Continued...
Zahniser Peak - Poopout Hill
My third and last day in the San Bernardino Mountains was primariy focused on
reaching Zahniser Peak, a 10,000-foot summit of dubious distinction. It lies
in the shadow of San Gorgonio and a host of other higher summits, all of which
have more prominence than this minor bump. It lies along California's
Pacific Divide, a collection of 500+ summits I've
been whittling away at over the years at a slow
pace. This one struck me as almost inconsequential.
Almost. It has been
bugging me for a few year now, and it seemed like a good time to do it. I lies
just off the South Fork Trail, possibly the most popular route to San Gorgonio
Mtn. I had used this same trail eleven years earlier when I was visiting the
other 10,000-foot summits that surround it, while chasing down the HPS list.
The parking lot was near full when I started from
around 6:45a. I immediately got behind making overnight
trips to San Gorgonio, and it took about 10min before I was able to work my way
past them. After that, grew quiet for the rest of the morning.
I ran across only two solo hikers on the way, and a few late starting parties on
my way down. Much of the route I traveled had burned in
, leaving thousands of
and slopes covered in buckthorn and other
brush. Very few trees seem to have taken root, as yet. It took me two hours to
reach , and another 45min to make my way to the summit of
Zahniser, all but the last ten minutes or so on good trails.
improve as one climbs past Dry Lake where unburned forest is found along with
of the north side of San Gorgonio. There wasn't much in
the way of views on of Zahniser. An ammo box
found on was empty. It didn't
really seem worth leaving a register. I debated with myself on the way up
whether I should continue to San Gorgonio, but in the end I decided I'd rather
visit some new summits in the afternoon rather than revisiting an old friend.
On my way down, I paid a quick side visit to , a bit of
stat padding and an excuse to take a short break. It was close to 12:30p by
the time I , leaving me plenty of time for the
afternoon agenda. It had started to grow warm, however, and would only get
warmer as each of the next summits was progressively lower in elevation.
Peak 5,900ft
I drove down SR38 to Angeles Oaks, then onto Forest Road 1N12, a long truck
trail that descends through the Thomas Hunting Grounds and rejoining back onto
SR38 near where it exits out of the range. This is the same road used to visit
Constance Peak, and HPS summit. All three of these last summits are most
easily accessed from it, too. Peak 5,900ft is a drive-up with a high-clearance
vehicle. reaching to it is in good shape and
has
been leveled some for a nice campsite. No one was using it today, but there was
a large Jeep club occupying campsites at the base of the north side in the
Thomas Hunting Grounds.
Mountain Home Peak
Lower down the Forest Road, lies on the east side
of the road and has more than 500ft of prominence. It is covered in heavy brush,
but there is that makes this much easier. Still, it is
steep in places and some of the terrain has been intentially left in awkward
hillocks to discourage motor vehicles from trying to drive on the old firebreak.
As a side disbenefit, it makes hiking along it a little inconvenient, too. There
is a use trail up with lots of sand. I spent
20min to reach and less than 15min for .
Peak 4,900ft
This summit is found about a mile and a half west of Mountain Home Peak. The
Forest Road I followed passes within a quarter mile of the summit on its steep
. It was one of the steepest slopes I ascended this year,
about 300ft up through oak woodland with a moderately brushy understory that
included some poison oak. The soil was loose, making the ascent extra tiring. I
suspect there may be easier ways to do this one. Still, I got through the steep
portion in only 15min, so not too bad. After emerging on the summit ridge I
found myself on an old trail/firebreak on . I had no
idea it was there, so I don't know where it starts or ends, but it made for a
decent foot trail. It took only a few more minutes to use it in conjunction with
a short stretch of cross-country to find my way to the summit. There was a metal
found there, commonly use throughout the Angeles NF. I
left at the rock outcrop nearby, then reversed the route
back down, taking only about 5min for the descent. It was nearing 2:30p when I
finished up, having run out of unvisited summits along this stretch of roadway.
After taking a jug shower where ,
I drove the remaining truck trail down to SR38, then on to
San Diego where I would be hanging out for the next four weeks or so...
Continued...