I was in Los Angeles for a three-day volleyball tournament my daughter was
playing in. The venue was the downtown convention center, not exactly the best
location for some peakbagging during the few hours in the afternoon when I had
some free time. Luckily there are some opportunities to the north in the
Hollywood Hills (at the east end of the Santa Monica Mtns), the Verdugo Mtns
and the San Rafael Hills. I visited the latter two ranges in the afternoon,
spending about 5hrs all told between hiking and driving.
Tongva Peak
Named for the Native Americans who first inhabited the LA Basin some 3,500yrs
ago, this is the only officially named summit in the entire Verdugo Mountains.
Oddly, it's not even the range highpoint. That honor goes to the unnamed point
some 500ft higher than Tongva Peak. Because the highpoint is on the LPC list,
I'd already visited it more than six years earlier. Tongva is a much easier
effort that can be climbed from a number of directions. I chose to use the
Beaudry Motorway from the east. Though no longer open to motor vehicles, the
dirt road is open to cyclists, equestrians and hikers. Access is via Beaudry
Blvd just west of Oakmont Country Club and appears popular for joggers and
dog walkers as well. The next to someone's driveway,
inconveniently unmarked, at least until one climbs above the flood
it is adjacent to, and the one comes
across aren't terribly inviting. The trail soon
splits as the Beaudry North and South Motorways, both going to the summit. The
north trail is shadier and more direct, while the south trail has better views
following along the SE Ridge of Tongva. I took the
on the way up,
passing by an old and other detritus of bygone times, views
as one climbs higher with populating
portions of the hillsides.
The Beaudry North and South routes rejoin just north of Tongva Peak, continuing
on the ridge to the range highpoint another 2mi to the northwest. From
, Tongva Peak is only a few minutes along
Beaudry South Motorway.
A fence appears to surround a small complex of ,
barbed-wire in three strands across the top. One can use a convenient set of
iron steps next to
to surmount the fence, or more easily, walk to the south and
west to simply go around the fence which does not continue on the west side.
The fence appears to only keep vehicles out, allowing wildlife access to the
summit where a water catch has been installed. I found in
while I was there, not much afraid of me but keeping
a wary eye, probably there to slake its thirst. The
highpoint of Tongva is found at the north end of the flat summit area, not
terribly impressive, but having a nice view west to the
(which the LPC calls Verdugo Peak). I left the
fenced area to visit to the south where two guys were
enjoying a few beers and the overlooking Los Angeles. Two
regarding can be found here.
After a brief chat with the other two visitors, I continued SE along
above the motorway, following another hiker ahead of me, also on his way down.
The
nice use trail rejoins the motorway at the base of another tower site, this one
known as Mt. Thom on peakbagger.com. The motorway turns east as it winds its way
downhill, following until it reaches Pt. 1,753ft, after which
it circles the point and drops to rejoin Beaudry North near the start. I was
at the van by 4:20p, having taken just about 2hrs for the six mile outing.
Cerro Negro
Spanish for "Black Mtn", Cerro Negro is the second highest summit in the San
Rafael Hills found just across the Glendale Fwy (SR2) to the east from the
Verdugo Mtns. The Ridge Motorway rises from the southwest to the summit, another
dirt road no longer open to vehicle traffic. An upscale Glendale suburb can be
found on the south side of Cerro Negro, with paved Camino San Rafael making
access almost trivial. An even shorter access route can be found off Sugar Loaf
Dr northeast of Cerro Negro, but I found the southwest route from
of
and Flintridge Dr to be easy enough. A
hike of less than 10min saw me where a
very
protects a lookout tower installed there. An old and
rusting relic of the Cold War is also found inside the fence, what appears to
be a massive air horn intended to give one a few minutes' warning to drop and
cover before hydrogen bombs incinerate your ass along with the rest of Los
Angeles in a nuclear strike. Immediately east of the fenced area is
with coins and lots of new-agey
stuff to honor an unnamed man who could play guitar. Sitting on the bench,
I took in views looking north to the San Gabriel Mtns and to
other summits of the San Rafael Hills where I headed next.
