Distance: 8.3 miles round trip on dirt road and use trail
Summit Elevation: 4360'
Elevation Gain: 3435'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 2.74
Round trip time: 5 hours 15 minutes
Recommended water: 154 oz.*
Parking/Fees: Free on Ridgeside Drive
Difficulty: Strenuous
* I took 128 oz and ran out, recommend 154 oz in the summer
Another Sierra Club Great Lower Peak in the ANF between Mt. Zion and Mt. Bliss. I did the alternate route starting on Clamshell Truck Trail, then up the firebreak. I very much underestimated the effort and water required for this hike. I parked a little ways away from the driveway that leads to Clamshell Truck Trail. The road starts out with a gentle gain and winds around Ruby Canyon about a mile until you reach an obvious firebreak going up on the right. There was a Monrovia ranger truck parked there with the windows down, but no ranger in sight. I started up the firebreak wondering if I would run into him doing some kind of maintenance or rescue, but I never saw anyone and the truck was gone when I got back. The firebreak separates Ruby Canyon from Clamshell Canyon, and was easy to climb at first. A very steep section starts at the 2 mile mark and gains 1500' in the next mile. Worse, it was over loose dirt. A few times, I grabbed small brush or large clumps of grass to aid my ascent.
Clamshell Truck Trail
Monrovia park ranger truck in front of the firebreak to Clamshell Peak
Some kind of structure ruins, or a camp site
Up and OMG UP
After topping the initial ridge, the trail deteriorated into criss-crossing animal trails. I also found a pink metal marker after the first steep section but no benchmark or sign. Going up, it was pretty easy to stay oriented, but not so coming down. The last mile to the summit only gained about 950', but sections of animal trail were completely overgrown and must be bashed through. The vegetation was mostly knee high to waist high grass, weeds, and other soft plants. At the very end, the trail opened back up onto the overgrown Upper Clamshell Road, a welcome change. No poison oak was on the ridge line, but there was a little poodle dog bush. There was almost no shade the entire way except a few smallish trees that provided a few square yards of relief. I climbed over numerous bumps and a false summit, never seeing Clamshell Peak until near the very end. The summit itself was flat with good views of Rankin/Monrovia Peaks, Bliss, and Mt. Wilson. I found the summit register in a buried concrete bunker under a large iron grate. Spiders had built webs over the register cans. I cleaned up the cans and unwrapped the registers from 6 plastic bags. There were two small notebooks, one going back to 1987. Before me, Clamshell was last visited in April. I signed the register and returned it to the concrete bunker. I forced myself to eat something, but the heat had killed my appetite.
Pink metal marker after the first steep section, no benchmark, no signs
False summits in the distance
Following animal trails
First look at Clamshell Peak from the false summit
Clamshell guarded by yucca
Concrete bunker with register
Register and 6 protective plastic bags
First entry, Jan 24, 1987
April 24, 2014 was the previous entry
Mt. Wilson from Clamshell Peak summit
Rankin and Monrovia Peaks from Clamshell
Soon, I started down, following the same animal and bushwhacked trails. I blindly followed the best animal trail right down the wrong ridge. When the area started looking unfamiliar, I checked the GPS and saw my mistake. I had to climb 100' back up to find the path down the right ridge and that was when I ran out of water. I took 128 oz, but needed about 154 oz, and put that number in my summary. Back on track, I could not descend too quickly due to the angles and loose dirt. While difficult, it was still much easier than going up. Without water, I was dehydrated by the time I reached the road, and even more so when I got back to the car. Fortunately, I had plenty of water in the car and did nothing but drink until my thirst was slaked. The stats reflect my mistakes. With no errors, the round trip would have been 8 miles and 3335' of gain, with most of the gain concentrated in the last two miles. Light bushwhacking both ways and some route finding was needed on the way down. I understand why some people continue over Rankin and Monrovia because most of the gain is done by the time you get to Clamshell and you don't have to come down the steep dirt. Clamshell was a tough little peak on this route. It was my 100th listed Sierra Club peak.
