Sierra Peak via Skyline Drive

Hiked: 1/14/2018
Distance: 17.1 miles round trip on dirt road
Summit Elevation: 3045'
Elevation Gain: 3196'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 2.55
Round trip time: 6 hours 15 minutes
Recommended water: 88 oz.
Parking/Fees: Free on Foothill Parkway
Difficulty: Strenuous

This day didn't go as planned. I was going to drive up to Santiago Peak and do some exploring around the summit, but the gate on Maple Springs Road was closed. My backup plan was to check out the Doppler radar tower above Beek's Place by going up Skyline Drive in Corona. Because of the late start, I had to park a long way from the trail on Foothill Parkway. Skyline rose at a low grade and had dozens of switchbacks. This was great on the way up, but tedious on the way down. The trail was busy with a 50/50 mix of hikers and mountain bikers. I cruised up at a reasonable pace to the intersection of Skyline and Main Divide Road. At the intersection were four large thin red and white radio towers I had never noticed before. I took a left on Main Divide and went by Beek's Place to the Doppler tower. The tower pieces were assembled in a way that made it look like a cracked egg. While I was there, I wanted to check out the ridge line down into Tin Mine Canyon. I poked around and wandered a short distance down what looked like an animal trail. The trail was quickly swallowed by brush and it confirmed my suspicion that any descent along that ridge was going to be problematic. Not only was it dense, there are sub-ridges, and staying on track would be difficult. In any case, I was unprepared for a serious brush fight. As I started back, I noticed Sierra Peak in the distance. It didn't look too far and the GPS calculated it at 2 miles as the crow flies. I was short on water but decided I could make it. I wanted to check out the burn damage around the peak from the Canyon Fire that scorched 2600 acres back in September. The road took many twists turning the 2 crow miles into 3 biped miles.

Doppler tower barely visible at the top of Tin Mine Canyon

Inland Empire from Skyline Drive

Doppler up close

Descending this ridge would be a full contact fight

Sierra Peak

When I got close, I could see the entire summit area had been barbecued. Every plant on the eastern slopes was black and there was no grass. The southeast tower apparently took the brunt of the fire as it swept over the summit. It was destroyed. A sign on the tower warned that it was unsafe. The northwest tower had some burns on the building, but appeared to be operating. Remarkably, the rest of the towers looked fine, some with superficial smoke damage. The benchmark was still in place. It was another clear day with fantastic views, including a crisp outline of Catalina. I rested below the destroyed tower for a while and nursed the water I had left. It was a long way back but the road was easy going. There were several mountain bike use trails that could be taken as shortcuts down Skyline Drive. I only took one shortcut, dodging a red bike bombing down at 40mph. I wished I had taken more since the lower switchbacks were interminable. A 17 mile hike usually leaves me soaked in sweat, but minor dehydration left me dry. I picked up some extra water while driving home.

Charred

Looking south at the rest of the Santa Ana range

Air conditioners were ready to fall through the roof

Clear outline of Catalina