HPS Star Emblem Peak
Hiked: 8/22/2021
Distance: 10.8 miles round trip on trail
Summit Elevation: 10839' (San Jacinto), 10560' (Azimuth)
Elevation Gain: 2650'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 2.1
Round trip time: 6 hours
Recommended water: 96 oz.
Parking/Fees: $10 parking, $29/person Aerial Tramway
Difficulty: Moderate
Leisa and I took the Aerial Tramway to Mountain Station to hike to San Jacinto. It was her first visit and my 4th. We were on the first tram up with a group of fellow hikers. After filling out the free permit, and convincing the ranger we knew where we going, we followed the trail out of Long Valley and into the forest. We took one break at Wellmans Divide, then continued up to the hut and summit. An LA hiking group got there before us and we had to wait 15 minutes for them to finish their social media shots before we could get one photo at the summit sign. On the way down, I led us 300' off trail toward the Azimuth benchmark. Just before we reached the boulder pile with the Azimuth, we were detained by a guy whose girlfriend was relieving herself behind a boulder. We waited until she emerged from hiding. It took me a few minutes of searching to find the Azimuth mark in the shade of a pine tree. Finding the mark was a silly peakbagging thing, but still glad I found it. We finished the hike with cold beers at Mountain Station.
FYI...An azimuth mark is a station that is associated with a primary station. The important aspect of an azimuth mark is that its bearing from the main station is based on true North. This bearing from the main station to the aziumuth station can then be used by other surveyors to align their equipment based on true North without having to make complex measurements to determine true North. Generally, an azimuth mark disk will say "AZIMUTH" on its rim and there will also be an arrow across the center of the disk that points toward the primary station. The disk's designation stamping might contain "AZ" as well.
View from Wellmans
Azimuth mark is behind the highest boulder under the large pine tree
Hiked: 8/13/2021
Distance: 20.2 miles round trip on trail and cross country
Summit Elevation: 10284' (Grinnell), 10977' (Bighorn), 10056' (Zahniser)
Elevation Gain: 4833'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 3.8
Round trip time: 10 hours 40 minutes
Recommended water: 168 oz.
Parking/Fees: Free online permit from SGWA
Difficulty: Strenuous
A 10k triple play in the San Bernadino Mountains. I wanted to do Grinnell (HPS #15) and Bighorn Mountain (HPS #3) last year, but they were suspended due to fire. Zahniser was a bonus on the way back and probably the easiest peak in the SB Mountains (once you reach elevation). I started at Fish Creek Trailhead, a seven mile drive on a good dirt road. I recommend high clearance for ruts and rocks. There were no other vehicles in the parking lot.
The trail was in better shape than the last time I was here. The first couple of miles don't gain much until you start the switchbacks up the side of Grinnell. I was tempted to take a cross country route up the east ridge of Grinnell, but glad I didn't. It looked brushy and was steeper than it looked from a distance. At Fish Creek Saddle, I followed a use trail through open pine forest toward Grinnell. The use trail faded at the top. The summit area was flat and long. The Garmin map had the summit marked, but I didn't find anything there. I wandered back and forth checking each 10' mound of dirt looking for the high point. The GPS track showed that I stumbled over the official summit on the north end, but it was anti-climactic. Views from Grinnell were blocked by tall trees. I found no register or marks. There was a great view of Gorgonio heading back to the trail. I stayed on the Fish Creek Trail toward San Gorgonio, walking in the shadow of Lake Peak.
Heading up to Grinnell
The long flat summit area
Turnoff to Big Tree Camp, my first time in this area
Gorgonio
At Mine Shaft Saddle, I began the long climb up tight switchbacks on the northeast flank of San Gorgonio. Not far up the switchbacks, I found the C-47 crash memorial. Debris sat just off the trail and more was scattered in the gully below. For some reason, I thought I could leave the trail around 10500' to head to Bighorn, but instead I had to climb to over 11000' on the Sky High Trail before reaching a drop point. Across from the Bighorn high point, I left the trail down a steep slope and waded through knee high ground cover. I headed directly for the summit up the 50 degree talus, a mistake that became obvious immediately. After sliding back a few times, I aimed for anything solid. A dead tree, a big rock, brush. Anything that allowed upward progress. I struggled to the bouldery summit and found a register in an ammo box. Many registers in the SB Mountains have been destroyed, but Bighorn was probably too hard for vandals to reach. The small book was placed in 2017 and was about 1/3 full. Awesome 360 views were the reward for my sweat. The views were arguably better than from San G itself, since the bulk of San G blocks some of its own summit views.
