Saturday, July 21, 2018

Antsell Rock and Apache Peak

HPS Star Emblem Peak
Hiked: 7/20/2018
Distance: 7.2 miles round trip on trail and cross country
Summit Elevation: 7679' (Antsell), 7567' (Apache)
Prominence: 519' (Antsell), 687' (Apache)
Elevation Gain: 3156'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 2.52
Max Slope: 68%
Round trip time: 6 hours 50 minutes
Recommended water: 96 oz.
Parking/Fees: Free on Apple Canyon Road
Difficulty: Strenuous

Named after a local artist, Antsell Rock is the most difficult peak on the Desert Divide, a high and jagged ridge running south from San Jacinto Peak. Jerry Schad called it the jewel of the Divide. From his book, Afoot and Afield: Inland Empire:
...its stony buttresses make an impressive sight from most directions. It is also one of the few mountaineers’ peaks in Southern California that requires more than the usual plodding to reach the third class summit.
Sean and I drove up Highway 74 to the Zen Mountain Center visitor parking lot. The last mile of Apple Canyon Road is a good dirt road and the parking lot was on the left. We walked past the entrance gate and stayed left at two road splits. We continued up the dirt road past three water towers on the left, then continued straight past the first switchback to the start of the trail. The climb up the Zen trail is steep in parts, gaining about 1300' in a little over a mile. Vegetation is starting to encroach on parts of it, but cairns and orange ribbon kept us on track most of the way. There was still a lot of burn damage from multiple fires in the past. Near the top, it got a little confusing where deer trails competed with the eroded main trail. We managed to stay on track and emerged onto the PCT at the saddle between Antsell Rock and Apache. From there, it was a quick half mile to the east ascent gully, marked with its own rock cairn. There was no visible damage to the PCT.




Water tanks, trail starts directly ahead past road switchback



Looking down Apple Canyon


Start of ascent gully

The ascent gully was very steep, rising about 750' in a third of a mile. It was sandy, loose, and challenging. We both dislodged huge rocks on the way up and I often used vegetation to assist my climb. As the gully narrows at the top, some class 3 scrambling over boulders and trees was necessary. I was a sweat faucet when we reached the top of the gully, the base of the Antsell summit. The other popular route to reach the base is the north ridge. At the base, I instantly recognized the starting class 3 crack from Hikin' Jims 2013 report. I collapsed my trekking pole and placed it in my backpack, then started up. The pole got hung in part of the crack, so as soon I reached the first ledge, I removed it from my pack and threw it down to the base. It would have been a dangerous hazard the rest of the way. Sean waited until I reached the top of the crack before starting up. We continued over the top boulders to find the dead pine tree, a sign we were on the right track. We passed left of the tree, then ducked under some small pines on a down sloping slab. This got us into the "brushed up" gully. It appeared that someone had done some clipping, because we found a relatively clear path to the next class 3 section. I went first again and when Sean made it up, we angled left for easier terrain. We took different class 2 lines to the summit. Sean opted for a more direct, but more exposed track, and I switched back more to the right. On the summit was a pole marker and a small US flag. Standard HPS red cans held the register that went back to 1998 and was a little more than half full. I searched to find Hikin' Jims entry and noted the others climbers I knew. We didn't find a benchmark. The views were magnificent. We took a fairly long break to enjoy the summit and tried to capture photos that did it justice. I don't think we succeeded in the latter. After signing in, we reversed course. Going down the steep gully was as slow and difficult as going up. Once back on the PCT, we hiked past the Zen trail and headed for Apache Peak.


Narrowing gully


Sean above a scramble section


Sean climbing the first crack


Continue over these boulders


Dead tree section and brushy gully


Next class 3 section


Sean reaching the summit


North ridge, the ascent gully is on the right before the bump


West ridge


Apple Canyon






South ridge



The dual peaks of Apache were not far from the saddle, less than a mile. Although it is lower, the east summit looked higher to me most of the day. I misread the GPS and led us a short distance past the place we needed to leave the trail. We back tracked past a giant rock outcrop and Sean stashed his pack before the ascent. A patchy use trail led to Apache. It cut through shin level buckthorn that had grown over the trail in places. There was no register or benchmark among the boulder piles on the summit. Like Antsell, Apache had great views down into Apple Canyon. Since the east summit was so close, we paid it a quick visit, but found nothing of note. Dark clouds had boiled up as the afternoon approached, keeping us cool. It looked like it was raining on top of San Jacinto, but rain never felt imminent where we were. We cruised back down the Zen trail to wrap a memorable day.


On the way down, my trekking pole where I threw it


The desert side of the desert divide




Sean climbing up past the giant outcrop


Apache Peak summit


Antsell Rock from Apache


Sean on Apache East with Apache in the background



Other reports:
Hikin' Jim (north ridge approach)
Peaks for Freaks (east gully approach)

7 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    1. Nathan L,

      Well, turns out it is not open again, something I learned after the fact. The sources I checked were not authoritative. I put a note at the top of the report about it so I don't mislead people. The PCT itself was in great shape so I hope it is reopened at the end of the year.

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  2. Second that, nice report in your ongoing, compelling adventure series. No offense meant whatsoever to Hiking Jim--he remains a real local legend to many of us--but dig that old Mars Bonfire register entry! Famous composer of Steppenwolf's "Born to be Wild" among many tracks and reported 25-time finisher of the HPS List. Cool sighting!

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    1. Gloop, thanks! Yeah, I've seen Mars Bonfire all over the HPS peaks and some of his 25x entries. Eagle Crag was a killer and I saw his 25x in that one. I learned about his musical background a few years ago. It's a cool inside baseball kind of factoid.

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    2. I'm definitely a legend in my own mind, lol.

      Pretty interesting to see my old register entry. It looks as fresh as the day I wrote it! Equally astounding was that Mars Bonfire entry from 1998. I think I did my first ascent of Antsell somewhere around in there. It would be interesting to see if both of my entries are there -- although I may have done my first climb prior to 1998; I can't remember exactly what year I did my first climb only that it was some time in the '90's.

      HJ

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  3. Thanks Teke for the referral to the Eagle Crag TR--epic! Latest Cranston Fire Inciweb map this evening showing burn perimeter right on or close to Antsell, hasn't yet crossed the ridge south to Apache...Apple Cyn. still clear--for now. Heartbreaking. Glad you got up there before this latest disaster resets the area back to closed for years.

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    1. Gloop,

      The latest arson fire is a horrible tragedy. The top 100' of Antsell is all rock, so should be ok, but the forest probably won't recover in my lifetime.

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