Peak 5,840 and Peak 5,881

[David R]

Just south of Cole Point and also to the east there are two peaks that I've had my eye on for a while. There is no reason why they are not named peaks as they are higher than Cole Point and clearly have their own prominence but are relegated to numbers. After reaching Mill Summit if you're coming from the south on Angeles Forest Highway. you begin your descent at mile marker 8.67 there is a small turnout that you can park in. Start up the ridge on the left through easy spacing and pick the easiest route to get on the ridge. While steep it is sandy with plenty of spacing for the brush. When you get on the ridge go up and pass some transmission towers. You will intersect with an east/west ridge which is broad at tis point. I left a duck and stick to indicate where to get on the subsidiary ridge to get back down. This ridge remains relatively flat and wide passing a couple of FIRS not pines on the north side that are convenient to note on the way back. You get to a saddle and commence another steep climb that you will have to weave between brush. At this time of year the open space was blanketed with purple and yellow flowers.

Finally this ridge also broadens and you get dumped on the fire break that goes over Cole and connects to the Pacifico fire road. This is Peak 5,840 I wrote an arrow in the dirt here as there is a lot of dead brush placed here by the fire break workers and another broad summit that it gets difficult to find the narrow ridge on the way down. Heading north for a short section the main fire road goes over to Cole, you will see a triangle sign that I placed back up showing a fire road going eastward to the right. Follow this steep fire break down and lose about 400 feet which you will gain right back again ascending Peak 5,881. The top is nothing special with the fire break but if you look closely there is a register here placed about a year and half ago by Chuck "the monster" Hodi, three others including myself have been there since then. You could hear a little from the gun shooting range but not as bas as a typical day here.

I retraced my steps but did have a bit of a problem finding the first ridge but the FIR trees oriented me pretty quickly. The next ridge I missed completely and just assumed I missed the duck and went down the next ridge which conveniently also had the transmission lines which was why I mistakenly went down it. This ridge was rockier and steeper but with careful planning proved trivial as far as getting down and I just needed to walk back to my car up the road a couple hundred yards.

I still had energy and decided to hit Little Gleason. I took the Mount Gleason Road to the spot just before you start passing by the peak. The peak is only a half mile jaunt but it is through the nastiest buckthorn you'll find. There is just enough of a "trail" that you can avoid ripping yourself up if you're appropriately attired and are careful on route finding. A new register was put there just recently and it so happened that no one had been there in three months and then both myself and another person both came today what a coincidence.

The first hike took about three hours with only about three to four miles of hiking but 2,300 feet of elevation gain.

[Girl Hiker]

Sound nice but I woukd live to see pictures ??

[JeffH]

Sound nice but I woukd live to see pictures ??

I think I read here somewhere that without pictures it may not have happened...

[Sean]

That's a neat hike. I recall looking at 5881 from the Cole Point side and from the Triple Divide side with a potential loop in mind but I never made it back out there. Thanks for the report!