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 "1,000 Hikes in So Cal". 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!
I had alreadycompleted Strawberry Peak at a previous time, which is the neighboring peak to Lawlor. The hike starts at the same trailhead, which is the Strawberry Peak Trail at Red Box Junction. Therefore the hike is the same for both outings up until Strawberry - Lawlor Saddle, but this time, I took a right and headed up the slope toward Mt Lawlor. The climb from the slope is more or less a Class 2 climb, where there are many boulders to climb over and around. The high point of the hike gets reached on the summit of Mt Lawlor.
Looking across the ridge toward Barley Flats.
From the summit, a steep use trail descends the slope back down to the Strawberry Peak Trail, however, I continued forward on the ridge, hoping to extend the hike to Barley Flats. At the time, I was not sure if a trail actually connected both summits, so it became a bit of a real time adventure. Some parts of the ridge were overgrown, but for the most part, a firebreak gave me an access route most of the way. Eventually, the ridge dropped to a dirt road which led me the rest of the way toward Barley Flats. I left the road to reach the summit, which has a water tank on it. To make it official, I took the attached staircase to reach the top.
The water tank on Barley Flats.
After then completing a double summit hike, the next task was to find a different way back to the trailhead. I had researched another route that goes parallel to the ridge, as well as parallel to Angeles Crest Highway. I took the dirt road south of Barley Flats until it turned into a single track and began the parallel route.
Heading up the steps.
Despite some overgrowth, I pressed on. The trail seems to get little use, but it was still visible all the way back down to the Strawberry Peak Trail. Once back on it, I gave a sigh of relief for being able to complete the task without having to retrace my steps back up the ridge. From there, I returned to Red Box to close out the experience.
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