest Trail just east of Throop Peak, and then tacked west to the summit of Mt. Hawkins. Along the way, Dima explained how he went about identifying what he has termed the Pole of Inaccessibility: the point in the Angeles National Forest that is the furthest from any roadway or established trail (that "pole" is located on the steep southwest slope of Ross Mountain).

Atop Mt. Hawkins, we paused to appreciate the the panoramic views of the surrounding cloud-filled valleys out of which a number of familiar peaks protruded, We then descended south along Copter Ridge (avoiding a huge swarm of bees as we went) to its terminus some 1,500 feet below where we munched lunch and solved a number of pressing world problems.

The climb back up the ridge to Mt. Hawkins was difficult, but satisfying, particularly since the scenery was so fine and the water we cached mid-ridge was still cool. Back atop Mr. Hawkins, I broke our a couple of somewhat chilled cans of FMB 101 Kolsch I had in my day-pack and we toasted another day of being alive in our local mountains.

I could add much more about this day, but I've blathered on far too long as it is. Other than saying that I think Copter Ridge is one of my favorite places in the San Gabriels (along with the Pleasant View Ridge), my words can't begin to do justice to the trip, the spectacular scenery, or my amazing fellow travelers anyway. So I'll shut up now and just let some of the pictures from this day do the rest of the talking for me. Enjoy.

View Toward Mt. Williamson from Dawson Saddle Trail

The High Desert from the Dawson Saddle Trail

The Crew Ascending the Dawson Saddle Trail

The Boys at the PCT Junction

First View of Baldy and Friends

Trekking Along the PCT

View Northwest from the PCT

Mi Compadres

View West from the PCT - Twins, Waterman, Islip, Buckhorn (?), Pacifico in the rearground (?)

North Slope of Mt. Hawkins

The Hawkins Ridge

View Down Copter Ridge from Hawkins

Hanging Out on Hawkins

Baldy View from Hawkins

Sean and Cecelia Atop Mt. Hawkins

Super-Brainiac Dima Atop Mt. Hawkins 

Cecelia Capturing the Stunning Views

The Gang of Five Atop Hawkins - Sean, Dima, Cecelia, Wildsouthland, Chris

Descending Copter Ridge

Taking in the "Wow" Along Copter Ridge

Terminus of Copter Ridge

Dropping Down

Looking Back Up - This is the Steepest Part of the Ridge

Flat Area Along the Rige

Final Descent

Sean and Cecelia

No Room With a View

Baldy from the End of Copter Ridge

Having Lunch and Conversation

The Climb Back Out. This is Where we Cached Water on the Descent

Chris and Dima Looking Relaxed on the Ridge

Back on Hawkins - Clouds Still Hanging Around

Airplane Views

Parting Shot