Mormon Rocks

Hiked: 4/28/2025
Distance: 1.5 miles round trip on trail
Summit Elevation: 3474' (highest point on trail)
Elevation Gain: 330'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 0.3
Round trip time: 40 minutes
Recommended water: 0 oz.
Parking/Fees: Free at San Bernardino National Forest parking lot
Difficulty: Easy

Just south of Highway 138 near the intersection with I-15, the San Bernardino National Forest maintains an interpretive trail around the massive rock protrusions known as Mormon Rocks. They are quite prominent traveling on I-15 northeast of LA. I've admired them a hundred times and finally took the time to check them out. The largest rocks are on the north side, but I only visited the lower rocks on the south side. They were still very impressive. To actually get on the rocks, I had to leave the official trail, but there was a well defined use trail. The largest rock on the south side rose more than 100' above the surrounding terrain. Conglomerates were cemented in the white sandstone from extreme heat and pressure. I found a chute on the north side at about 40 degrees that got me about half way up. There was another chute on the south side that went up the rest of the way, but it was class 4 with severe exposure. While the sandstone was unexpectedly grippy, I wasn't feeling the death chute. I did climb a lower rock with a 20' class 3 face. After, I completed the trail which gave me better views of the northern rocks. The Mormon Rocks felt as noteworthy as the more famous Vasquez Rocks. Cool geology and fun to climb. I'd like to visit the north side rocks in the future.

Gobblers Knob

Hiked: 4/28/2025
Distance: 1.8 miles round trip on dirt road and firebreak
Summit Elevation: 6955'
Elevation Gain: 630'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 0.5
Round trip time: 55 minutes
Recommended water: 0 oz.
Parking/Fees: Free on Forest Road 3N31Y
Difficulty: Easy

Gobblers Knob, HPS #118, was one I could manage in half a day, even counting drive time. From Lone Pine Road near Wrightwood, I took dirt road 3N31Y, aka Upper Lytle Creek Road (Open Street Maps), aka Sheep Creek Truck Trail (Google Maps). The road itself was in great condition with only a couple of dips and rocks that might give a sedan pause. Even though it wasn't required, I engaged 4x4 to keep the moving parts clean. I passed a couple of hikers on their way down. I could have easily driven to the base of the peak, but stopped at the last switchback to at least get a few steps. I hiked up the road to a turnaround, where an SUV was parked with a tent set up next to it. I didn't see any people. From the base, I went up the steep firebreak, gaining about 500' in 0.3 miles. I am always in awe of bulldozer drivers who can take those machines up and down crazy angles. I guess they are unlikely to tip over. The top of Gobblers Knob had been flattened. I am not sure it remains at its reported altitude. There was a metal triangle marker, but no trace of a benchmark or register. Views were quite nice along the snowy north side of the San Gabriels. I wandered around a bit, then headed back the same way. I met one PCT thru hiker near my truck.

Start of the firebreak

Summit. Mount San Antonio, Pine Mountain, Wright Mountain in the background.

Mount San Jacinto way out there

Kumeyaay Promontory and Stelzer Summit

Hiked: 4/22/2025
Distance: 2.7 miles round trip on trail
Summit Elevation: 950' (Kumwaay), 1181' (Steltzer)
Elevation Gain: 530'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 0.4
Round trip time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Recommended water: 32 oz.
Parking/Fees: $5 County Fee Day Use
Difficulty: Easy

Stelzer County Park is about 2.2 miles from the El Cajon parking lot on Wildcat Canyon Road. There was a $5 day use fee that I had to pay via app. There were picnic tables and play sets for kids near the entrance. I headed for the hiking trail and found I was the only one using it. The trail had a couple of switchbacks up to the ridge. A sign pointed right for the Promontory and left for Stelzer Summit. I headed to the Promontory first at the west end of the ridge. Two large electrical towers dominated. The high point was on a rise behind a bench. No marks. I jumped back on the trail for Stelzer. The trail led to a saddle east of the summit, then a good use trail went to the top. The highest boulder was class 3, with a thin foothold that took me a few seconds to find coming down. Views were decent for a small peak with El Cajon visible over intervening hills. These were bonuses after completing El Cajon.

Kumeyaay Promontory

Stelzer from Kumeyaay

Stelzer summit block

El Cajon in the background

El Cajon Mountain (x4)

Hiked: 4/22/2025
Distance: 11.1 miles round trip on trail
Summit Elevation: 3679'
Prominence: 1974'
Elevation Gain: 3770'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 3.0
Round trip time: 5 hours
Recommended water: 108 oz.
Parking/Fees: Free in parking lot on Wildcat Canyon Road
Difficulty: Strenuous

This was a cardio endurance training hike to El Cajon (SDC #55). It was my fourth summit of El Cajon, third by the main trail. I love El Cajon as a trainer. It's more than 10 miles with 3770' of gain, about 700' of which is on the return, so it adds a mental toughness component. In past hikes, I've added one or more nearby summits (Silverdome, Silverdome II, El Capitan). This time, the nearby summits were Kumeyaay Promontory and Stelzer Summit in Stelzer County Park. It was foggy when I started, but I got above the clouds near Silverdome II, then descended back into the clouds, before climbing out again near the top. It was the usual steady grind. Despite being cool, the humidity had me sweating like I was in a steam room, drenched from the knees up. I met several parties during the day, but was alone on the summit. The benchmark was still in great shape. I didn't look for a register. I noticed several new things since my last visit. There were water coolers set up along the trail in two places. All of them were empty. The final quarter mile of use trail had a lot of green trail markers to guide people to and from the summit. A nice addition. The clouds started to burn off on the way down. It was an uneventful descent.

