Hiked: 10/7/2022
Distance: 5.9 miles round trip on trail
Summit Elevation: 8453'
Prominence: 2173'
Elevation Gain: 3306'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 2.6
Round trip time: 6 hours 10 minutes
Recommended water: 96 oz.
Parking/Fees: Free on Indian Wells Canyon Road
Difficulty: Moderate
Owens Peak has a striking granite profile in the southern Sierra. It is the highest mountain in a 17 mile radius and is featured on multiple lists: HPS #49 and SPS #239. It is a P2K and was designated an HPS Star Emblem. I left home at 3:20 AM for the trailhead at the end of Indian Wells Canyon Road, though there were different signs along the way. The road had some ruts and big rocks, high clearance recommended. There was ample parking at the trailhead, though I was the only one there.
The trail follows Indian Wells Spring which was completely dry. Deadfall blocked parts of the trail, but use trails had been worn around them. At a clearing around 6000', you can continue to follow the trail or head for the saddle. I stayed on the trail. With one mile to go, I thought I had overestimated the difficulty, but the last mile packed about 1800' of gain. Many cairns dotted the trail as it got steeper. I made a mistake at 7400' and missed where the trail went left. This led me up a white boulder talus field instead of the dark boulder talus field on the main trail. I did find footprints and occasional cairns off trail so it was a fairly common mistake. I found a way to make it go, at the price of some exposed class 3 and slab work. At 8000', I rejoined the trail. It remained steep and slippery the rest of the way.
At the summit, I unpacked the drone, a DJI Mavic Mini 3 Pro. I am still learning how to fly the drone, but it has some pre-programmed flight sequences that are impressive. After taking the aerials, I hung around another 20 minutes, soaking in the wonderful sights in all directions. The longest ridge on Owens is a jagged granite spine that makes it look even more imposing from highway 395. I could see Olancha further north and could barely make out Langley and Whitney through some haze. On the way down, I was able to stay on the trail and descended the dark boulders and class 2 slabs below that. I discovered where I lost the trail and built a cairn of my own to help future adventurers. Gnats became a problem below 6000' and I had to resort to my bug net until I got away from the spring. Owens was a big ball of granite fun and one I wouldn't mind climbing again some day.
As if your posts weren't good enough, now you're throwing drone footage in there! Nice! Looking forward to more of those, Keith! Very fun!
ReplyDeleteShould have said "good enough already".
ReplyDeleteMike,
DeleteI think they'll add some unique perspectives and scale, as long as I don't crash it, haha.
Don’t fly drones in Wilderness areas, it’s illegal.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.blm.gov/sites/default/files/docs/2023-04/Drone%20Fact%20Sheet%20Final.pdf
Anonymous,
DeleteIt appears you have not looked into the rules for flying drones in much depth. The document you posted has the title "Bears Ears National Monument Drones: Do and Don’t" and specifically references a National Monument. Laws regulating drone use are a patchwork of federal, state, and local. In general, drones are prohibited in National Parks and National Monuments, but allowed in National Forests, CA state parks, and BLM land unless there are specific restrictions posted. You may also note the guidelines you linked to were posted in April, 2023, six months after this hike.
When I do fly, I check for local restrictions and with few exceptions, I am usually the only human within 25 miles. On Owens, there were no other people or animals around to be disturbed. After thoughtful consideration, my general response to your comment was a light-hearted "F*** off".