Distance: 11.7 miles round trip on dirt roads and use trail
Summit Elevation: 7471'
Elevation Gain: 3080'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 2.4
Round trip time: 5 hours 30 minutes
Recommended water: 64 oz.
Parking/Fees: Free at Guffy Campground
Difficulty: Moderate
Pine Mountain Ridge (HPS #98) is the high point on a ridge in the Angeles National Forest that extends from Pine Mountain between San Antonio Ridge and Blue Ridge. It has low prominence, but great views of the northern aspects of the mountains around Baldy. My intention was to go nowhere near it. I had packed and planned for a bike ride along the closed section ACH to Dawson Saddle, followed by a one mile round trip to Mount Lewis (HPS #52). When I got to the closed section, there was a long convoy of dump trucks driving through the open barrier to work on the ACH. I didn't want to deal with the construction traffic or interfere with their work, so I looked for an alternative. On my drive out, I noticed the gate to Blue Ridge was open. I knew there were a couple of HPS peaks out there I hadn't climbed, so I downloaded a track to Wild View Peak on my phone before losing cell service. The track I had did a big loop over Pine Mountain, but I picked one tendril of the track, hoping it was Wild View. The dirt road to Guffy Campground was in good shape, but there were a lot of crews out clearing dead trees. I parked at Guffy and started down the road toward Lupine Camp. The road had a lot of big washouts before I reached the Prairie Fork of the San Gabriel River. The stream was steady but low and easily crossed.
An abandoned dirt road continued on the other side of the river. It degraded into a dry streambed, then emerged on the other side. Before I got to Lupine Camp, I spotted a road cut going up to the ridge. I pushed through some plants to reach it. It was somewhat overgrown with knee high grass and talus. The grade was steady but not really steep. When I reached the ridge, the road split with one fork going left and one continuing along the ridge. I stayed on the ridge and soon reached the high point. A solitary boulder with a rusted register can marked the top. Inside the can was a piece of charcoal that used to be a register. It needs a new one. I had great views of Iron Mountain, Baldy, Pine, Rattlesnake, and South Mount Hawkins. On the way back, I was tempted to head out to another peak on the track, but I was already rationing my food and water. It felt surprisingly isolated along the ridge. The return trip had a lot of gain, but it was spread out over several miles. It wasn't until I got home that I discovered I had reached Pine Mountain Ridge and not Wild View, the other point on the track. I'll have to go back for Wild View, but feel confident I can drive part way down Lupine Road to save some effort. This HPS peak was of questionable quality, but I salvaged the day and worked up a lather outside. Can't complain.
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