Woodson Mountain

Hiked: 12/7/2012
Distance: 7.2 miles round trip on dirt road and trail
Summit Elevation: 2897'
Prominence: 1454'
Elevation Gain: 2059'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 1.64
Round trip time: 2 hours 50 minutes
Recommended water: 84 oz.
Parking/Fees: Free at Lake Poway ($5 from April-October on weekends/holidays)
Difficulty: Moderate

Woodson Mountain is in the northern San Diego area. The Mount Woodson trail can be accessed from Lake Poway by parking near the back of the park and following the signs. The first part is a dirt road that connects to the trail after circling the lower end of the lake. The trail itself is in great condition and there are well marked signs at every junction making navigation a breeze.

It is a very popular hike and there were many people on the trail even through it was not a weekend. I passed three groups of hikers on the way up and met two mountain bikers on their way down. Giant boulders fill the mountain all the way up but do not block the path. No need to climb any of the boulders unless that is the reason you went. It a popular destination for rock climbers.

One unique attraction 0.2 miles from the summit is Potato Chip Rock. It juts out from a boulder and it appears to have been formed by the other half of the boulder being worn away (see photos below).

Starting out, Mount Woodson in the distance, Lake Poway ahead. Head down to the lake and around to start ascending.

Lake Poway

Boulders and more boulders

Approaching the summit with radio towers

Standing on Potato Chip Rock. Photo taken by someone named Ray I met near the top. There is about a 20' drop beneath Potato Chip Rock.

The Karate Kid crane

View southeast from the near the summit

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Other Trip Reports:
Woodson Mountain Redux

Condor Peak and Fox Mountain

Hiked: 11/24/2012
Route 3 San Gabriel Mountains
Distance: 15.5 miles round trip on trail and cross country
Summit Elevation: 5476' (Condor) and 5033' (Fox)
Prominence: 600' (Condor) and 473' (Fox)
Elevation Gain: 4100'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 3.28
Round trip time: 8 hours
Recommended water: 184 oz.
Parking/Fees: Adventure Pass
Difficulty: Strenuous

My original plan was to climb Mount San Gorgonio, but a second winter storm left the top 2000' in a blanket of snow and ice that I was not prepared to tackle solo. The backup plan was Condor Peak (from Vogel Flat off Big Tujunga Canyon road) north of La Crescenta. I added Fox Mountain #2 since the peak was only a short distance off the main trail. Both peaks are on the Sierra Club's hundred peaks list for Southern California. I was looking for a tough hike and was not disappointed. It was a long, hard day that left me spent.

The Condor Trail was closed after the 2009 station fire and only reopened in May, 2012. It was in mixed shape. Many parts were in good shape, but other parts were completely overgrown with grass or shrubs. There were a number of places that were washed out and a burnt tree had fallen over the path at one point (see below). I kept checking for ticks at every stop but didn't find any. In the spring, this trail may be a tickfest. On the way back, I met one other solo hiker heading up. I found a lot of bighorn sheep tracks on the trail, but no other wildlife of note. Weather was perfect, unusually warm for this time of year.

The ascent to Fox Mountain summit is steep over soft dirt. Poles are handy for this one. In contrast, the ascent to Condor Peak is a steep rock scramble and poles get in the way when you need your hands to grab nearby rocks. When I got to the Condor ascent, I hesitated and did some mental math on my odds of making it up and down without an accident. After a few minutes, I decided to proceed, slowly.

Both of these peaks exemplify my favorite kind of hike. There is no road to the top and no shortcuts. The shortest route is at least 10 miles round trip for each. The other routes are in the 14-16 mile range. The only way to make it to the top is with blood, sweat, and determination. I was happy to sign both summit logs the same day.

Condor Peak (left) and Fox Mountain (right) from early on the trail. Far, far away.

A downed tree blocking the trail. I crawled under.

Found these sunglasses in a bush along the trail.

