Continued...
San Jacinto Wilderness HP
PB has Tahquitz Peak identified as the Wilderness HP, but that seems obviously
wrong as it is 400ft lower than the point identified on LoJ, found on the
slopes below Marion Mtn. My route to reach it
was about 5mi each way with 3,000ft of gain, the most involved hike of
the day. I had camped outside Idyllwild on a lonely stretch of road
before driving to Humber Park to start before 7a. There were only a few
cars in the various lots at that time, but there would be dozens before
I returned. I didn't bother to get the required permit (oddly, dayhikers
and backpackers alike are supposed to get permits) and was happy to see
no rangers during the morning hours I was hiking. I took the
2.5mi up to , then north and west
for another 2.5mi. There was in places
where it is most shaded, but for the most part the trail was clear and in fine
shape. I paused on the PCT when I was about 1/5mi from the Wilderness HP, found
from the trail. There is heavy brush here, making the
cross-country tricky. There was some class 3 scrambling mixed in as well, but
that was mostly to avoid yet more brush. I navigated to the coordinate given
on LoJ in about 30min's time, then looked around and identified
east of the point that I guessed would qualify as the
highpoint. I built on top and left a register. This one
is no picnic, despite the delightful approach on excellent trails. I used my
GPSr to navigate back to the trail via the same route as there did not appear
to be easier ways that would work. Interestingly, I a
during the cross-country return that I had missed on
the way up. Seems the surveyors had to wallow through this brush as part of
their day's work. I cleaned out once I returned to the trail,
then enjoyed the far more leisurely effort of hiking back to Humber Park. There
were dozens of and
encountered along the way, a bit surprising given it was a Thursday. I was
amused by how often I would be asked "How far is it to Saddle Junction." There
was a scout troop making the overnight hike up the trail as well. Most of these
seemed to be taking the uphill slog in stride, but a few stragglers that had
stopped for rest only half a mile from the TH had me sympathizing with the scout
leaders that accompanied them. I recall from my own experiences how motivating
some scouts can be very trying, indeed. I was back to Humber Park by 11:40a,
finding the quite a bit busier than when I had arrived.
Baldy Mtn
I next drove back down through Idyllwild to SR74 and then south. Baldy Mtn was
delisted by the HPS in 1968 due to private property issues. There is a
starting from SR74 about 3/4mi north of the summit. It has
a Forest Service road sign and is unsigned for "Closed" or "No Trespassing" so I
figured it was ok to go over the gate. There are signs of tire treads on the
road, but I have no idea who drives here. One can follow a series of such dirt
roads to the summit in about 2mi. I took a more direct route that was half that
distance, almost all cross-country. There are many breaks in the
that can be used to avoid any real bushwhacking. Most of the
ascent went up with decent footing and fairly clear
going. An old barbed-wire is encountered just below the
summit area. The lands above the fence are mostly grassy (thus, the name) with
plenty of trees and ok views looking and west. I walked through
the trees to the east some for of San Jacinto and Tahquitz.
The grass was very green, the air crisp and the feeling of having the place to
myself made for a very enjoyable outing, much better than I had expected. I
returned via much the same route, save for some meandering at the end to get
back to the dirt road.
South Fork San Jacinto Wilderness HP
This Wilderness is located in the drainage above Hemet Lake, between Rouse
Ridge and Baldy Mtn. There are two points vying for the highpoint, though as
pointed out by Terry Flood on his PB TR, the western one appears to be the
highest. Neither are very impressive, mostly liners on the side of Thomas Mtn.
I managed to get the van up the Thomas Mtn Road 4mi to the first stop at the
eastern point. This is a short walk to an easy . I could
have parked a lot closer, but it still worked fine from where
. I came back to the van and drove another mile west along the
road to where it and parked the van. Following Terry's guidance,
I walked down the lower road about 75yds and through
the brush. It's brutal without it, and still a bit tough with it since it is
getting overgrown and not easy to follow. I all over the minor
ridgeline descending from the road, satisfied I had covered my tracks but found
no register. I didn't leave one though I had one with me since it wasn't obvious
where a good place to leave one would be and there weren't many rocks to make a
cairn. On out I pulled over to let two
white trucks go by, only to find them parked in the middle of the road five
minutes further on. Seems they were a contractor and landowner discussing
improvements to the property. They saw me waiting but continued their
conversation for several more minutes before finally moving the trucks out of
the way. A bit rude, me thoughts.
Cave Rocks
This is a fun little summit found just west of Anza in Anza Valley. The pile of
rocks noticeably from the flat surroundings. It is a very
short climb from the paved Bautista Canyon Rd on the east side, no fences or
signage to worry about. There is a property on with an
annoying dog,
but otherwise an enjoyable scramble with a solid class 3 finish. I didn't
find the caves referred to in the name, but I didn't really look hard. Had a
long conversation with my daughter at UCSB while I sat at .
Billy Goat Mountain
Found further southwest off SR371 near Aguanga, this one is located on a
wildlife preserve signed for no off-road vehicles. I followed Mike Sullivan's
loop from PB, starting from on the highway. The mountain
is really just a collection of low, rolling hills with a highpoint less than a
mile from where I started. It was wonderfully green with grasses and
scattered everywhere and tiny of yellow,
white and blue sprinkled about. There are three boulders at
vying for the highpoint, is easy class 3, none of them more
than about 5ft in height. It was after 6p by the time I to
the van on SR371. I drove a few more miles to get away from
the highway and find a quiet place to spend the night in the low hills that
characterize the landscape between Temecula and Hemet. It was a nice spot on a
rough dirt road atop one of the hills with nice views overlooking the area -
one of my better camp finds on this trip...
Continued...