I've been hiking a lot the past couple of weeks as I have had some time off. I'm being kind of arbitrary by writing up a trip report for this one but primarily as an update on conditions and some observations.
San Rafael is deep in the Los Padres with its TH accessed after driving for 12 miles on dirt roads. The drive up itself will take most at least two hours as the road starts out of Lockwood Valley. The first section of the hike is on trail, where I will make my first observation. Get those motorcycles the F off of these trails. The have no regard for where they are supposed to be and have driven all over these trails ruining the tread and making mince meat out of the switchbacks. Second observation despite the fire that swept through here and all the trees having black bark, many have recovered nicely and the greenery is flourishing once again.
The trail you take is the Mutau trail continuing straight until you get to an obvious saddle. From here you wind your way generally south and then onto an easternly trending ridge. The write up on the HPS guide is a bit out of date as it was written prior to the fire and most of the difficulty of getting to this peak was the brush. That is clear enough now that you have many options as far as route.
The hike is perfect for those that are comfortable with xcountry hiking as there is enough use trails, ribbons, and ducks to keep you on track but route finding skills are still needed. On the way to the peak the route is pretty obvious, once you reach the top of 6,160 you can see the remainder of your entire route very clearly. Some minor points that will make your hike easier is to contour to the right around 6,120, the use trail is hard to find and I only found it on the way back. The next contour available is around the next bump which is 6,408 and is a hybrid climb/ contour, this one is difficult to follow on the way back.
Once on the eastern ridge you get a bit of a shock as you see a dramatic escarpment drop off to the south down towards Sespe Creek. The actual summit is pretty bare and has great views in all directions but is a bit hemmed in by the mountains around it that are of similar heights. The furthest I could see was to the SE towards the San Gabriels. I got to the saddle in one hour and another hour to the summit. Only one person had been to the summit this year, since the road only recently opened, and they had been there just the day before.
The register is delightful going back to 1974 with the funniest entry in 1980 from Doug Mantle the preeminent climber and hiker in California stating that this was the brushiest peak he had ever climbed and how unpleasant it was.
On the way back you must make note of the contour down 6,408, which route to take to get back up 6,160 (there is a prominent rock on the top), and the most difficult when you reach the top of 6,160 you head in a NE direction on the flat top area, jog to the NW for a short time, and drop down a steep slope to the subsidiary ridge just before getting back to the saddle.
The whole hike took a little over four hours with 2,400 feet elevation gain. I spent a hour exploring Mutau Flats afterwards meeting some backpackers from Rose Valley. I saw three deer and a charming snake. This area in late spring is particularly delightful, however with the low water I wouldn't be surprised if they close this area by August for fire danger.
San Rafael Peak-5-23
I enjoy reading about your Los Padres hikes. I haven't been there, but plan on checking it out this fall. Did you take any pictures of San Rafael?
