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!
Glendora Peak is a front range peak in the San Gabriel Mountains. It overlooks its city namesake, Glendora. The peak sits astride Glendora Mountain Road. A use trail leaves Glendora Mountain Road on a narrow ridge. This is probably the best place to start, however, I drove about a half mile further up the road to a wide parking area, then, I did a short trail-less climb through some brush to reach the ridge. It was a shortcut for sure, plus the car seemed safer in the parking pullout rather than on the side of the road.
On the summit.
Once reaching the ridge, the trail is unmaintained. Therefore, it is usually overgrown in many places. Whenever in doubt, I just continued up the slope on a route of least resistance. Steep sections of slope certainly makes it feel like a real challenge at times, however, it does not take long to get to the summit. Once on top, I found a cross crowning the summit. On the ground was an old cross, which was the cross the crowned the summit the first time I climbed the peak a few years prior. There are great views into Azusa Canyon and Morris Reservoir.
The old summit cross.
When ready to descend, it is much quicker going down. It is also important to stay on the same pathway, because it is easy to lose the path and wind up in some miserable brush. Long pants come in handy on this hike. When ready, I cut back across the trail-less short cut to reach where I parked my car. Since this hike is low mileage, I included it on my day after visiting Johnstone Peak in the morning.
Terrebone Avenue in San Dimas is where I began the hike. I have done this hike three times, and I realized that this was the shortest starting point. The hike starts as an extension of the end of the cul de sac and passing around the locked vehicle gate. Once reaching Sycamore Flats Motorway just a few steps later, I made a right turn right as the motorway begins climbing. Gradual switchbacks leads to higher ground, with good views toward Johnstone Peak and the surrounding range.
Flowers were in bloom.
Many lower bumps along the ridge get passed, some have buildings and transmission towers. With about a mile left to go to the peak, a sign appears on the side of the road which causes many to turn around. It mentions that the San Dimas Experimental Forest requires permission to enter. Being that this is a road, clearly this is intended for vehicles to stay out. As a hiker, I proceeded forward to the peak. On the summit sits more buildings and transmission towers. Also, there is a plaque that marks the summit of Johnstone Peak.
Approaching Johnstone Peak.
On the way down, I veered off the road to visit Peak 2990. This is a slightly lower peak, but is a prominent point along the ridge. No trail leads to the summit, so I more or less made my own trail to the top. Fortunately, it was a short climb. Panoramic views were a little better from this peak, since the summit is not tree covered, like Johnstone Peak. After the second summit, it was downhill all the way back to Terrebone Avenue, with ample city views.
Summit plaque.
Peak 2900, as viewed when coming down Johnstone Peak.
Charlton Flats Picnic Area is beyond its glory days for outdoor recreation. Although there are some nice pull in sites, possibly once used for camping in its day, it sits in an area that is mostly off limits to vehicles. It's nearby trails sit mostly overgrown as well. Meanwhile, the picnic area sits near the high point of Vetter Mountain. It is accessible by a forest road, and also an old trail that has fallen into disrepair. I was able to park along Angeles Crest Highway, just outside of Charlton Flats. I then walked in and walked through Charlton Flats. I took the low road at first, which passes through the picnic sites. After reaching an old restroom building, I found the old trail which leaves the road on the left side. It is signed as the Silver Moccasin Trail.
Approaching the Vetter Mountain Lookout.
At least at the time of my visit, this trail was in serious need of attention. It had the look about it like it was not maintained for years. There were even large sections of trail that got washed away by the nearby creek. It had also suffered quite a bit of fire damage over the years. This made the hike a little more adventurous, by climbing over downed trees and debris. Eventually, the trail got clearer as it climbed toward the peak. As it climbed the fire lookout tower came in view. The trail eventually met up with the fire road just below the summit. I climbed the rest of the way to the lookout tower to make the summit official. This is not the original fire lookout tower. The previous one burned in the 2009 Station Fire.
The tower was unmanned on my visit.
When leaving the summit, I chose to take the fire road down. This allowed me to complete a summit loop hike of Vetter Mountain. The road had a higher profile over the area, which allowed me to gain a different perspective on how the recent fires impacted the landscape. There were several burned areas, with an ample supply of poodle dog bushes filling in the open areas. Meanwhile, the views were great along the road. The loop closed shortly before returning to Angeles Crest Highway.
Several hiking opportunities abound from Angeles Crest Highway. Many are prominent, while others are obscure. Winston Ridge is one of the obscure ones. From Angeles Crest Highway, and unsigned route heads uphill for about a mile to reach Winston Peak. To get to Winston Ridge requires going further on use trails and a little x-country toward the north. The route dips into a canyon before climbing to Peak 6903, at the beginning of Winston Ridge.
Heading to Winston Ridge.
From Peak 6903, I crossed over the wide summit to pick up the ridge route, which climbs gradually toward the high point of Winston Ridge. At the high point sat a register, at least on my visit. From Winston Ridge I continued west.
The summit of Winston Ridge.
The ridge dips to a lower point before elevating to the next summit, which is Peak 6850. This is the end of the ridge, so there is a quite a bit of a drop to the west from there. An unmaintained trail leads from Winston Ridge to Peak 6850, but it was clearly visible and with limited difficulty.
Approaching Peak 6850.
The original plan was to include Peak 6306 to the north. However, I did not anticipate the huge dip of about a thousand feet before climbing to Peak 6306. So instead, I just stood there for a few minutes admiring the view and feeling grateful that I didn't begin descending to it.
Overlooking Peak 6306.
The majority of the hike is on unmaintained trails. I did not see anybody else out on the ridge, so the secluded feeling was really prevalent. This is a great place to visit to get that wilderness feeling before returning to Angeles Crest Highway and then civilization.
Bypassing a reclimb of Winston Peak on the way back.
Peters Canyon Regional Park is an example of some wild open space preserved from the encroaching urbanization. It has been surrounded now by several decades, but still manages to serve as a decent outdoor destination. The park features a reservoir and some rolling hills on a narrow greenbelt section of land.
Heading up to the park high point.
Conveniently, a trail forms a loop through the open spaces, making for a good half day hike without the need to travel great distances by car (depending on where you live, of course). To make a full day of the experience, I combined this with a visit to Irvine Regional Park, which is right down the road.
On the high point.
Due to accessibility to the nearby urban areas, the trails get pretty busy here, especially on weekends. I had to use quite a bit of timing opportunities in order to shoot video footage at certain times after crowds dispersed. Near the southern end of the loop, the trail gets immersed in a shady eucalyptus forest.
Passing through the eucalyptus grove.
Inside of it is very peaceful and a pleasure to experience for a short time. Afterwards, the hike back to the start is mostly unshaded while skirting the edge of the park and nearby homes. However, still maintaining the wild open space feel along the way. It felt good to venture out here for the day, although not being too far away from civilization.
A chance to slow down before leaving the park behind.
