Los Pinos via Los Pinos Ridge, Peak 1590

Hiked: 4/28/2017
Distance: 16 miles round trip on road, trail, and use trail
Summit Elevation: 4510' (Los Pinos), 1590' (Peak 1590)
Prominence: 610' (Los Pinos)
Elevation Gain: 5423'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 4.33
Round trip time: 9 hours 15 minutes
Recommended water: 192 oz.
Parking/Fees: Adventure Pass
Difficulty: Strenuous

It had been a long time since my last grueling training hike, so I lined up Los Pinos Ridge in the Santa Anas. I need to do high mileage/gain from time to time to stay in the game, both physically and mentally. This hike, with a bonus peak at the start and almost 1000' of gain on the way back, was a firm test. It is best to do this one before it gets too hot because the ridge seems to reflect and magnify heat. There was very little shade and no water. The major ups and downs reminded me of the main trail to El Cajon in San Diego county, just bigger. It is easy to underestimate this hike.

The hike starts at the San Juan Trailhead off Ortega Highway. The Los Pinos Trail starts about half a mile up Hot Spring Canyon Road in the private in-holding of Lazy W Ranch, just past the archery range. Technically, you need permission from the Lazy W Ranch to use their road to get to the Los Pinos trail. I called their number on the way (949-728-0141) and the person I spoke with was very nice about granting access. They don't really care who hikes the trail, but want to be informed. Jerry Schad listed this ridge in his Afoot and Afield in Orange County book as a 10 mile one way trek starting from Blue Jay Campground, over Los Pinos, then descending the ridge. He gave the one way descent his toughest difficulty rating. Schad's write up mentioned that the trail was overgrown, but it was mostly clear except in a few spots. I walked through the Lazy W not seeing anyone and headed up the signed trail. In less than a mile, I reached a saddle where a use trail on the left went to Peak 1590. I decided to do this first, knowing I would not feel like the side trip on the way back. I dropped my pack, taking only a pencil in case there was a register in need of one. I ascended the good use trail about 350' to the summit where I found no register or marks. From the summit of 1590, I could see Los Pinos far up the canyon and knew I was in for a grind. Once I got back on the Los Pinos trail, I noticed some inspirational signs probably placed by the camp. The signs disappeared near the top of the first bump. The ridge trail rolled up and down, then through an overgrown grassy field before reaching the first of three major bumps. I picked up dozens of fox tails from the grass and had to step carefully in case any vipers were in my path. None were. The trail that switchbacked up the major bump looked very overgrown so I took a steep, direct use trail instead. I continued up the ridge to the peak where the ridge turns west. Just after the turn, I stopped for a break and dropped a water cache for the return trip. Half way to Los Pinos, I was already drenched in sweat and tired.

Start of the trail

Early steps

Peak 1590

Remains of an antenna on Peak 1590

Los Pinos from 1590, about one light year away

Overgrown grassy section below first major bump

Bell Ridge, Santiago behind

Approaching the 3rd major bump

During my break, I noticed a tick on my leg, not yet attached. I ended up killing three ticks before the day was over. The next part of the trail led up to the most prominent bump at 3907'. On the other side, it dropped more than 300' to a saddle before going up again. The constant up and down was a mental drain, giving up gain, then climbing again, over and over. Finally, the end was in sight. I had three minor bumps to overcome to get to Los Pinos. I don't know if it was the heat, but I felt a half-step slow all day. When I reached the summit, I signed the register. I planned to finish the sandwich I brought, but there were a lot of flies on the summit, so I decided to descend to the first attractive boulder and eat there. Along the way, I started feeling overheated. It was killing my appetite. I found a small bit of shade and forced most of the sandwich down before going on. In addition to the 3 major bumps on the way back, there were 4 minor bumps, and several I didn't count. I humped it over the major bumps and rested again at the water cache. I checked my thermometer and it read 90 degrees. It was at least 5 degrees above the expected high in Rancho Santa Margarita. Heat reflection. I took time to clean out my shoes and continued the descent. I was glad I had done Peak 1590 at the start. It was a relief to get back to the car. This was my third and toughest summit of Los Pinos in Orange County. I had now climbed it along all three major ridge lines, completing the "Los Pinos triad": the West Ridge (standard route), Bell Ridge, and Los Pinos Ridge. It was a nice day and a great training hike despite the suffering -- although I guess that was the point.

