Having driven from San Jose through much of the night, I arrived at Sand Canyon
sometime around midnight. There are few paved roads in the rural/residential
area other than the main Sand Canyon Rd. Tanganada Rd is paved for several miles
going east from Sand Canyon on its way to the wind turbines. I suspect the extra
pavement was a concession the residents along this road got from the company to
mitigate dust concerns from the trucks that ply the road. I drove the pavement
to its end, then continued on the excellent dirt road to
a locked gate that
barred further progress. I parked in a flat section of the road off to the side
and went to sleep around 1a. I was awakened around 5:30a when three utility
trucks went rumbling by. The turbine workers were getting an earlier start than
myself.
I was off shortly after 6a while it was still dark, but just starting to grow
light. Sunrise would come around 7a. My route would follow the main dirt road
running roughly northeast for 4 miles to Sweet Ridge where the wind turbine farm
is located. A transmission facility is located at a lower point on the west side
of the ridge, where I suspected the trucks were heading. My route would veer off
from the main road after three miles, before reaching the facility. I was happy
to find no more vehicles coming up the road for the hour I spent hiking along
it. There is no lack of 
signs to indicated one is on private property
and unwelcomed. It would have been hard to hide off to the side as there was
not a good deal of cover to duck behind.
The road turns south at 
a place on the topo called
Goodwater Spring. Here I turned north and headed through light forest
and 
easy cross-country in search of an old road leading up towards Cache
Peak. I had missed the start of the road by a hundred yards or so, but
found it soon enough by following up the main canyon
above Goodwater Spring. Feeling safe on this abandoned road I relaxed, following
it higher as the fog that had covered much of the terrain all morning began to
retreat some from the highest points. I caught a glimpse of 
Cache Peak
itself and the 
wind turbines on Sweet Ridge as I neared
Corral Spring. A 
dilapidated corral is found here as well as
a junction with another abandoned road that
forks to the north and northwest, reaching closer to the summit. As I reached
the end of this second road I was momentarily treated to some sunshine. I could
see the 
transmission facility below me to the south but it was soon
swallowed up in the fog moving over the ridgeline from the north.
It was just before 8a when I reached 
the summit of Cache Peak. The fog
precluded any views during the time I was at the summit. Rats. In addition to
some old boards and wire from a survey tower, There was 
a tin holding a
rusty Band-Aid
container that probably once held a register but was now empty. Double rats.
Even the benchmark was devoid of interest, just a generic disc without any
identifying stamps. The sun began to do a better job of breaking up
the fog as I retreated back down the same route to Corral Spring, but
it wasn't until I had climbed up to 
a saddle on Sweet Ridge that the
summit of 
Cache Peak was visible with the fog now in retreat for good.
The old road I had followed to the saddle was replaced with a more recent,
well-graded road used to service the 
wind turbines along the ridge. I
turned south and followed this road along the top, passing by 
dozens of
identical turbines, each about 6-7 stories tall. A white service truck came
rambling by in the opposite direction. I wasn't too worried about getting busted
at this point since I knew the PCT was nearby (down on the east slope of the
ridgeline). When they stopped to check on me I told them I was looking for the
PCT which I knew to be around here somewhere. One of the two gentleman gave me
directions for finding it up ahead and then they continued 
on their
way. Further along the ridge I came upon 
the remains of
a turbine that must have
fallen from its lofty perch. The turbine was mangled beyond repair and was
simply left on the ground where it fell, another one replaced atop the tower.
Not exactly the model of environmental stewardship. About a mile and a half
along the ridge I reached 
a gate marking the property boundary. The
PCT was found just beyond this point and I would follow it for the next
hour as I continued 
south to the 
other P1K.
