I decided to pay another visit to the in San
Benito/Fresno Counties, a short two day trip with a plan to visit six summits
that I had neglected on previous outings. I did my research, got my permits
online and left San Jose at the more reasonable time of 6:45a because the drive
is only a few hours. The vehicle permit is good for seven days, but the
personal one is good for only a single day - seems they want to limit an
individual's exposure to the natural
to only five days a year.
It's more than a little confusing, so I figured I had a plausible defence if a
BLM ranger questioned why I was there the second day without a permit. I didn't
get far with my plan. After doing the first summit, Goat Mtn, I found the Clear
Creek Rd leading into the heart of the area was blocked by a locked gate. I
searched my permit for a lock combo, but there was no mention of it. I got a
BLM phone number from the sign on the gate and then had to drive 40min to
Coalinga to get cell service. All I could get from the phone number was a
series of recorded messages. One of them said the gate combo could be found on
my permit. I left a message, but no one called me back over the next two days.
I then called recreation.gov, the issuer of the permit, and after a short while
was able to get a real person. She spent about 15min trying to help me
out, but came up empty. Worse, when I asked if I could at least get my $17
refunded, she said she couldn't submit a refund since the permit was still
"active". So I have to remember to call back again in seven days. Sigh. I found
other stuff to do to keep me busy with what little remained of the day by this
time...
Goat Mountain
Goat Mtn is found in the CCMA, outside the larger area blocked by the locked
gate. In times past, there were multiple ways to reach Goat Mtn, but these have
been reduced to a single 4WD jeep spur road forking off the main Clear Creek
Rd. There is an initial that is trivial in the fall,
then some that would be considerably more difficult in
wet conditions. I found some on the shadier portions of
, surprising since the elevation was only 3,500ft. The road
leads in about 3mi to a clearing just below the highpoint. One needs to go
to walk about 100ft to . Lands on both
sides of the fence are BLM, so the fence may have
been erected to keep motorcycles on the road. This was the only summit on
the day with blue skies. High clouds came over the area over the next few
hours and would remain for the rest of the day. After visiting the summit, I
tried to follow the continuing road as it winds its way east to
of the range, but was stopped by a second
soon after leaving
the summit.
Peak 2,472ft
Marcus Sierra had posted a TR on PB in 2016 for this summit, starting from Los
Gatos Creek County Park. The park is small, with picnic and campsites available,
though the campground is currently closed due to COVID concerns. The
is open, but the restrooms are closed and no fees are
being collected. It's not a very attractive park, but it probably looks much
different in the springtime with water flowing in the creek and green grass in
the hills. I from up to the campground
and followed a use trail that led to in the fences that surround
the park. This put me on and ranch roads on the
adjacent property, following a ridgeline up towards the summit. A handful of
were on the road as I approached, eventually moving aside to
let me pass, though not thrilled that I was there (perhaps
disappointed I didn't have some tasty alfalfa for them - it looks like they're
left eating dry thistles this time of year). There is another summit a quarter
mile to the southeast that one goes over first, and at first glance it seems
is lower. The use trail continues along the ridge,
eventually reaching a gate just below the summit for the adjacent
. There's no need to go over the fence as the use
trail follows outside the fenceline right up to where three
properties meet. The peak isn't particularly high, but it sits nicely as a
somewhat isolated island in the drainage with . The
distance from the start is about 2mi each way. I returned the same way.
Mineral BM
This last summit is found on BLM lands near Coalinga Mineral Springs, north of
SR198. I had to drive back out to Coalinga, through the town and Chevron oil
fields, then west on SR198. Mineral BM is named for the Coalinga Mineral
Springs found up the spur road in Hot Springs Canyon. I had been this way a
decade earlier for the
CC-listed summits of Kreyenhagen and Twin Peaks. Since
then, Mineral BM and environs were burned over in the 2016 Mineral Fire, then
again more recently in the 2020 Mineral Fire. This makes what a decade ago
would have been a tough brushfest far easier. Much of the land immediately
adjacent to the roads are private ranchlands, making access to the BLM areas
difficult. Luckily, there's a small corner of the BLM lands that just touches
the Mineral Springs Rd about 1.5mi northwest of the summit. There's a large
informal here with several use trails fanning into
Dutchman Canyon and other side canyons. Most all of the vegetation was torched
in the fire back in July, but portions were spared on some of the northern
aspects. I climbed steeply up a slope to , gaining a
that would take me east to the main north-south
ridgeline I would follow to Mineral BM. The subsidiary ridgeline had a helpful
use trail that wound around the various that would leave
my clothing blackened when I failed to pay proper attention. Where the
subsidiary ridge meets the main ridge, there is an interesting set of
heading north, eventually leading to Flag Peak in 3-4mi.
My route would to Mineral BM, another mile further over
more ordinary terrain. It was interesting to see several isolated
that somehow missed getting destroyed. Presumeably,
they will act as sources for future regeneration of their species on the
hillsides. Perhaps the most successful survivors I saw were the
that are already recovering only months after the latest
fire. It took just under an hour to reach the summit where I found
across the Warthan Creek drainage to ,
along with the expected . I left here
before returning via mostly the same route. My only real deviation
was descending into rather than following the
subsidiary ridge back to the start. I didn't see any real advantage of one
route over the other.
It was 4:30p by the time I returned to the jeep, the sun getting ready to set
behind the cloud layer. I drove to Coalinga Mineral Springs a few mile up the
road, finding the that had once stood there were all
in the July fire.
I found a side road that I followed to its end within the state
park that would allow me a quiet space to camp for the night out of view of the
paved road. The clouds dissipated sometime in the evening, leaving a sky full
of stars that night, chilly, but not too cold. I slept comfortably in the back
of the jeep, going to bed around 8p after showering, dinner and a few hours of
watching portions of a Scientology documentary. Probably not the best thoughts
to have running around your head before bedtime, but I slept well enough...
Continued...