Descending the 3rd major bump

Weird marker at a minor bump just below Los Pinos

Final stretch

Summit! But a lot of work to do to get back

Newest register, added by Sierra Club notables

Long ridge back (right), Old Sugarloaf looking pointy (left)

Smartly colored horned lizard

Trail maintenance shovel on the way back

The Triad: West Ridge (green), Bell Ridge (yellow), Los Pinos Ridge (red)

Other reports:
Pinos Ridge (Mountaineering Review)

Sugarloaf Redux (Orange County)

Hiked: 4/14/2017
Distance: 7.6 miles round trip on trail
Summit Elevation: 3227'
Elevation Gain: 1507'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 1.20
Round trip time: 4 hours 15 minutes
Recommended water: 72 oz.
Parking/Fees: Adventure Pass
Difficulty: Strenuous (class 5 summit block)

One of the first Lower Peaks I hiked four years ago was Sugarloaf in the Santa Ana Mountains. The Sierra Club guide mentions a class 5 summit block. With fledgling rope skills, I felt an obligation to return and stand on the summit block. I upgraded the rating on this hike to strenuous since it includes carrying the weight of the climbing gear out and back, and climbing the summit block. I parked at the small turnout near Blue Jay campground, taking the same route to Sugarloaf as I did in 2013. Since my last visit, the road had been repaved and was in great shape. I started down the San Juan trail staying left at each side trail leading up to the campgrounds. At the first 4-way junction, I turned left, though going straight would also get you to the next 4-way junction in a more leisurely and shaded way. At the second 4-way junction, I continued straight dropping down to a series of glades near Chiquito Spring. This is probably the most scenic part of the hike. I saw two mule deer in the glade but they bounded away too fast for my camera. Poison oak was heavy along the trail through Chiquito Spring, even intruding in a few places. The trail then started to grow more rutted showing heavy mountain bike use. I passed 8 bikers on the day, 4 out and 4 back. By comparison, I only met 3 hikers. When I reached the use trail to Sugarloaf, I followed it to the summit area and unpacked my climbing gear. I took a few pictures around the summit boulders and scrambled up the class 3 lower boulder to look at the air gap. The lower block is only about 4' lower and is separated from the higher block by a 4' air gap. It is possible to make the leap to the higher block, but there is no margin for error. After I completed this hike, I found a picture of my friend Brad Stemm on the summit and jumping back from it on Patrick O'Neills blog. A slip or bad landing might lead to a 15' "plinko" between the two blocks, banging your head multiple times on the way down. A successful jump requires a risky leap back to the lower block. I wanted no part of it my first trip and looking at it again, decided that using a rope was safer.

Sugarloaf from the start

One of the lush glades near Chiquito Spring

Use trail start

New summit sign, highest boulder in the back middle

West face, shortest ascent line of the class 5 boulder

Air gap from below, between the highest (left) and 2nd highest (right) boulders

View of the gap from the 2nd highest boulder

Standing on the edge of the lower boulder looking at the highest boulder across the air gap

I circled the highest block looking for the best anchor locations and ascent lines. The boulder is strangely shaped, kind of L shaped. The shortest line was up was the west face, about 15' and also the most convenient to climb. There were tiny imperfections in the rock that might serve as holds. I checked out a few boulders on the opposite side for anchors, but one was rotten so I decided to use two healthy trees instead. I threw the 30m dynamic rope over from the ascent side, (it took three tries), then I rigged the anchor with 1" nylon webbing and two carabiners. I returned to the ascent side and geared up. I attached my harness to the rope with a prusik for protection, and rigged a second to use as an aid if needed. I made a couple of attempts to start up using only rock holds, but the rock was not vertical. It was a little more than 90 degrees, and tilted back at me in a slight overhanging angle. I could not stay on the holds for more than a few seconds. I fell back on my 2nd prusik for aid, but as I stepped down, the dynamic rope stretched and negated much of my effort. I should have brought the static rope I used on Squaretop. Eventually, I was able to struggle up enough to get a foot hold on the rock. Then, I used upper body strength to pull myself close enough to swing my left leg over the lower part of the summit and pull myself the rest of the way up. It was probably the ugliest climbing I've ever done. First class ugly, but I got to the top. The summit was big enough for several people. Layers of rock were flaking off the very top. The views were great and I took some video and photospheres to enjoy later. There were no official marks on top and I didn't expect any. After a short celebration, I realized I left my belay/rappel device in my bag below and would have to rely on the prusik to get down. I learned another important lesson today -- always rappel from summits if possible. I had re-positioned the rope to what I thought was ideal for friction, then slid toward the edge. As I started to go over, the prusik hung on the lip and I was stuck. I had to find purchase on the rock with my feet to ease the pressure on the knot so I could slide it down. I worked it free and lowered myself further. What happened next, putting a positive spin on it, was a semi-controlled rapid descent to the ground. I came down quickly through part of a tree into a sitting position on a small boulder at the bottom. I took a quick inventory of body parts and found no major damage. Whew. I did have a pretty bad rope burn on my left hand from the rapid descent. I was surprised the prusik did not bite past the lip. It might have gotten tangled when I tried to free it. Anyway, I should have combined it with an arm rappel and not relied solely on the knot. A teachable moment. After a brief rest to catch my breath and sign the register, I gathered up my gear and started the hike back. Despite two aspirin, my hand screamed at me all the way to the truck. The class 5 summit boulder was more difficult than I expected, but it was worth it to nab the true summit block. I left a good-natured comment on Bob Burd's site prodding him to come back and climb it, but he may not have taken it that way. The comment is gone. I am sure he would do a better job climbing it than I did.