This portion of the PCT follows along a BLM OHV trail. It's pleasant enough,
passing through a dry 
campground among some oaks, providing views of
the 
Cache Creek drainage. A portion of the PCT has been
rerouted off the OHV trail, an
improvement, but as it did not go to the highpoint I was after, I continued
following the OHV route. A couple of gentlemen my age came rumbling down the
trail on 
motorcycles, stopping to chat briefly. They had been riding
for some
14 miles up from the Mojave side, exploring the network of trails. The route I
followed got within half a mile of 
the summit before forking at a
saddle on the west side and going off in opposite directions. I was a little
concerned that 
the bushwhacking might prove difficult, but with
patience and much weaving around I managed to find my way to 
the top
with only a modest amount of trouble.
The top had the usual remains of a survey tower but nothing else. The views
were somewhat limited by the broad extent of the summit area and the chest-high
brush that covered it. I could see the surrounding P1Ks to 
the south,
northwest and 
north, but barely. What might otherwise be a
fine view of the Mojave desert to 
the east was hampered by blowing
dust on the desert floor. I
next turned my attention to Red Mtn, a nondescript bonus peak about a mile and a
half to the west. I returned to the trail system, then onto the section of PCT
I had bypassed earlier. Cyclists had circumvented the barriers to ride on this
section of trail that I found annoying at first, but soon discovered the
reason for. There is an unsigned motorcycle track running along the ridge to
Red Mtn that can only be accessed by using this part of the PCT. The
motorcycle track was most helpful to me as it made the mile-long
traverse to Red Mtn a breeze. On the south side of the ridge, in Waterfall
Canyon, can be found steep, 
eroding slopes of colorful green, orange
and white rock and earth. In fact much of the area is here is of geologic
interest, having attracted many prospectors for 150 years.
Red Mountain, really more orange than red, was about as unimpressive as
expected. I found 
the highpoint
just off the trail running just off the crest,
but there was nothing to mark it as such, not so much as a piece of wire, an
old board or even a small pile of rocks. By now I had traveled more than 15
miles and had planned to retrace about half of that to return to the start. But
I noted the GPS showed me only 2.5 air miles from the car so I looked about for
another way to return more directly. I continued southwest along the route to
a saddle on that side of Red Mtn. Here I left the OHV track and dropped steeply
down 
a gully to the northwest into 
Oil Canyon. The
cross-country was pretty
enjoyable here, challenging enough to keep it interesting without being painful.
Near the bottom of the canyon I came across bits of trash and footprints
and eventually a use trail with ducks and 
markers. This led down a
dry creekbed to what I later found was the
Mountain Spirit Center, a Korean Zen site located in the most unlikely
of places. The 
architecture was impressive, with colorful
hand-painted buildings and 
structures of ornate design. I
didn't know if I was
trespassing in some sort of Budhist monastary or not, but the few folks I saw
working about the place didn't seem surprised or disturbed by my presence. I
walked around the main buildings to the other side where I planned to hike back
out of Oil Canyon to the north. Twenty minutes of 
steep uphill got me
to a low crest where I could then drop into 
Cache Creek Canyon. The
descent was a shorter version of the one I had taken down into Oil
Canyon. There were more interesting finds, including the deteriorating remains
of a case of 
Gelamite, a trademarked
name for blasting powder used in mining. Three quarters of a mile down the
canyon got me to 
a dirt road that I could then follow north up the
main Cache Creek drainage. I crossed a first 
property boundary, then
the barely trickling 
Cache Creek itself, then another
property boundary before returning to my 
parked van around
1:15p.
Having more time, I spent about an hour exploring the dirt roads on the west
side of Sand Canyon, the likely access routes to Toll BM and Sugarloaf, two
additional P1Ks. Although the roads were generally good, I found access blocked
by 
gates or 
signs or both. All the areas to the west appear
to be private
property. I would have to do more research before attempting these the next
day. I drove back out to SR58 and paid a visit to the Starbucks near downtown
Tehachapi. Additional perusing of the Google satellite views gave me
some insights to the next day's route as I formulated an alternate plan to the
original. Around 
sunset I drove back out towards Sand Canyon, found a
secluded
place near the railroad tracks for a shower, then found a quieter spot off
Sand Canyon to spend the night.
Continued...