I did this over the weekend with two friends. We kept going over Rankin and Monrovia peaks and then down to White Saddle, down past Trask Boyscout camp and then down out of the Monrovia canyon park and then back up Ridgeside Dr. to the car. That turned out to be about 18 miles total,and we were TIRED. It took about 11 hours total-- we were very worried about going back down that steep section you mentioned. I wish I had read this before we went. The pink metal marker is not there anymore, but someone has helpfully put up pink ribbon on tree and bush branches to help guide the way to clamshell peak. The pink markers kind of disappear after that first peak. Someone else has slipped a GIANT plastic cockroach into the trail marker ziplock, so be prepared! Once up there already Rankin and Monrovia were not too bad although there is some steepness there too, but nothing like that first climb. Thank goodness it was early enough in the year that the vegetation was green enough to use for handholds. The day was not too hot and I had 100oz of water and did not even use it all on this trip. But I wouldn't want to do it in the hottest part of the year for sure.
ReplyDeleteLesliepop,
DeleteThanks for the trail status update and cockroach warning. Clamshell is not heavily trafficked and not easy to find. Heading over Rankin and Monrovia after Clamshell is a very big hike, but I get why people do it. You have already done the hard part.
I did this yesterday. the trail to the pink metal marker is gnarly to say the least. Overgrown, slippery and steep. But from the marker all the way to clamshell and even to rankin and monrovia, it's all bull dozed fire break, which can be very steep (how did they get a bulldozer to do this?). It's also easy to follow, but kind of rough to walk on, but it's better than fighting the bushes. It took me 5 hours to get to Monrovia peak. No one else out there. views are great. some nice forested area between clamshell and monrovia. Drank 4.5 liters of water. I can't remember the last time I had to stop and catch my breath so many times. Incredible rugged journey. Also, you have to park 1/2 mile from the clamshell truck trail, because the neighborhood has restricted parking now. GPS at parking area said 775 feet, so counting the ups and downs it's over 5000 ft elevation gain.
ReplyDeleteUnknown,
DeleteNo doubt about the steepness of the ridge before the marker. I've seen pictures of the new firebreak, a good idea given how much fuel was up there. I think you picked a good time of year to go. It was hellish up there in the summer. Nice work getting Monrovia and Rankin. I still haven't made it out to those two.
I did the hike yesterday from the start of the Lower Clamshell Truck Trail to Clamshell Peak and returned the same route.
ReplyDeleteI must say this is one hell of torture. The extra steep mile seemed intimidating but actually wasn't too bad when ascending. Because one remains energetic after the first 2 miles of easy stride on the gentle truck trail. And the elevation at the use trail start is only around 1,900 feet, no concern about thin air. The problem came during descent. Man, so steep, like cliffs! Mile 1.9 and 2.9 has an elevation difference of 1,600 feet. The steepest 0.2 mile drops 500 feet, which is equivalent to 2,500 feet loss per mile! I couldn't believe myself walked up this way. Looking back up, it is like a wall behind me! Crazy! Plus, loose sands and stones. I had to grab the plants on both sides to avoid a fatal fall in most parts of that mile. My toes hurt badly on the way down. In order to relieve the pressure and ease the pain, I decided to desend sideways sometimes, like a crab.
Guess what? I made the same mistake as you did and got lost for over an hour before figuring out what went wrong. That spot is very tricky. When ascending, you won't notice that southwest bound downhill dead end truck trail on the left; when descending, you can only see that one in front of you, but not the correct southeast bound animal trail on the left.
All in all, I don't recommend this hike, considering the risks of falling & getting lost. Night hiking on this trail is absolutely "no-no!" You will likely end up in injury or spending the night with the beasts out there.
Anonymous,
DeleteIt sounds like you had pretty much the same experience as me. I was using vegetation going up and down that very steep slope. Using a pole helps a lot with downhills. I agree being up there at night would be dangerous. If it is still as overgrown as when I went, it would be very easy to step on a snake or wander down the wrong ridge. Glad you made it back safely.
I encountered only 2 people camping near the start of the use trail that Tuesday. Due to its unpopularity among hikers, many sections of the use trail are overgrown. The vegetation covers up the trail, making it not very visible from above.
ReplyDeleteCalling it an animal trail is accurate. Wherever humans rarely visit, wild animals travel more. I never saw so many animal tracks anywhere else, thousands of them, in the middle part of trail. Mostly, of mountain lions. Some belong to bobcats, foxes and deer. Very few of bears. Funny, no human footprints except my own above elevation 3,000 feet. None of these animals showed up that day. Who knows whether a mountain lion peeked down at me from the woods above or not?
