McKinley Mountain

Hiked: 3/7/2014
Distance: 3 miles round trip on use trail
Summit Elevation: 3795'
Prominence: 735'
Elevation Gain: 1645'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 1.31
Round trip time: 2 hours
Recommended water: 52 oz.
Parking/Fees: Adventure Pass
Difficulty: Moderate

On the way back from Bertha Peak, we stopped along highway 330 to climb McKinley Mountain. It is on the lower peaks list and shares the same name as the monster Mount McKinley in Alaska. There is also a Mount McKinley in the Angeles National Forest. A very popular name for mountains. McKinley Mountain is one of the two guardians of highway 330 as it enters the San Bernardino National Forest, the other one directly across from it is Harrison Mountain. While the distance is short, the gain is significant, and it deserved something other than an easy rating. McKinley is not a family friendly hike. Soon after we started climbing up the firebreak, I had to stop and tape my left heel. I was breaking in some new winter boots on Bertha and bought a half size too big to easily accommodate multiple layers of socks. Now I was second guessing that decision. Before the day was over, I would end up taping both heels.

The hike is broken into two steep ridges. The first ridge gets you to an overgrown fire road that cuts left and offers the only break in the "up" action. At the end of the short fire road, the use trail cuts right then up the second steep ridge. At the top of the second ridge is a flat, grassy area that leads to the summit pole marker and register. Expansive views of the Inland Empire suddenly appear at the top. Wind gusts started to hit us as we neared the summit, and it got a little brushy just before breaking into the grassy area. Rod and I signed the register after chasing down some of the loose pages that blew away in the wind. We took some photos, ate our final snacks, then headed home.

Start of the use trail from highway 330

Looking back on the highway, part way up the first ridge

Rod starting up the second ridge

Nearing the top

Summit pole marker

Harrison Mountain from McKinley summit, the other guardian of highway 330

San Gabriel Mountains from McKinley summit

Bertha Peak

Hiked: 3/7/2014
Distance: 3.1 miles round trip on trail and dirt road
Summit Elevation: 8201'
Prominence: 681'
Elevation Gain: 768'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 0.61
Round trip time: 1 hour 45 minutes
Recommended water: 32 oz.
Parking/Fees: Adventure Pass (on Polique Canyon Road)
Difficulty: Easy

Bertha Peak offers one of the best views of Big Bear Lake from the north. Thanks to a strong storm last weekend, the area was blanketed in snow and I wanted a chance to break in my Grivel crampons. After the long drive from the OC, it was clear most of the snow had melted on the south facing slopes. Rod and I pressed on heading up Polique Canyon to the Pacific Crest Trail intersection. It was a balmy 60F, so I left my top layer in the car. It was a pretty short hike from where we parked, and though there was some snow along the way, there was not enough to unpack the crampons, even for a break in session. We signed the register near the top tower and took in the awesome views of the lake. San Gorgonio stood far away, the north side buried in snow. I tried out my GoPro for the first time, expecting mediocre results as a novice. On the way down, Rod launched the drone for some lake cruising. Bertha was our first planned peak of the day. When we got back to the car, we headed toward McKinley Mountain off highway 330.

Start of the Bertha Peak trail on the PCT

Mountain lion footprint in the snow

Approaching Bertha Peak

Big Bear Lake from the Bertha Peak summit

Big Bear Lake and snow covered San Gorgonio in the distance

Bertha Peak + DJI Phantom Flight from Rod Victoria on Vimeo.

French Hill

Hiked: 3/2/2014
Distance: 1 mile round trip on trail and road
Summit Elevation: 426'
Prominence: 126'
Elevation Gain: 261'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 0.20
Round trip time: 20 minutes
Recommended water: 0 oz.
Parking/Fees: Free on Concordia
Difficulty: Easy

French Hill is a bump in the center of the Irvine suburbs, surrounded on three sides by houses, and Concordia University to the north. After two days of heavy rain, the dirt trails were a mudfest. I tried to stay just off trail in the grass or shrubs and this was somewhat effective in limiting the mud build up on my boots to less than an inch. A rock cairn marked the top of the hill. I went up the west side, over the top, and down the south side, jogging back to the car along Turtle Rock Drive. There is very limited public parking on Concordia, maybe enough for a ten cars. I was one of two there at 8:00 AM on a Sunday morning.

Summit cairn on French Hill, downtown Irvine in the distance

Clemente BM

Hiked: 3/1/2014
Distance: 2.8 miles round trip on trail
Summit Elevation: 896'
Prominence: 126'
Elevation Gain: 519'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 0.41
Round trip time: 40 minutes
Recommended water: 16 oz.
Parking/Fees: Free at San Clemente Skate Park
Difficulty: Easy

I am down to five remaining "peaks" to complete everything in Orange County in the Peakbagger database (except Abalone Point on private, gated, and guarded property). Many of these small peaks seem more like geocaching hunts rather than hikes, but most are close by and I considered them worth doing to learn a little more about the local geography. Besides, 30 minutes on an urban hill generally beats 30 minutes on a stepper machine. Today, I visited the Clemente Benchmark, starting at the San Clemente Skate Park. It had rained hard the previous day, with more rain today leaving the ground soaked and muddy. Fortunately, the trail is paved and the mud on it had been washed onto it by the rain and could be jumped. The comm towers and water tank at the top were surrounded by a barbed wire fence. I hiked the uphills and jogged the downhills with little to see on such an overcast day.

