Distance: 2 miles round trip cross country
Summit Elevation: 5273'
Prominence: 1473'
Elevation Gain: 1363'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 1.1
Round trip time: 2 hours
Recommended water: 48 oz.
Parking/Fees: Free on 4WD dirt road
Difficulty: Easy
Sidewinder was my second peak of the day. From the wash boarded Lucerne Valley Cutoff road, I took an unnamed (as far as I can tell) dirt road near Benchmark 3276. The road used to lead to guzzlers, but I did not see a standing guzzler on the drive in. I drove to the end of the road in 4x4 mode. I'm not sure I needed it, but there were some rocks and unevenness. The last 500' were the worst. The only other vehicle parked there was an offroad 4-seater. No one was there when I started. I began heading up the ridge by the parking area, though I saw use trails crossing the dry creek, heading to a different ridge. At the top of the first hill, I could visualize the rest of the route, though only a false summit was visible. Black volcanic boulders littered the grassy ridge. A steady 20mph wind picked up and was an unwelcome companion all day. The route was very steep in places, but the grass kept things firm. I was able to follow a faint use trail all the way to the top, where there were a couple of class 2 moves. Views were quite nice from the summit. I found two reference marks, but could not locate the main benchmark. I signed a small register that went back to the 1990s. It was loose in a jar, so I wrapped it in a ziplock before putting it back. It was another short hike, but I worked up a lather. When I got down, there was guy packing up stuff in the offroad 4-seater. We chatted for a minute. He was quite impressed that I had reached the relatively easy Sidewinder summit. He was a hunter, looking for some kind of bird I didn't recognize. Oddly, he was also from the OC. I was on my way around 11:00 AM, giving me a shot at my bonus peak, West Ord Mountain.
No comments:
Post a Comment