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!
By the time I reached this day, I felt like a lion confined in a cage. I had limited myself to easy hikes essentially since the beginning of the year. Truly, there was low hanging fruit as I intended to get all the local easy hikes documented on video. Meanwhile, I wanted to do something a little more challenging. Recently, I noticed local San Gabriel Mountain peaks that I had not yet visited appear on the Peakery database. I was determined to get them added to my completed list, so off I went when the weekend hit.
Transplanted Castro Peak Fire Lookout.
The hike begins in Eaton Canyon. Instead of beginning at the overcrowded Eaton Canyon Trailhead, there is a closer starting point in an Altadena neighborhood at the Mt Wilson / Pinecrest Gate. From there, the roadway crosses Eaton Canyon and then climbs the old Mt Wilson Toll Road toward Henninger Flats. There is nearly no shade at all on the approach to Henninger Flats. While there, I took a look at the old Castro Peak Fire Lookout, which sits on display there. The museum was closed this time around, but that was OK, I was only about half way to my daily goal.
Hiking up the road.
The road continues past the shady Henninger Flats and higher into the range. At about 5.5 miles into the hike, the hike meets a use trail that rises up the slope to the south of the roadway. It leads to a good viewpoint over the San Gabriel Valley. This was the summit of Mt Fuji.
Mt Fuji summit & Mt Princeton in the background.
Not sure if this was named because it was the peak that Godzilla looked over before sacking Los Angeles in an old movie. This gave me something to contemplate as I continued to Mt Princeton.
Approaching Mt Princeton.
About a mile beyond, the road meets a saddle between Mt Princeton and Mt Yale. I had been at this spot before when doing the Mt Yale hike, except I had arrived from the NE instead of the SW as I did this time. I took a right turn and went up a firebreak to the summit of Mt Princeton. From the summit there are good valley views and of the rest of the range.
On the summit overlooking the San Gabriel Valley.
This was my true turnaround point. Since I didn't use a good tracking app, I'm not positive of the mileage to get there, It was somewhere between 6.5 to 7.5 miles. So by heading back down, I doubled my mileage back to Pinecrest Gate. More front range peaks in the San Gabriel's get checked off!
No comments:
Post a Comment