The sun rising over Fox Mountain summit

Fox benchmark

Strawberry Peak (left) and Josephine Peak (right) from Fox Mountain summit

Approach to Condor Peak summit. The trail gives up a few hundred feet of elevation before taking it all back on the ascent. The final ascent looked a little dangerous, but looked worse than it was.

Looking back at Fox Mountain (center) from Condor Peak.

Mt. Wilson from Condor

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Badwater Basin, Death Valley

Hiked: 11/19/2012
Distance: Drive Up
Summit Elevation: -282' (lowest in the North America)
Elevation Gain: N/A
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): N/A
Round trip time: N/A
Recommended water: N/A
Parking/Fees: Death Valley Pass ($20)
Difficulty: Easy

Badwater Basin is the lowest point in North America. My family briefly vacationed in Death Valley this week and although I didn't hike to it, I thought it belonged on the hiking blog for the negative elevation record. My GPS registered -289', while the official USGS measurement is -282'.

Coyote crossed over Badwater Road on the way to the basin.
He paused a little ways off the road to eat something.

Black Star Canyon Falls

Hiked: 11/9/2012, 11/16/2012
Distance: 6.6 miles round trip on road and cross country
Summit Elevation: 1650' at the Falls
Elevation Gain: 800'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 0.64
Round trip time: 3 hours 15 minutes
Recommended water: 64 oz.
Parking/Fees: None
Difficulty: Moderate

Black Star Canyon is filled with mystery, rumors, and ghost stories. But mainly, it is filled with boulders. Very big boulders. This hike starts on a paved road, turns into a dirt road, then after crossing 3 bridges a little more than 2 miles from the start, it descends into the canyon. From the canyon, go left which is up. All the elevation gain is done while ascending the canyon and navigating over and around large boulders and rocks. Some of the boulders are larger than cars, up to 20' high, with some piles reaching higher. There are several places on the way to the Falls where there is no easy choice on where to climb. The constant boulder scramble makes this a unique hike in the OC as far as I know. When I finally reached the Falls, it was dry. It had rained most of the day before and I expected at least a trickle. Even without a gushing waterfall, the trip was a worthwhile challenge. On the second trip, I saw two deer near the parking area, but they fled before I could get a picture.

As the sign says, your safety cannot be guaranteed.

The path down to the canyon

Giant boulders litter the canyon, every one a great place to twist an ankle

Boulders can be bypassed on the right

Black Star Canyon Falls, dry as a bone

Noel and I where the falls usually flow. This is from my second trip to the falls.

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Nix Nature Center Loop, Serrano Ridge

Hiked: 11/4/2012 (x9)
Distance: 4.7 miles round trip on trail and dirt road
Summit Elevation: 824' unnamed bump
Elevation Gain: 850' (500' out, 350' on return)
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 0.68
Round trip time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Recommended water: 48 oz.
Parking/Fees: $3 OC Parks
Difficulty: Easy

The loop from Nix Nature Center starts on the Little Sycamore trail to Serrano Ridge road to Camarillo Canyon trail to Stagecoach South trail back to the Nature Center. The entire loop is 4.7 miles. The Little Sycamore and Stagecoach segments have the elevation gain, Camarillo is downhill and Serrano Ridge road is flat. The loop can be done in reverse, but there are a lot of loose rocks on Little Sycamore that I would rather face going up than coming down. Part of Camarillo Canyon used to be very steep, but that part of the trail has been blocked off and replaced with new switchbacks. This hike is beginner friendly and a great place to burn some calories.

The nature center is new and worth a visit. The Rangers are friendly and the bathrooms are clean. Before I started climbing mountains, I spent a lot of time on these hills. While the area is known for rattlesnakes, I've hiked the loop at least 20 times without seeing a single one. There are two connectors to trails on the other side of the 73 (continuing to follow Serrano Ridge road, and the Old Stagecoach trail from Camarillo) if you want to extend your hike. There are also connectors to trails on the other side of Highway 133.

View from Serrano Ridge road looking back into Little Sycamore canyon.