anchor

Looking up the rope from the ascent side

Rope coming off the back side to the anchor

Climbing the rope more than the rock

Over the edge

Looking back over the ascent side

Old Sugarloaf from the Sugarloaf true summit

Looking at the air gap back to the lower boulder

Looking south to the summit area, register can is underneath the large boulder

Ortega Falls

Hiked: 4/14/2017
Distance: 0.7 miles round trip on trail
Summit Elevation: 2227' (above the falls)
Elevation Gain: 450'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 0.36
Round trip time: 40 minutes
Recommended water: 0 oz.
Parking/Fees: Adventure Pass
Difficulty: Easy

For several years, I confused Ortega Falls and San Juan Falls. It wasn't until I started doing more research that I figured out Ortega was a separate area a couple of miles up highway 74 past the Candy Store. There is a large turnout on both sides of the road at mile marker 4.4 and today it was almost filled. Families and rowdy teen groups were out in equal force enjoying the still strong multi-tiered falls. The area is criss-crossed with use trail leading to different sections of the falls. I followed what looked a major artery down to the lowest tier. People were swimming, picnicking, and there was a general party atmosphere. I took some photos and video, then moved up to the next tier. Some of the tiers could be scrambled in reasonable safety, while some I followed use trails up and around. I repeated this until I came to the last tier and the use trails and safe scrambling options ran out. I followed random use trails back to wrap up a 40 minute visit. The upper tiers of the falls are quite impressive and flowing with authority. Despite some graffiti and trash, it's a nice area and worth a stop.

Main use trail to lower falls area

Scrambling to tier 2

Tier 2

Looking down from tier 2

Tier 3

Looking down from tier 3

Tier 4

Sierra Club Lower Peaks List Finish

Hiked: 10/12/2012 to 6/23/2021
Distance: 573.9 miles
Average Distance: 7.8 miles (per hike)
Summit Elevation: 1266' (Lowest) to 4957' (Highest)
Total Gain: 151,910'
Total Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 121.5
Average Gain: 2080' (per hike)
Total Hike Time: 268.5 hours
Average Miles/Hour: 2.1
Total Miles Driven: 12,208
Parking/Fees/Fares: $355
Islands: 2
Difficulty: Easy to Strenuous

Santa Paula Peak (highest on the list) has been suspended for years due to closure of a private access road. I hiked up Santa Paula Canyon to an unmaintained trail to reach it in 2021, 4 years after finishing the rest of the list. Stats were updated to include Santa Paula.

The Sierra Club Lower Peaks List contained 85 peaks at the time of my list finish. The list changed three times while I was working on it. It may have changed again by the time you read this. I found an old version of the list online that only had 63 peaks, and a version from 2004 that had 75 peaks. It is fluid. This meta post provides concrete data on what chasing the list required. It surprised me how much driving was necessary to get to all the mountains. Your experience will vary depending on where you live and how you many peaks you combine into single trips. A quick note about the Average Distance and Gain. I used the average per hike (74 hikes) instead of the average per peak because I climbed more than one official peak on many hikes. I thought it better represented the experience to list the averages per hike. For comparison, the average distance per peak was 7.1 miles and the average gain per peak was 1,898'.