Peak 1,780ft
This is a disappointing summit on several levels. Found in the northeast corner
of the San Rafael Hills, there are actually two points with equal contours
vying for the highpoint. ListsofJohn and Peakbagger.com both show the northern
point as . It is occupied by a pair of homes. A
lets
you get pretty close, but you'd have to go stand in someone's backyard to reach
the very highest point. Just to the south is a second contour area. It features
a couple of high water towers located in private backyards. Yay. No views,
either.
Flint Peak
This is the highest point in the San Rafael Hills, by all of two feet. Scholl
Canyon is found on the south side of the mountain. At one time there was a
Scholl Canyon Park here, but the upper part of the canyon has become a landfill
and one is left with a much smaller Lower Scholl Canyon Park. East Glenoaks Blvd
provides the shortest route to the summit from the south. I used a slightly
longer route from the northeast since I was in the area for Peak 1,780ft. There
is a starting from the end of that
leads to the (which is also the dirt road
continuation of E. Glenoaks). A
spur road off the motorway leads to the communication towers atop Flint Peak
a short distance away. Though formidable, the surrounding fence has a weakness
at the left side of that can be exploited without much
trouble. There is an LA County/City found under the tall
tower at the highest point
dating to 1933. I came down a slight variation, following the Loma Linda
Motorway down to Marengo Dr where and sign informed me this
route is not currently
open due to pending litigation. I had to awkwardly find my way over the fence
while several neighborhood dogs took a distinct disliking to me, yapping from
behind
the protection of their own fences. No one came out to see what was causing
the disruption and I made my way back to the van in another minute. Better to
use the trail off Figueroa St.
Eagle Rock
This is a distinctive
on the southern edge of the San Rafael Hills
just north of the Ventura Fwy. The city of Eagle Rock was named for the
feature (absorbed into Los Angeles in 1923, but still a neighborhood name),
which is listed as an historical landmark. There is a sign at the corner of
Eagle Rock View Dr and Patrician Way to this effect. On the SW side is the
Eagle Rock Canyon Trail and the exceedingly small Eagle Rock Park. All of this
would seem to suggest the feature is a popular spot, but one is quickly
surprised to find otherwise, with access to the summit quite difficult. There is
a single, bolted route found on the main face on the SW side. A short hike
though the park will take you to the base of the rock climbing route that
appears on Mountain Project but looks to be all but abandoned. Old
can be found going around the south side of the rock,
climbing higher until blocked by a very spikey fence and dense brush. The
northwest side is occupied by homes. The east side is blocked by
. There appears to be no legal way to reach the
summit at all. Barbed-wire and dense brush conspire to block access from the
apartment complex - almost. I found through the natural
and man-made defences from the parking area behind the apartments (and next to
the swimming pool) that takes one through the fence, weaving through brush and
cactus, eventually reaching the .
There used to be steel poles
installed in concrete at the top for purposes unknown, but these have been
sheared in an effort to restore the natural setting. It seems a shame that no
one has figured a way to leave public access to the top of this local landmark.
I suspect past use as a nighttime teenage drinking spot (within bottle-tossing
distance to ,
too) may have played a part in making if off-limits. My summit stay was brief
lest I be spotted by those who deem such things as not a good thing.
Oxy Hill
About a mile and a half southwest of Eagle Rock is Oxy Hill, named after
Occidental College found on its southwest flanks. There are a number of ways to
climb this small bit of Open Space. I approached from the north off La Roda Ave,
sandwiched between Eagle Rock High School and the Yosemite Recreation Center.
behind the swimming pools lead to an old amphitheater where use trail
can be found leading to the summit. It was just after sunset as I made my way
to where I found an older hispanic man enjoying a beer at an
overlook bench. A battered
from 1953 marks the highpoint, with views to and
surrounding areas of and Eagle Rock. I followed an
alternate use trail down an adjacent ridgeline, returning me to the amphitheater
and recreation area where I'd started. Time for dinner, a shower, and rest. More
exhausting VB to watch in the morning...
Continued...