Prairie Fork - Lupine Road (3N39)
Unless there's a more convenient route of which I am unaware, this is the closest road to upper and lower Fish Fork trail camps. Follow 3N06.1 around six miles just past Guffy, turn down 3N39, continue ~ 3 more miles down to Lupine. A foot trail from Lupine follows up past the spring on an abandoned logging road over Pine Mountain ridge then down to upper fish fork trail camp. An alternative route is to continue along 3N06.1 and 3N06.2 to the north devil's backbone trailhead and hike over Pine Mountain and down to the Dawson saddle, following the old trail down to Fish Fork.
Some of those trails are really tough to find. The trail from the top of the ridge near Dawson Peak down to the Fish Fork area is really spotty. You can find stretches of it but it's easy to lose the track. Better be up on your XC land nav if you take that route just in case.
The trail to Little Fish Fork from Lupine isn't bad to follow although there are downed trees and such. Past Little Fish Fork down to Upper Fish Fork (yes "Upper" Fish Fork is lower than "Little" Fish Fork), the trail is followable -- if you are accustomed to following all but gone trails. I went down that way about a year ago. I had no trouble finding the trail, but the two friends I was with were just scratching their heads.
If you take a look at this map of the area, start at point "A" just out of Wrightwood. Turn left at "B". Drive down the Blue Ridge Road to point "I". Veer right at "I" and head down toward Lupine CG. The trail head is at point "N" just before Lupine CG. Take the trail up and over Pine Mountain Ridge. Leave Pine Mountain Ridge at "S". The section from "S" to "U" is loose slidey stuff that you must traverse across. From the small saddle at "U", drop down the switch backs which are more or less followable (some fallen logs) down to "Y". There is an old logging road that runs in through here, so be careful to stay on the trail. Turn left at "Y" (where you meet another logging road) and follow the old road bed down to Little Fish Fork Camp. The camp is on the old logging road bed in a wide spot. The map shows the road staying south east of the creek. This is not correct. The road recrosses the creek and the camp is on the NW bank of the creek.
HJ
The trail to Little Fish Fork from Lupine isn't bad to follow although there are downed trees and such. Past Little Fish Fork down to Upper Fish Fork (yes "Upper" Fish Fork is lower than "Little" Fish Fork), the trail is followable -- if you are accustomed to following all but gone trails. I went down that way about a year ago. I had no trouble finding the trail, but the two friends I was with were just scratching their heads.
If you take a look at this map of the area, start at point "A" just out of Wrightwood. Turn left at "B". Drive down the Blue Ridge Road to point "I". Veer right at "I" and head down toward Lupine CG. The trail head is at point "N" just before Lupine CG. Take the trail up and over Pine Mountain Ridge. Leave Pine Mountain Ridge at "S". The section from "S" to "U" is loose slidey stuff that you must traverse across. From the small saddle at "U", drop down the switch backs which are more or less followable (some fallen logs) down to "Y". There is an old logging road that runs in through here, so be careful to stay on the trail. Turn left at "Y" (where you meet another logging road) and follow the old road bed down to Little Fish Fork Camp. The camp is on the old logging road bed in a wide spot. The map shows the road staying south east of the creek. This is not correct. The road recrosses the creek and the camp is on the NW bank of the creek.
HJ
I freakin' love Acme Mapper. Nothing makes it clearer to me than to see a route plotted clearly on a topo map.Zé wrote:ACME-FU is baaaaack!
Actually, I was thinking of doing a quick overnighter down at Upper Fish Fork. Really nice area, and I'm willing to bet that even on the 4th of July weekend it'll be crowd free. It's not quite straightforward to get there.lilbitmo wrote:Jim Bob,
Where you headed? Are you planning a little Pine Harwood adventure?
Send me a PM
I re-injured my knee again about a month and a half ago. I was in a hurry going down a steep mountain trail. I should know better than to push it down hill, but my friend needed to get back for his kid's birthday party, and I didn't want to be the jerk that made him late.
Knee bad, so, no big gain hikes for me for a while. Actually, Upper Fish Fork might even be a bit much. It's a pretty steep pull back out of Upper Fish Fork to Little Fish Fork. Argh. A hiker with a bum knee? Sux.
HJ
Or I could take two good legs one weekend and she could take the good legs weekend after that. Sort of an exchange program. Course I'm a little taller than Norma...lilbitmo wrote:Bad leg - HJ if it's the opposite leg to Norma, maybe you can tie the two together and hike side by side assisting each other
What happened to Norma's leg?