Bagging all the peaks is something most people can physically do, but few have the perseverance and desire to do. It required a significant commitment of time, energy, and treasure. A natural way to approach the list is by doing the closest ones first, and that's what I did. The problem with that strategy is that each additional peak got more painful in terms of drive time and inconvenience. Completing the list is an accomplishment about which I have some small amount of pride. At the same time, I am humbled having stood on the shoulders of giants who provided beta, routes, reports, and inspiration. Thanks to the Sierra Club for selecting a fine group of peaks under 5000' to explore. Thanks to Bob Burd for the original inspiration to chase crazy lists. And special thanks to Adam Walker for being my climbing partner on Bishop.

Distance and Time in the table is for the round trip hike. Drive was the round trip drive in miles.

The table below can be sorted by clicking on any column heading or filtered by typing in the search box.
Note: a zero (0) for distance, gain, time, and drive means that peak was part of a multi-peak day hike and the stats were combined for one peak in the trip.

Peak	Summit	Distance (mi)	Gain	Time (hrs)	Drive (mi)	Report
Sitton Peak	3273'	9.5	2150'	4	58	report
Bonita Peak	3983'	6	1900'	3	138	report
Bedford Peak	3803'	7.2	1953'	2.5	58	report
Woodson Mountain	2897'	7.2	2059'	2.8	138	report
Los Pinos Peak	4510'	5.4	1400'	2	70	report
Sugarloaf Peak	3227'	11.2	2450'	4.2	68	report
Old Sugarloaf Peak	3326'	0	0'	0	0	report
Sandstone Peak	3111'	8	1927'	4.3	194	report
Boney Peak	2825'	0	0'	0	0	report
Inspiration Point	2800'	0	0'	0	0	report
Tri Peaks	3000'	0	0'	0	0	report
Trabuco Peak	4606'	10.9	2230'	4.7	70	report
Margarita Peak	3189'	6	1000'	2.2	118	report
San Mateo Peak	3591'	4.4	800'	2	70	report
Pleasants Peak	4007'	16.5	3775'	7	58	report
Yale, Mt.	4763'	9.2	2575'	4.3	166	report
Hastings Peak	4003'	0	0'	0	0	report
Bald Peak	3947'	9.4	2911'	4.3	64	report
Sierra Peak	3045'	12.7	2600'	5.2	60	report
San Juan Hill	1781'	9	2031'	2.8	62	report
Gilman Peak	1685'	0	0'	0	0	report
Iron Mountain	2696'	5.5	1101'	1.8	148	report
Cahuenga Peak	1820'	8.6	1783'	2.8	118	report
Hollywood, Mt.	1625'	0	0'	0	0	report
Azusa Peak	2081'	2.5	1260'	1.2	104	report
Wild Horse Peak	3279'	10.6	2121'	5	136	report
Stoddard Peak	4627'	14.2	2794'	6.3	130	report
Frankish Peak	4201'	0	0'	0	0	report
Potato Mountain	3400'	4.5	1214'	1.7	114	report
Zion, Mt.	3575'	9.2	2375'	4.7	128	report
McKinley Mountain	3795'	3	1645'	2	162	report
Jones Peak	3375'	6.1	2395'	3.5	124	report
Glendora Mountain	3322'	0.8	275'	0.5	112	report
Bliss, Mt.	3720'	8.5	2963'	3.5	112	report
Mugu Peak	1266'	2.1	1250'	1	196	report
Exchange Peak	2950'	8.3	2613'	3.7	26	report
Big Dome	2900'	0	0'	0	0	report
Russell, Mt.	2704'	3.7	1133'	1.8	134	report
Harrison Mountain	4743'	3.2	1725'	2.7	136	report
Verdugo Mountain	3123'	5.3	1981'	2.2	130	report
Muir, Mt.	4688'	6.5	1750'	2.2	162	report
Clamshell Peak	4360'	8.3	3435'	5.2	122	report
Silver Mountain	3388'	12.6	4100'	7	118	report
Pine Mountain	4542'	0	0'	0	0	report
Wilson Benchmark	4573'	11.8	1920'	4.5	210	report
Simi Peak	2403'	5	1530'	1.5	184	report
Temescal Peak	2126'	7.2	1000'	2.5	12	report
Eagle Peak	3226'	4.4	1050'	1.8	228	report
McAuley Peak	2049'	5.7	1540'	2.2	156	report
Saddle Peak East	2825'	2.3	630'	0.8	16	report
Calabasas Peak	2163'	4	1000'	1.7	12	report
Newcomb Peak	4166'	9.3	2025'	3.7	182	report
Agua Tibia	4779'	16.7	3300'	7.7	154	report
Arrowhead Peak	4237'	4.8	2470'	4	156	report
Morton Peak	4624'	8.1	2000'	3.7	150	report
Cram Peak	4162'	0	0'	0	0	report
Brown Mountain	4466'	14.4	2775'	8.5	148	report
Mastodon Peak	3440'	2.5	500'	0.8	112	report
Malapai Hill	4280'	1.7	570'	1	116	report
Monument Mountain	4834'	6.3	1620'	3	116	report
Mel, Mt.	3814'	8.7	2000'	4	66	report
Keys Peak	4484'	0	0'	0	0	report
McKinley, Mt.	4926'	19.8	4330'	9	178	report
Redrock Mountain Benchmark	3991'	12.3	2500'	7.5	202	report
Rocky Peak	2714'	5.2	1400'	2.2	176	report
Mission Point	2771'	4.7	1266'	2.2	50	report
Mendenhall Peak	4636'	7.7	2280'	3.2	184	report
Jupiter Mountain	4498'	4	1485'	2.2	216	report
May Peak	3948'	1.8	870'	1	172	report
Saddleback Butte	3651'	1.7	720'	1	300	report
Slide Mountain Lookout	4631'	9	2800'	3.5	214	report
Nordhoff Peak	4485'	11	2700'	4	152	report
Echo Mountain	3207'	5	1400'	2.5	138	report
Montecito Peak	3214'	2.6	950'	1.2	320	report
Cathedral Peak	3333'	3	1800'	3	5	report
Ghost Mountain	3400'	4.2	900'	2.5	240	report
Silver Peak	1804'	12.7	2800'	6.5	92	report
Gaviota Peak	2458'	6.2	2200'	2.4	362	report
Cachuma Mountain	4696'	7.7	1650'	2.8	376	report
El Montanon	1808'	9.3	2074'	4.25	250	report
Bishop Peak	1546'	3.9	1210'	3.5	512	report
Cerro Alto	2624'	4.3	1890'	2.5	22	report
Valencia Peak	1347'	4.3	1300'	2	20	report
Little Pine Mountain BM	4449'	18.7	3980'	8.25	344	report
Monument Hill	2046'	5.7	774'	1.5	136	report
Santa Paula Peak	4957'	16.4	4681'	10.5	246	report

