Toro Peak West and Santa Rosa Mountain

Hiked: 6/27/2020
Distance: 5.5 miles round trip on dirt road and cross country
Summit Elevation: 8070' (Santa Rosa), 8316' (Toro West)
Elevation Gain: 1263'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 1.0
Round trip time: 3 hours
Recommended water: 48 oz.
Parking/Fees: Free at Santa Rosa saddle
Difficulty: Easy

After a 15 mile warm up on Ken Point, I drove a short distance up highway 74 to forest road 7S04. This is a well maintained dirt road up to Santa Rosa and Toro Peak. Except for one spot, even high clearance was optional. The quality of the road and the fact it was a weekend actually created a different problem: traffic. There were a few turnouts and the road was wide enough in many places to allow passing. However, I had to dodge 7 vehicles on the way up and 4 on the way down. One passing resulted in a bad scrape on the right side of the 4Runner. It's a 10 mile drive to Santa Rosa, but I stopped at the saddle below it where there was space for 4-5 cars. Two cars were already there and the group had a picnic going.

It was a short hike to the top of Santa Rosa (HPS #67) where several tents were set up. Multiple camp sites were on top of the mountain. A huge fireplace was built on the summit. The summit rocks were easy and there was no register, but I did find a toy truck jammed between some rocks. When I got back to the 4Runner, the picnic people were gone. The rounb trip was just over a mile. Without a break, I headed up the road toward Toro Peak West.

Parked at the saddle

Summit

Because the Toro summit is on reservation land, the Sierra Club moved the official Toro HPS peak to Toro Peak West (HPS #58), a couple of hundred feet lower than Toro. It is also off trail so in that way is slightly more challenging than Toro which can be driven. About 1.5 miles from the Santa Rosa saddle, I spotted a cairn marking the start of ascent gully. The gully got steep quickly and pine needles made it slippery in places. I followed a use trail on the right side of the gully but another one was visible that stayed inside the gully. At the top of the gully, the west summit can be gained with simple class 2 from the spine. I expected it to be class 3 from other reports, but no scrambling was required. I signed the official register and enjoyed limited but good views from high up. There area felt very much like the San Jacinto above Mountain Station. If I had more time, I would have nabbed Toro North and maybe the true summit, but I had a long drive home so called it a day. This ended a 20+ mile hike day with 20 miles of dirt road.

Start of the gully

Going up

Toro West summit