This blog will detail 1,000 video hikes in Southern California. By Southern California, I am drawing a line from San Luis Obispo to the Nevada Border. Anything south of that line will be declared "Southern California". In a way, it is a personal challenge to do so many hikes. Mainly, however, it is my way of showcasing how many hiking opportunities there really are right in our own geographic back yard. As a blog, it serves as a companion piece to my Youtube channel "Mike On The Trail". It is also a work in progress, as I don't actually have 1,000 edited videos completed. This will take effort for quite some time before it is declared done. Even then, there will still be more out there. Here's to hiking and all the positive effects it has had on my life...and possibly yours!
Part driving tour and part hike, both the car and the trails had a co-starring role in this one. However, that being said, most of the drama was on the road. The road was paved for about 7 miles to just below Magic Mountain. To make it seem like it took a little bit of effort, I walked the half mile up the summit road to reach Magic Mountain. Buildings and towers sit on top and fences prevented me from officially standing on the highest point. I had contemplated hiking to this peak in the past (about 15 miles round trip), but I had timed it just right and found the gate open for hunting season. Every other vehicle out there were hunters, but I was just determined to knock off some of the peaks that I could not get to easily otherwise.
Messenger Peak Hiking Map.
I returned to the car and pressed forward on Santa Clara Truck Trail (Forest Route 3N17). Here is where things got rough. The road turned to a sandy rocky mess, and often times overgrown with foliage that scratched the side of my car when passing. Despite the difficulties, I was determined to continue pressing forward.
Approaching Messenger Peak.
It was about 15 miles of getting battered around on the road before I reached the access trail for Messenger Peak. After finding a place to park, I set off on foot. The car certainly did most of the work, since the peak is so far away when hiking from any "civilized" parking areas. Meanwhile, I parked close enough so that this was also an easy hike (about 1.2 miles RT).
On the summit.
Rocky Benchmark Hiking Map.
Next up was Rocky Benchmark. This is a notable high point next to Lightning Point Group Camp.
Lightning Point Group Camp.
This was another rather easy hike to the high point (1.5 miles RT), where I found a hunter sitting on top of with his rifle ready to operate. After an awkward interaction (since I didn't have antlers), I simply headed back and went on my way.
Mt Gleason Hiking Map.
The last peak to visit was Mt Gleason. This is the highest peak in the area, but it is reached by hiking on a deteriorating paved road for about a half mile. The driving surface also became paved after leaving the Rocky Benchmark parking area, which helped to reduce the driving drama. In fact, the hike was no drama as well, since it visited the wide summit, which had no official marker the summit as far as I could tell.
Mt Gleason summit.
There are a few more official peaks on the way down the road to Angeles Forest Highway, but I had already visited them in the past while on a long Pacific Crest Trail hike a few years ago. Because of that, I closed it out there and called it a day!
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