Showing posts with label San Bernardino National Forest. Show all posts
Showing posts with label San Bernardino National Forest. Show all posts

Sunday, October 31, 2021

Wright Mountain Hootenanny and Grilled-Cheese Extravaganza

 

Gobblers Knob Summit

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 Canyon
North Fork Lytle Creek Canyon

Lone Pine Canyon
Lone Pine Canyon

PCT Sunset
Sunset Over the PCT

Moon Over Lone Pine Canyon
Night Vision

Sunrise over Lone Pine Canyon
Sunrise Over Lone Pine Canyon

Gobblers Knob Summit
Views from Gobblers Knob

Gobblers Knob Summit
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.  

Pacific Crest Trail
Along the PCT

Pacific Crest Trail
Nearing Wright Mountain

Dawson Peak and Pine Mountain
Dawson Peak (L) and Pine Mountain (R)

High Desert from PCT
To Infinity and Beyond

Wright Mountain Summit
Wright Mountain Summit Cairn

Grilled Cheese Sammies on Wright Mountain
The Mad Scientist at Work

Memorial on Wright Mountain
Wright Mountain Beautiful Child
 
PCT Views
Views East to San Gorgonio and San Jacinto

Saturday, August 22, 2015

Etiwanda Peak: Jack Webb Edition

West Baldy, Baldy, Harwood, Telegraph, Pine, and Timber
You youngsters may not remember Jack Webb. He played Sergeant Joe Friday (and Harry Morgan played his side-kick, Bill Gannon) on the late 1960s television series "Dragnet." In that series, Sergeant Joe Friday was a fictional LA police detective whose mis-attributed signature catchphrase was "Just the facts, Ma'am."

Well, because I've not felt particularly creative, motivated, or inspired of late to pound out flowery and verbose trip reports, I'm opting here for something a bit more truncated than normal. So, in a nod to Joe Friday, here are "just the facts" about a recent trip to Etiwanda Peak by way of Icehouse Canyon and the Cucamonga Peak trail.

I arrived at Icehouse Canyon around 9:00 a.m. on a Sunday morning to find the parking lot predictably and completely packed. There was no room at the Inn so me and a bunch of other late-sleeping losers had to park 1/4 mile up Mt. Baldy Road.

Like the parking lot, the trail was busy. Water was flowing in the lower stretches of the canyon but it quickly disappeared from the creek-bed by the time I passed the last cabin. Further up the canyon, reliable Columbine Spring was still flowing. As usual, the trail to the saddle was in good shape.

Water Flowing in Lower Icehouse Canyon

Am I in SEKI?


Columbine Spring
Looking Back Down Icehouse Canyon

Mt. Baldy from Upper Icehouse Canyon
At the saddle, I took a quick breather to hydrate and have a snack. There were folks there, but not as many as expected given the situation in the parking lot below. The mountains have a curious way hiding a great number of people in their innumerable slots, nooks, crannies, and folds.

Timber Peak from Cucamonga Peak Trail

Looking Into Upper Cucamonga Canyon

View Into Middle Fork Lytle Creek Drainage

Ascending the Cucamonga Peak Trail - Big Horn, Timber, and Telegraph
Beyond the saddle, the hordes of hikers thinned, but there were still a bunch of folks making their way out to Cucamonga Peak. I was sucking gas as I labored up the switch-backs on the north side of Cucamonga and was feeling disgusted about the state of my conditioning until I passed several groups of youngsters 30 years my junior struggling even more than me. After that, I only felt embarrassed about the pathetic attempts to finish off the never-ending switch-backs.

The Trail Less Traveled

Ridgeline View Before Etiwanda

Looking East Toward Gorgonio and San Jacinto from Etiwanda

View South from Eitwanda Peak

East Face of Cucamonga Peak from Etiwanda

Looking to Joe Elliot Campground and San Sevaine Road
Beyond the junction with the use trail to Cucamonga Peak, other hikers disappeared entirely and for the next 1.25 miles, I had the run of the place. Atop Etiwanda (which has the best views of any peak in the range), I found the summit register and logged in. The most recent entry was five days earlier which confirmed that Etiwanda doesn't see much traffic.

On the way down, I splashed in the creek in lower Icehouse Canyon as other hikers looked on in bemusement at the crazy old guy joyously playing in the water like a child. But I couldn't help myself. In my hot and dusty condition, the icy cold stream was too much of an attractive nuisance to ignore.

The app on my mobile device reports total mileage for this trip at about 14.5 with around 5,100 feet of total elevation gain. The Sierra Club Hundred Peaks Section has the total mileage at 17, but that seems excessive to me (and to Tom Harrison). I'm going with Tom Harrison.

Friday, May 22, 2015

May Snow Day on Mt. Baldy

My personal odometer rolled over to 52 last Friday so I ditched work and headed for Mt. Baldy to celebrate the momentous occasion (and, I suppose, prove to myself that I could still do it). The sky was filled with foreboding clouds as I left the house. Drizzle fell on me here and there as I made my way east along the 210. As I drove up San Antonio Canyon, I watched the outside temperature gauge steadily drop until it settled in the high 30s as I arrived at Manker.
 
Given the rare winter conditions, I was expecting a horde of mountaineers looking to get a snow fix. But Manker was strangely empty with just a smattering of cars parked along the roadside which was posted "No Parking" in preparation for the Tour of California which was coming up the canyon the following day.
 
A light snow was falling as I made my way up Falls Road which had an accumulation of about 3-4 inches of snow. After about 0.9 miles, I left the road and begin climbing the Ski Hut Trail. The snow was probably 4-5 inches here, and the ascent steeper, so I donned micro-spikes and gaiters and broke out my sticks. Shortly thereafter, I passed two gents who had turned back a short distance higher up the trail because they lacked adequate traction. After this encounter, I saw no one all the way to the Ski Hut. A single pair of descending tracks had broken the trail for me (which I assumed meant someone had stayed the night in the ski hut), but no one had yet been up the trail that morning.
 
The descending tracks stopped at the ski hut and so did I. Here, snow accumulation was probably 7-8". Beyond the ski hut, the trail across the bowl was pristine and unbroken. I sat in the portal of the ski hut enjoying the amazing stillness and solitude as I savored a celebratory and frosty malt and grain adult beverage.
 
I'll spare you my further blathering now and get straight to the good stuff. Here is what the day looked like. Quite extraordinary when you consider the fact that this in mid-May. In Southern California. During an historic drought.
 
Enjoy.
 
 
White on Evergreen
 
San Antonio Falls

Falls Road

The Road Past the Falls
 
Ski Hut Trail
 
Yucca with Snow

Winter Conditions

More Ski Hut Trail
 
Contradictions

Snowy Forest

Blanket of Snowy Goodness
 
Trail View

Frosty Ponderosa

The Bowl


San Antonio Ski Hut

329 Days of Sun. Ha!
 
The Bowl from the Ski Hut

View Toward Ontario and Big Horn

Snow Covered Slope
 
Spring and Winter Together

Silent Forest Sentinel