Glacier Point

Hiked: 7/6/2016
Distance: Drive up
Summit Elevation: 7214'
Elevation Gain: 0'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 0
Round trip time: N/A
Recommended water: N/A
Parking/Fees: $30 National parks fee (7 day pass for one car)
Difficulty: Easy

Glacier Point is a popular location in Yosemite National Park for viewing most of the landmarks in Yosemite Valley. The day before our planned Half Dome hike attempt, we drove up to Glacier Point to look around. There are trails to make you earn the view, but we took the easy way up. Like many people, we were shocked and awed at our first glimpse of Half Dome. My wife immediately wondered what the hell I had gotten her into, and for a fleeting moment, so did I. After walking around a little, we noticed Vernal Fall and Nevada Fall and could visualize our planned route on the Mist Trail. There is a lot to see.

Half Dome and the northeast section of Yosemite Valley

Half Dome with Vernal Fall and Nevada Fall visible lower right

Close up of Nevada Fall

Looking west toward Yosemite Falls

Black BM and Beek's Place

Hiked: 7/2/2016
Distance: 18.2 miles round trip on dirt road and use trail
Summit Elevation: 2710' (Black BM), 2820' (Beek's Place)
Elevation Gain: 2800'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 2.24
Round trip time: 6 hours 45 minutes
Recommended water: 180 oz.
Parking/Fees: Free on Black Star Canyon Road
Difficulty: Strenuous

I scouted this peak in the Santa Ana foothills last month and found the most direct route blocked by a private road. I decided to take a longer route up Black Star Canyon Road past the peak, then follow a firebreak back along the ridge. A long, slow burn. Since I would be hiking nearby, I also hit Beek's Place, the historical cabin ruins of Joseph Beek. I started early and had some low cloud cover making it a perfect hiking environment. Since my scouting trip last month, a nice metal sign was added for Black Star Canyon Falls. It has become a very popular hike, but I don't think it is the the most interesting attraction along this road. I took the same shortcuts I used for Flat Black Peak and cached water behind a large boulder about half way to Beek's Place. I continued up the road until I hit the intersection with Main Divide Road. A quick right and I was at Beek's Place. The ruins were in pretty good shape and while I was looking around, a group of runners and half a dozen mountain bikers went by. There were nice views all around, including the eastern side of the Santa Anas. I only took a short break there, then descended down to look for a way to access the ridge leading to Black BM (peak 2710).

New Black Star Canyon Falls metal sign, nice

Sun burning the low clouds out of existence

Sierra Peak from the intersection with Main Divide

Beek's Place

Beek's Place

Beek's Place

KSOX Doppler Radar Tower

On the way down, I kept looking for the best way to reach the Black ridge line. I spotted a small cairn on the road marking a use trail. I recorded a waypoint on the track that can be downloaded from Peakbagger. The trail was pretty good and headed toward a large sandstone structure at the end of the ridge I called the Tailbone. The use trail goes right by it, then stays on top of the ridge. There are several bouldering options along the ridge if you are so inclined. Black BM is the last bump on the ridge, but not the highest one. The bump just before it is a little higher and has a small marker I could not read. The Black benchmark is at the far end of the summit area and requires some light bushwhacking. I had to wander around to find it since it is not at the high point. I found it near some boulders at a strategic overlook and recorded a waypoint. The marker was stamped "Black" and dated 1928. It was in pristine condition. The boulders are a perfect lunch or resting spot and provide a commanding view over the road and canyon. There was a white plastic pole at the summit that had fallen. I stood it up between some of the boulders. There was no register, but a detached blank metal sign had some signatures scratched into it. One that caught my attention was from a couple in 1979 who apparently arrived by helicopter. Flat Black Peak was directly below. I thought about returning that way, but I wanted to check out the Tailbone rocks on the way back. The Tailbone appeared to be smooth sandstone. It only took a class 2 effort to get on top. There were several indentations on top that looked like they would collect water, but were currently dry. It was fun diversion. On the way back, I passed several use trails branching from the road toward the canyon, but didn't take the time to explore them.

Use trail leading to the ridge and eventually Black BM

Small cairn where the use trail leaves the road

Heading to the Tailbone

Boulders along the ridge

Black BM placed 1928

Summit view

Looking down on Flat Black Peak

Horned lizard

Tailbone

Ascent route, nothing more than class 2

Top of the Tailbone

Telegraph Peak via Icehouse Canyon

HPS Star Emblem Peak
Hiked: 6/19/2016
Distance: 13.5 miles round trip on trail
Summit Elevation: 8985'
Prominence: 1183'
Elevation Gain: 4500'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 3.6
Round trip time: 7 hours 10 minutes
Recommended water: 140 oz.
Parking/Fees: Adventure Pass
Difficulty: Strenuous

My second trip to Telegraph Peak started at Icehouse Canyon. The previous visit was from the other side via Manker Flat. This wrapped up the initial set of training hikes with my wife for Half Dome. Telegraph enjoys a uniquely central perch to see both the Mt. San Antonio (Baldy) constellation of mountains and the Cucamonga Wilderness mountains. It might be the best view from any peak in the area.

