Distance: 4.6 miles round trip on dirt road and firebreaks
Summit Elevation: 5412' (Monrovia), 5291' (Rankin)
Prominence: 1503' (Monrovia)
Elevation Gain: 1558'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 1.2
Round trip time: 2 hours 30 minutes
Recommended water: 32 oz.
Parking/Fees: Rincon Shortcut permit (free), Adventure Pass or National Parks Pass
Difficulty: Easy
Monrovia Peak (HPS #243) and Rankin Peak are front range peaks in the Angeles National Forest. They are often climbed in a long day that includes Clamshell Peak. I had done Clamshell years ago. I stopped at the Glendora Ranger Station (a refurbished house) and picked up a permit to drive the Rincon shortcut road. Along the permit, the ranger provided the combination to the lock on the gate where it starts off Highway 39. When I got to the gate, it had been left unlocked. I drove through and locked it behind me. Based on my conversation with the ranger, most people that come up here are hunters. I didn't see any other vehicles on my way up. The road was like butter, smooth and free of deep ruts and rocks. Any sedan could drive this road. The ranger warned me about down trees in some places and that I would not be able to drive all the way to the ACH. I decided to park at a wide turnout about a mile from Monrovia Peak for an easy turn around, but I could have driven right up to the Monrovia firebreak. The firebreak was steeper than it looked, but had a worn use trail. The summit had a benchmark and a couple of registers. The older one was water damaged. Monrovia had fine views of both the front and back range. I could even make out downtown LA and part of Catalina.
Rankin peak was less than a half mile away with a large bump in between. I wondered how Rankin could have enough prominence to be a separate mountain (it doesn't). The answer is because the bump held a plaque dedicated to a Rev. Edward Payson Rankin in 1950 by the Yucca Hiking Club. It had no benchmark, register or other distinguishing feature. I reversed course, doing a down/up/down/up/down to get back to the road. On the drive out, I passed three other trucks on their way in. I considered looking for something else to get while I was out, but nothing close looked worthwhile.
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