The greatest advantage of day hiking over night hiking is that you can spot the correct trail from far away after losing your way in descent. Never hike in the dark unless the trail system is very simple and you are familiar with it. Even if equipped with detailed maps and GPS, without visible landmarks, you still can lose your way.
Hiking poles would be helpful in most parts of the trails, except the steepest zone. I'd rather carry them on the back than use them there. To prevent slipping, I prefer taking a grip on bushes or big rocks.
I climbed Clamshell Peak last week and it's definitely no joke. I almost stepped into a rattle snake which was hidden under a bush. There's a lot to watch out for when the route is overgrown like this. By the way, your story here was a great reference so thanks for sharing it. I knew I was on the right track when I saw the pink metal marker. A highlight of the climb was looking down on Chantry Flats. But the false summits were taunting. After a few hours I thought I was close but then saw the summit in the distance and felt a bit of impatience. I knew time was a factor so I didn't think about it and kept walking, and I found myself at the top before I expected. It was nice to get some shade there, but it was just so dry and overgrown.
ReplyDeleteMy plan was to reach Rankin and Monrovia peaks but it took a moment to find the use trail that leads down to the road. Since I wanted to be heading down before sunset, it felt a little frustrating so I just took a chance at a section that was less overgrown (taking chances is never fun on hikes), and it turned out to be the correct path, just a steep descent. The views of Rincon road and Twin Peaks were appreciated. But the firebreaks on the way to Rankin, not so much. One thing that makes this hike brutal is that there aren't many places to sit or take a break. Not a lot of shade either.
As I approached the top of Rankin Peak, I was kidding myself by hoping it was Monrovia, and that I had passed Ranking without knowing it. But I saw the monument at the top, it was just buried by vegetation. And when I looked ahead I saw the actual Monrovia Peak. After so many steep ups and downs on firebreaks, seeing the taller peaks can be discouraging, but of course I couldn't give up after getting that far. I've seen pictures of the firebreak up to Monrovia Peak in pictures, but they don't do it justice. It looks colossal in person, at least after a day of climbing. But again, I didn't think about it, just kept walking and found myself at the top sooner than expected.
The views were great but it was close to 5 PM already and I couldn't stay too long since it gets dark around that time this time of year. The next challenge was descending the firebreak on the east side (my plan was to make it down to White Saddle, then down to Duarte). I wasn't sure I was going the right way since it was steep enough to look like a rocky cliff. I saw no other choice so I just headed down and it was perilous, at least for me since I was rushing. I had to grab on to plants and rocks to prevent falling. And I had to watch where I stepped because it seemed to cause small rock slides. I finally made it down and connected to the Rincon road. I made some wrong turns along the way to White Saddle (it can be tricky in the dark) but made it. It was already dark but luckily the moon was shinning and worked as a light source. I didn't pack a flashlight because I was worried about carrying extra weight during the climb and underestimated the time it would take. I also didn't carry enough for that reason. It was cold, dark and windy but I was so relieved to be done with the steep firebreaks and rocky descents, that it didn't even bother me. With the exception of aching toes, the way down was relaxing. What I would recommend to anyone who wants to make it to Monrovia Peak via Clamshell would be to bring enough water and start no later than 7 AM.
Anonymous,
DeleteThat is quite a report. Nice work going all the way to Rankin and Monrovia. I still haven't got back to pick those up yet. It's still warm enough for snakes later in the day so they are still a hazard. I can imagine what Monrovia looked like up close. FYI, I always carry a small flashlight and extra batteries in case I get caught in the dark. I totally agree with you on extra water. I didn't bring enough and I was just doing Clamshell.
Indeed. The climb up to Clamshell is actually the hardest part. The rest just felt more strenuous after climbing to Clamshell. If one were to go up Rincon Road the firebreaks up to Rankin and Monrovia wouldn't feel as bad. I imagine hiking up from Monrovia Canyon Park or even Van Tassel Ridge from Duarte would be easier to access Monrovia Peak than climbing Clamshell. Though the firebreaks that lead up to the summit from Rincon seem tougher than the one on the west coming from Rankin.
DeleteI've read that you can ask the ranger for a key to the Rincon Road gate. Then, you could drive to the firebreaks. That's what some people working on the Sierra Club HPS list do.
DeleteYes, you can get permission from the rangers. I think it's the combination to a lock at the Rincon gate. Driving up the road would save a lot of time and energy. I'd like to travel the Rincon Road just for the sight-seeing.
Delete