We started early to escape the hordes that flock to Icehouse Canyon on weekends. There was a heat wave that hit the area this weekend but we were comfortable above 8000'. It was a routine ascent to Icehouse Saddle. We made a short stop there for fuel, then continued up the 3Ts trail toward Timber. Beyond Icehouse Saddle, the forest is mostly large pines with very few small plants. It is a beautiful area and reminds me of the San Bernardino forests at similar elevations. We bypassed Timber thinking we might get it on the way back. The trail dropped about 250' feet down the north side of Timber to a saddle, then climbed about 1250' to the summit of Telegraph. This part of the trail was new to me. The south face of Telegraph has some jagged looking cliffs and crumbling rock. The views from the summit did not disappoint. It was the clearest day I've seen in a long time. Downtown LA was visible, Saddleback, the San Bernardino and San Jacinto mountains, and the ocean. The photosphere came out especially nice. We had the peak to ourselves, but noted that parties had signed in nearly every day in June. This is a peak that deserves the popularity. We signed the register and took photographs. After more fuel, we returned the way we came. Leisa wasn't interested in adding to the hike, so we skipped Timber on the way back.

Heading up Icehouse Canyon

3Ts sign at Icehouse Saddle

Telegraph Peak from the flank of Timber Mountain, summit to the right

Grinding up Telegraph Peak

Cliffy south face

View of the summit from the plateau

Benchmark

Leisa and I on the summit

Looking down on Thunder Mountain and up at the Mount San Antonio cluster

Descending back toward the saddle with Timber

Trabuco Peak via West Horsethief Trail

Hiked: 6/4/2016
Distance: 9.5 miles round trip on trail and dirt road
Summit Elevation: 4604'
Prominence: 817'
Elevation Gain: 2900'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 2.32
Round trip time: 4 hours 30 minutes
Recommended water: 72 oz.
Parking/Fees: Adventure Pass
Difficulty: Moderate

The third highest peak in the Santa Ana Mountains was the goal for another training hike with my wife. We drove up Trabuco Canyon Road, the worst dirt road in Orange County, until it ended at the West Horsethief/Trabuco trailhead. There is enough parking for 6-7 vehicles. I strongly recommend a high clearance vehicle for this road, but we saw a few sedans that braved the road at a crawl. I had been to Trabuco Peak once before, with my daughter, via Main Divide Road. The West Horsethief approach has three distinct sections:

• Trabuco Canyon trail - shaded, bugs likely in spring and summer
• West Horsethief switchbacks - most of the gain is done here
• Main Divide Road and firebreak - loose dirt on the firebreak to the summit

The Trabuco Canyon trail follows the creek and climbs gently along the left side on the way out. There was quite a bit of poison oak along the side of the trail. Annoying bugs were an issue in the morning so the bug nets came out. We could hear some water running in the creek. It is a straight shot to the junction with West Horsethief trail. The Trabuco Canyon trail continues to climb up the canyon, eventually ending at a saddle on Main Divide Road below Los Pinos. A lot of people do a loop hike using Main Divide to connect West Horsethief and Trabuco.

The start

Cruising up the canyon

Junction with West Horsethief

West Horsethief trail is where most of the uphill work is done. The lower part of the trail had more poison oak, some of it intruding onto the trail. It was more overgrown than my last time here. Multiple switchbacks carve up the slope, growing longer the higher up you go. Once we started to rise away from the creek, the bugs and vegetation eased up, and we took the bug nets off. About half way up, we got good views of Yaeger Mesa, a flat grassy area across the canyon. The vegetation also changes, with more manzanita lining the trail. The nicest part of the trail is near the top where pine trees dominate and the trail gets sandy. Unfortunately, that part was short and we soon hit Main Divide Road. We stopped here for a break where a truck was parked. Within minutes, a group of three hunters came up the trail with a cardboard blind and one rifle in tow. They appeared to be done for the day. My guess is they were hunting deer, but I didn't think it was deer season. After the break, we headed toward Trabuco Peak, roughly 1.25 miles north.

Looking back at Trabuco Canyon and the mesa

Pines and manzanita near the top of West Horsethief trail

Junction at Main Divide Road

Trabuco Peak from the junction

The road drops a little before rising again to a firebreak on the right leading to Trabuco Peak. A fancy wooden sign has been added marking the spot to leave the road. I think these signs were created and placed by Mark Allen, thanks! Views opened up on the east side of the mountains. Unlike my first visit, the sky was clear all the way to San Gorgonio and San Jacinto. I got a good look at Lake Elsinore and the other local peaks. From the firebreak, it's only a little over 100' gain to the summit. The firebreak is a combination of loose dirt and boulders. A little bit of class 2 is required to make it to the top. The summit also had a fancy wooden sign. The old register and benchmark were still there. I found a scrap of paper signed by Adam Walker and Anish. I added our names to the scrap and put it back in the register. The bugs were also a problem on the summit so we didn't hang around. The summit itself is surrounded by brush so there aren't any views anyway. Heading back to West Horsethief, we were passed by several trucks and a couple of motorcycles. Back at the junction with Trabuco Canyon, we surprised a trail worker taking a leak. He nervously cracked a joke saying "well that was bad timing". Dude, why not move a few feet away from a trail junction? He asked us about the poison oak on West Horsethief and said he was there to clear it out. He wasn't in a uniform and I guessed he was a volunteer. The rest of the return was uneventful. We only saw three other hikers the whole trip.

Firebreak to the summit with a nice wooden sign

Like daughter, like mother. Leisa striking a Shelby pose

Friends in high places

I also have friends in low places

Register scrap with Adam Walker and Anish

Leisa on the summit with another fancy wooden sign

See Also:
Trabuco Peak via Main Divide Road