First look at Bighorn
Crawling up the sandy talus
Looking across to San Gorgonio
Ten Thousand Foot Ridge
Yucaipa Ridge
Going down the use trail
Dragonshead
When I left the summit, I followed a use trail to the lower end of the ridge. This was the way. I also found a brush free ascent line back to the trail. I strongly recommend my exit lines and not my approach. No need to make Bighorn harder than it is. On the way down, Zahniser looked like a small knob. It's only a 120' gain from the saddle. I went over the top where I found a smashed and empty ammo box. Vandals. No marks had been placed on Zahniser. I descended the other side to intersect the trail. The rest of the return was uneventful. Aside from a few deer and ground squirrels, I didn't see much wildlife. Surprisingly, I never saw another person, and didn't see or hear anyone on San G. It felt like I had the entire range to myself.
Hiked: 8/9/2021
Distance: 4.5 miles round trip on trail
Summit Elevation: 9450' (Lembert), 9400' (Dog)
Elevation Gain: 1045'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 0.8
Round trip time: 1 hour 50 minutes
Recommended water: 32 oz.
Parking/Fees: $30 National Parks Fee (one car for one week)
Difficulty: Easy
Lembert Dome is a short, popular hike near Tuolome Meadows in Yosemite. Dog Dome juts out from side of Lembert and can be easily accessed from the same trail. I was on my way to pick up Leisa from her backpacking trip and had a couple of hours to kill. I parked at the Dog Lake trailhead just off Tioga Pass Road and found a parking spot in the nearly full lot. I found out later a shorter trail to Lembert existed at an earlier lot that went around the east side. Instead, I took off around the west side with many other hikers.
It took a few minutes to weave around the crowd so I could move at a more natual pace. I still got stuck behind several packs not courteous enough to let me by. I was pushing myself a little to make sure I was not late for the pickup. I soon reached the Lembert Dome trail and the northeast base. It started as a series of pancake slabs, then dropped 50' to access the upper section of the Dome. The direct route required a scramble that got easier the further north you went. I found an easy ascent path and made the summit in a few minutes where ten or more people were milling around. Lembert had no marks that I could find and was too popular for a register. It did sport wonderful views. I only stayed on top a minute or two, then descended back to the trail with a group led by a ranger.
Pancake slabs to start
Descending, Mount Dana distant left
From the base of Lembert, you can start walking up Dog. I went a couple of hundred feet down the trail but should have veered off sooner. Dog Dome was simple class 1 walk up, but was nearly as high as Lembert. I was alone on Dog Dome. A few more photos and I returned to my truck to find overflow parking was starting to fill up. I got to Ten Lakes Trailhead ahead of schedule and picked up my wife who was tired but in great spirits. On the drive out, she shared her stories of the previous three days adventures.
Hiked: 8/8/2021
Distance: 2.3 miles round trip on trail
Summit Elevation: 7440'
Elevation Gain: 370'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 0.3
Round trip time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Recommended water: 24 oz.
Parking/Fees: Free at Forest Road 1S36
Difficulty: Easy
Aeolian Buttes is a cluster of rock formations just east of highway 395 before you reach the turnoff for Yosemite. After climbing Glass Mountain, I wanted to check out the buttes. I arrived mid-afternoon with temps hovering just below 90F. I parked on a dirt toad where 1S36 heads up toward the buttes. There might be a closer to place to park, maybe even on the ridge next to the buttes, but I didn't mind walking a little extra. I hiked up the road to reach the ridge, then followed a road that went below the Aeoloan High Point, eventually circling back. On my way in, I took a short cut to get to the high point faster. The high point and the other two buttes I climbed were all class 2. It was a short scramble to the high point, where I found neither marks nor register. When I climbed down, I followed the road back, climbing a small boulder jumble at the end of the road. There was nothing remarkable about it, so I followed the road further to a red lava rock cluster. I climbed that and found the lava rock brittle. There were a few bouldering possiblities on the way back, but none interesting enough for me to make a side trip.