HJ
She hurt her ankle on a rappel a week ago, she's running around on crutches for the next 8 weeks - we miss her crazy antics, otherwise I think she would have joined the rest of us for the Cirque/Langley (mini death march) last Saturday. Hope your leg heals fast as well, there's nothing more frustrating than being out of commission because you cannot do your favorite activity - hiking. I tried two winters ago to burn through it when my knee was a twitching and it just took longer to heal, good ideal to just take it easy. Let us know how the water is running and the temp's back there at Fish Fork, enjoy yourself.Hikin_Jim wrote:Or I could take two good legs one weekend and she could take the good legs weekend after that. Sort of an exchange program. Course I'm a little taller than Norma...lilbitmo wrote:Bad leg - HJ if it's the opposite leg to Norma, maybe you can tie the two together and hike side by side assisting each other
What happened to Norma's leg?
HJ
Ouch. I'll have to drop her a get get well soon card of some sort.lilbitmo wrote:She hurt her ankle on a rappel a week ago, she's running around on crutches for the next 8 weeks - we miss her crazy antics, otherwise I think she would have joined the rest of us for the Cirque/Langley (mini death march) last Saturday.
You're telling me. Sux.lilbitmo wrote:Hope your leg heals fast as well, there's nothing more frustrating than being out of commission because you cannot do your favorite activity - hiking.
Yeah, trying to "hike it out" can result in permanent injury. it's just plain not a good idea. I've been resting it some and all like that.lilbitmo wrote:I tried two winters ago to burn through it when my knee was a twitching and it just took longer to heal, good ideal to just take it easy.
As much as I like that area and want to get back out there again, I'm thinking that the pull out of Upper Fish Fork is tempting "Murphy" with questionable knees like mine. I'm thinking about doing something easy like the Cloudburst -Cooper - Buckhorn semi-loop. Gotta watch out lest I get a bad case of "get-out-there-itis" and make things worse.lilbitmo wrote:Let us know how the water is running and the temp's back there at Fish Fork, enjoy yourself.
HJ
- cougarmagic
- Posts: 1409
- Joined: Wed May 07, 2008 5:21 pm
Anyone get out that way this weekend to see if it's open to lupine?
-edit. Today(Tuesday) they were bringing in a loader to move a 4 foot boulder and an even bigger tree to clear the road between guffy/the split to wright mountain and down to lupine. The ranger said they'd be done today or tomorrow
-edit. Today(Tuesday) they were bringing in a loader to move a 4 foot boulder and an even bigger tree to clear the road between guffy/the split to wright mountain and down to lupine. The ranger said they'd be done today or tomorrow
It's open now. Just drove through there this morning.
http://dominikn.smugmug.com/MotorcycleT ... 025_Q2dSmB
http://dominikn.smugmug.com/MotorcycleT ... 025_Q2dSmB
Mornin all.
Does anyone know if gate at is open down to valley. Wasn't a few weeks ago, but CDF guys were saying it might soon.....
thx...
I may be up...er down Miners gulch, smell da coffee. stop in...........say hi
ramblings of different mind...uh, kind
Quaeritur Stultitiae
Non sunt quaestiones. Modo solutiones
yea I was in the Boy Scouts.........but I got kicked out for eating Brownies.
I dont call 911....
Does anyone know if gate at is open down to valley. Wasn't a few weeks ago, but CDF guys were saying it might soon.....
thx...
I may be up...er down Miners gulch, smell da coffee. stop in...........say hi
ramblings of different mind...uh, kind
Quaeritur Stultitiae
Non sunt quaestiones. Modo solutiones
yea I was in the Boy Scouts.........but I got kicked out for eating Brownies.
I dont call 911....
Thx Elwood,
I been down 4 time since May, know what ya mean, Ford F250, 35" tires, heck i'll make Cabin Flat for sure.
(usually base at Guffy, stop in)
Hate it when I c a Range rover driving by, me huffing a 50# up the trail, says they just drove around it........errrr
c u when i c u........
I been down 4 time since May, know what ya mean, Ford F250, 35" tires, heck i'll make Cabin Flat for sure.
(usually base at Guffy, stop in)
Hate it when I c a Range rover driving by, me huffing a 50# up the trail, says they just drove around it........errrr
c u when i c u........
- davantalus
- Posts: 203
- Joined: Mon Jun 08, 2009 9:09 am
Heard it was shut two weeks ago. Dunno if that's changed though.