Valencia Peak

Hiked: 4/2/2017
Distance: 4.3 miles round trip on trail
Summit Elevation: 1347'
Prominence: 527'
Elevation Gain: 1300'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 1.04
Round trip time: 2 hours
Recommended water: 36 oz.
Parking/Fees: Free on Pecho Valley Road
Difficulty: Easy

The last summit of the trip was Valencia Peak, a coastal mountain south of Morro Bay. There was ample parking at the trailhead on Pecho Valley Road. The marine layer had only partially burned off and Valencia was hidden somewhere in the clouds. Adam and I started up the trail and got a better look at the small bay below. There were several parties on the trail, most of them on their way down. We continued up into the clouds, losing sight of everything but the next section of trail. Fortunately, there were plenty of wildflowers to add some color to the otherwise off-white blanket of fog. An hour later, we were standing on top of Valencia. A loose cement fragment held the remains of reference mark #3 pointing in a random direction. We also went zero for three on registers for the day. Even though we couldn't see anything, we could hear the roar of the ocean below. It is probably a vision on a clear day. None of that mattered since Valencia was my Lower Peaks List finish (with a caveat). Little Pine Mountain Benchmark was still on my to do list, but was currently suspended due to the Rey Fire closure. Santa Paula Peak was also suspended and looks like it may not be added back. Until something changed, the LPC list was done. I would have time to wax philosophically about the chase later. At the moment, Adam and I were both hungry so we headed back to look for food. We drove to a Chipotle in downtown SLO and I found a parking spot, ignoring the parking meter next to it since it was Sunday. After finishing a burrito, I returned to find a $33 parking ticket on my windshield. Like the clouds, it did't dent my satisfaction of completing three peaks on the day and the list.

Trailhead

Coastline

Stratified trail

Valencia is somewhere up in the clouds

Rocks just below the summit

Reference mark 3, could not find the triangulation mark

Finish

Looking east from the summit

Poppies

Indian paintbrush