Rock formations in Camarillo Canyon

Bedford Peak

Hiked: 10/28/2012 (x4)
Distance: 7.2 miles round trip on trail and dirt road
Summit Elevation: 3803'
Prominence: 280'
Elevation Gain: 1953'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 1.56
Round trip time: 2 hours 30 minutes
Recommended water: 80 oz.
Parking/Fees: Adventure Pass
Difficulty: Moderate

This was my second hike (of many) to Bedford Peak up the Silverado Trail in the Santa Ana mountains. The trail head starts just past the visitor's center on Maple Springs Road. Some of the photos are from the first trip. I made an effort to finish in under 3 hours by increasing my speed on the way down and had no trouble with that goal. The elevation gain according to my GPS was 1953' from the trail head, but many sites have the elevation gain above 2000'. Either way, the climb is steady from the start and enough to get the blood pumping. This is one of my favorite hikes that can be done in a morning. It is a single track trail until the very end when you have to take a dirt road about a quarter mile to Bedford Peak. There were lots of hikers and mountain bikers on the trail.

Looking back on the trail, about half way up.

Bedford Peak straight ahead past the bump at the end of the road

Modjeska peak dominates the view

Bedford summit register

Lake Matthews and San Gorgonio from Bedford

Big Iron Mountain #1, Bonita Peak

HPS Star Emblem Peak
Hiked: 10/24/2012
Route 1 San Gabriel Mountains
Distance: 13.8 miles round trip on trail and use trail
Summit Elevation: 8007'
Prominence: 687'
Elevation Gain: 7021'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 5.61
Round trip time: 10 hours 18 minutes
Recommended water: 224 oz.
Parking/Fees: Adventure Pass
Difficulty: Very Strenuous

This was a beast of a hike and the namesake for this blog. Iron Mountain #1 is what I mean when I talk about hiking.

To get there (Iron Mountain #1), from Interstate 210, take the Azusa Avenue (SR 39) exit and go north up San Gabriel Canyon about 12 miles to where the East Fork Bridge turns right. Cross the bridge, and continue straight on E Fork Road. When you come to Shoemaker road, stay right on E Fork Road past Camp Williams. Keep going past River Community. When the road curves sharply to the right and becomes Glendora Mountain Road, keep going straight on E Fork, down a small hill and over a wooden bridge. Continue for about a half mile to the parking lot. From the parking lot, you can get a self issued permit to carry with you. There is a gated road near the permits, that is NOT where you want to go. There is another gated dirt road at the other end of the parking lot that follows the river. Go down that road a half mile to the Heaton Flats trail head.

The "easy" part of the hike is the first 4.5 miles to the Allison Saddle, following a groomed trail over a roller coaster ride of 5 bumps. Along the way, you traverse over the lower peak summit of Bonita Peak. The views from Bonita are not much different than the ridge after 3042'. I didn't find a register or benchmark on Bonita. The up and down theme continues throughout, as you lose elevation then immediately make it up. The hard part comes in the last few miles when the average elevation gain per mile increases sharply (1370'/mi). Immediately after the Allison Saddle is a very steep scramble up loose dirt and rocks. Beyond that, steady, upward climbing is broken up with some plateaus and occasional dips. The yuccas were not as much of a problem as I'd read in other trip reports. With care, they can mostly be avoided. The final 800' ascent seemed very difficult, maybe because I was tired. The rock scramble just before the summit was a relief from the loose dirt. The steep descent was difficult. I slipped no less than five times, ripping holes in my shorts. I might have moved slower but I was under time pressure to get down before nightfall.

This was my first trip to use the Garmin eTrex 20 GPS with topo maps. I am still learning how to use it, and only used three features: current elevation, direction, and tracking map. The tracking map was very helpful during the descent to make sure I was coming down the same way I went up. The elevation gave me a good idea of where I was on the mountain.

San Antonio Ridge and Mt Baldy from Iron Mountain summit

See Also:
Estimated Energy to hike Iron Mountain #1