Many signs on the trail discourage hikers from attempting the summit.
I like the angry sun.

Green trail markers

High point

See Also:
El Cajon and Silverdome
El Cajon South Arete
El Cajon, El Capitan, Silverdome II

Turtleback Dome

Hiked: 4/18/2025
Distance: 1.1 miles round trip on paved road
Summit Elevation: 5280'
Elevation Gain: 350'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 0.2
Round trip time: 30 minutes
Recommended water: 0 oz.
Parking/Fees: $35 National Parks Fee or Annual Pass
Difficulty: Easy

Turtleback Dome is a short hike near the entrance to Wawoma Tunnel in Yosemite. It had zero prominence and just OK views of the Valley. The road was gated with parking for two or three vehicles. Leisa and I were the only ones there. The main reason we wanted to hike this one was because it was mentioned in an awful (but fun) 2023 Lifetime Movie called "Vanished in Yosemite". In once scene, the bad guy invites a girl to do his favorite hike in Yosemite: "Turtleback Dome". After a quick search, I found out it was an actual destination, but the entire hike was on a paved road. It was uncommon and free of tourists (except us). The ascent was half a mile and the road had a couple of switchbacks before reaching a set of communication towers. We didn't find any marks or a register. I saw another tower and more small buildings further down the ridge, but we didn't visit. We just snapped a few photos and circled the towers before heading down. It was no athletic feat, but scratched our Lifetime itch.

Best view of the Valley we could find. Mostly blocked by trees.

Elephant Rock

Hiked: 4/18/2025
Distance: 0.7 miles round trip on use trail
Summit Elevation: 4800'
Elevation Gain: 275'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 0.2
Round trip time: 25 minutes
Recommended water: 0 oz.
Parking/Fees: $35 National Parks Fee or Annual Pass
Difficulty: Easy

Elephant Rock is a rock climbing destination just before the Wawona Tunnel heading into Yosemite Valley. Leisa and I had spent the previous two days doing waterfall hikes around Yosemite Valley. We were planning to hike Turtledome Peak on the way out of the park, and Elephant Rock was a short add-on. We parked at a small turnout and followed a use trail down hill. A sign was at the start notifying rock climbers that certain routes were closed for peregrine falcon nesting. It was too short to bother with a pack or water. The trail led to an outcrop of rock ending in a ledge with big air on three sides. There was an excellent view of Wildcat Falls across the valley below. It was a great warm up.

Wildcat Falls

Mount McDill and Mint BM

Hiked: 4/4/2025
Distance: 6.9 miles round trip on trail and dirt road
Summit Elevation: 5187'
Prominence: 784'
Elevation Gain: 1645'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 1.3
Round trip time: 2 hours 40 minutes
Recommended water: 32 oz.
Parking/Fees: Free on Bouquet Canyon Road
Difficulty: Easy

I drove to Bouquet Canyon Road for a quick hike to Mount McDill (HPS #263). I was driving north on Highway 14 near Santa Clarita, passing a semi-truck when I heard a loud explosion. I saw a cone of large rubber chunks expanding in slow motion directly in front of me. One of the front left tires on the semi had blown out. I braced for the shards of tire to shatter my windshield, but the impact never came. I drove right through the cloud of debris without damage. Pure luck, and the most thrilling moment of the day. I parked across the street from the trailhead at a turnout that held 4-5 cars. While the entire hike can be done on dirt roads, there was a short cut to make it a road-trail-road hike. The gate at the entrance was closed. There was another shortcut at the start to cut off the first switchback on the road. The first leg went under buzzing electrical towers. I spotted the single track shortcut, but wasn't sure, so I went a little beyond before realizing I missed the second leg. The single track was cut shoulder width through soft brush and grass fields. It could use a little maintenance, but was quite pleasant. It intersected the road higher up for the third leg. From the top of the ridge, the road crossed small rolling humps as it traveled east and west. I left the road briefly for Mint BM where I found a bent metal triangle post. Less than a quarter mile further was Mount McDill, where I found a benchmark, but no register. It's hard to believe McDill has 784' of prominence as one of many rolling bumps on the ridge. The weather was warm, the sky was blue, and the wind was still. It was a nice day to be out, but with no reason to hang around, I returned immediately. I increased my pace a little on the way down to make it a light cardio workout.

On the single track

Mint BM

The non-descript McDill summit

Start of the single track on the way down