Approaching the Clemente Benchmark

Comm towers on the Clemente Benchmark, the ocean in view over the houses

Guna BM

Hiked: 2/23/2014
Distance: 1.4 miles round trip on road and use trail
Summit Elevation: 719'
Prominence: 119'
Elevation Gain: 468'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 0.37
Round trip time: 25 minutes
Recommended water: 0 oz.
Parking/Fees: Free on Dartmoor Street
Difficulty: Easy

Guna Benchmark is at the top of an inconspicuous hill in Laguna Beach. There is very limited parking at the trailhead (the end of Dartmoor Street), but it is relatively unknown and mostly frequented by locals. After you follow the road past the first turn and just after a road junction on the left, there is a reasonable use trail heading up the hill. I didn't notice the landscape restoration sign until I got back, so I recommend sticking to the road. The use trail doesn't save much distance. The benchmark, placed in 1933, is just off the road near two white reflector signs. I walked up and jogged down for a quick morning jolt.

Trailhead

Guna Benchmark

Marine layer over a sleepy Laguna Beach from the Guna BM

Signal Peak

Hiked: 2/22/2014
Distance: 0.4 miles round trip on road and cross country
Summit Elevation: 1164'
Prominence: 794'
Elevation Gain: 100'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 0.08
Round trip time: 15 minutes
Recommended water: 0 oz.
Parking/Fees: Free on Ridge Park Road
Difficulty: Easy

From Ridge Park Road in Newport Beach, I took the paved service road up past the towers to the man made high point at the end. There were decent views of Newport Beach and the ocean, but the peak itself was uninspiring. Then, I went off the road to the boulder piles that appeared to be the natural high point. I climbed all three nearby boulder piles without finding a benchmark. A weak entry in the Peakbagger database.

The arbiters of signals on Signal Peak

Mount Zion

Hiked: 2/21/2014
Distance: 9.2 miles round trip on trail
Summit Elevation: 3575'
Elevation Gain: 2375'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 1.90
Round trip time: 4 hours 45 minutes
Recommended water: 96 oz.
Parking/Fees: Adventure Pass
Difficulty: Moderate

From the popular Chantry Flats trailhead, Rod, Katie, Edward and I set out on a loop to Mount Zion: Forest Route 2N40 to the Gabrieleno trail into Santa Anita Canyon, to the Sturtevant trail, left on the Mount Zion trail, then Lower Winter Creek trail, and back up Forest Route 2N40. The twist on this hike was the DJI Phantom quad copter Rod purchased earlier in the week, then fitted with a GoPro camcorder. He was still learning to fly it and the forest canopy was not ideal terrain but he planned to get it airborne on the Zion summit.

Even on a Friday, the parking lot was more than half full when we started at 9:45 AM. We descending into Santa Anita canyon and followed several groups of hikers to Sturtevant Falls. With the drought conditions, there was only a weak flow over the Falls and the pool at the bottom was smaller than usual. It was still surrounded by at least 30 people and their dogs. Rod got the drone out and wanted to fly it, but it had no GPS signals in the steep canyon and he opted to keep it on the ground. We back tracked and took the trail that goes past the top of the falls, through Spruce Grove Campground, continuing around to the north side of Mount Zion before hitting the summit trail.

At the start near Chantry Flats

Bridge at the bottom of Forest Route 2N40

Edward, Katie, Rod, and the drone at Sturtevant Falls

Low flow over Sturtevant Falls

Looking over the top of Sturtevant Falls

Mount Zion summit trail

Nearly the entire hike is shaded with large trees. We were almost out of the canyon before getting a good view of the surrounding mountains. The Mount Zion summit is a bare patch of dirt with no benchmark or register, but it does offer nice views of Mount Wilson and friends. After a snack break, Rod successfully launched the quad copter on the first of three separate flights, while I caught it each time it came in for a landing. The last flight took it at least 500' above the summit and over the canyon. A real helicopter came down the canyon and from our vantage point, appeared to be on a collision course with the drone. Rod dropped the drone a couple of hundred feet and the helicopter appeared to dip down to see what was in the air before continuing down the canyon. We hoped the drone would have video of the helicopter, but the camera may have been facing the wrong way.

During the descent down Lower Winter Creek trail, I spotted a garter snake with a freshly killed lizard in its mouth. I foolishly attempted to pick it up, which angered it and caused it to flee without its hard earned lunch. With any luck, it returned to dine soon after. Near the bottom of the trail, we spotted a small cave. I took out my flashlight and discovered it was only about 20' deep with nothing inside. The final 200' climb up Forest Route 2N40 at the end of the hike was generally unwelcome by the crew, but everyone made it back to the car without incident.

Looking down Santa Anita Canyon from the Mount Zion summit

Mount Wilson from Mount Zion summit

Snake eating a lizard

Small cave about 20' deep on Lower Winter Creek trail

Hike to Mount Zion +DJI Phantom Flight from Rod Victoria on Vimeo.

The GPS track has a few bad data points from loss of satellites in the canyon