Jones, Hastings, and Yale Score

David R · Post by **David R** » Mon Feb 04, 2013 11:43 am

What to do prior to Super Bowl festivities? Go on a hike of course. This is one of my tried and true routes, that I've done at least 5-10 times. I love it because it is steep and you get to climb one of the busiest sections of trail and via this route you see few if any people on the way up.

This route starts at Little Santa Anita Canyon where I saw a nice herd of deer right at the trailhead. There were lots of people hiking that day, it seemed I had found the anti-hype crowd and I fit right in. The turn-off for the SE firebreak to Jones is right where you are level with the dam and can see a ridge running down towards the canyon where canyoneers use as an exit if they decide to climb down the lower canyon.

People have noticed that there is a trail being constructed beginning in this section. I have met a local and to clarify this trail connects to the top of the regular trail after it switchbacks over the old washed out trail. The purpose of this trail is for the annual run allowing people to have a down route and a up route. Apparently the speedsters have problems getting through this section on the way down with all the fatties coming up the other way. I followed it on the way back and it is in good shape, not quite in shape for a run but getting there. My personal opinion about this trail is it probably shouldn't be constructed just for this purpose but whatever.

Once you reach the top of these switchbacks, you get the delightful steep climb to Jones. Here is the challenge for people that enjoy this type of climb. From the TH if I make it to the top in a hour or less, then I consider myself in good shape, a hour to a hour and ten I'm average. Anything over an hour and ten and I need to get back into shape. I made it to the top in exactly a hour.

From there it was just over a half hour to Hastings. I don't know what it is about this section but with all the grass I feel like I'm prey for a mountain lion just waiting in there. Too many Wild Kingdom shows, next time I'll wear Sketchers.

The route from Hastings to the toll road is good other then the last steep climb which is now a gully. From here you go only about 50 feet and you can see a bushy opening to get to the main ridge to Yale. This route used to me a mess of brush but with the fire the break is relatively cleared and growing back fast. This is a delightful section with lots of opportunites for some basic bouldering as its almost all rock. Too soon you're on the top and get a panoramic view.

From here you drop to the first saddle where there is a warning sign concerning the gas line below your feet. You should see a ribbon and a steep route down to the fire road. If you want to come up this way, the best indicator is a detached branch on the side of the fire road on the ground with a ribbon on it showing the way up. From here it was the standard route to Manzanita Ridge and back down. There was a horde of hikers on this section, I have never seen so many people on the trail. The flip side was I didn't see anyone from the turnoff to Jones until this point so I was good with my ratios. I finished the hike in 4:20, which left me with a high, natural one that is.

blueshammer · Post by **blueshammer** » Mon Feb 04, 2013 9:07 pm

Thanks for the trip report. I've been to Jones/Hastings/Mt. Wilson many times now, but I've yet to try that SE ridge up to Jones Peak, as I've never actually fully figured out the starting point.

Post by **HikeUp** » Tue Feb 05, 2013 8:47 am

blueshammer wrote: ↑... but I've yet to try that SE ridge up to Jones Peak, as I've never actually fully figured out the starting point.

That'd be Bastard Ridge. The starting point is fairly easy to spot if you just pay attention to the terrain. See topo map in the link.

mcphersonm80 · Post by **mcphersonm80** » Tue Feb 05, 2013 12:39 pm

Awesome route that not many people take (and for good reason) 8)

And I love that grassy section on the way to Hastings, definitely has that lion/snake/sasquatch in the grass feel to it... (sort of like the Hiker Bob Connector trail. There are definitely some local residents there)

I'm also not a big fan of the switchbacks they've created at the start of the ridge, but I wasn't aware that it was a connector to the main trail. That's a slight relief, I suppose... I assumed somebody was trying to domesticate the whole ridge.

blueshammer · Post by **blueshammer** » Sun Feb 24, 2013 5:59 pm

I finally got to check out Bastard Ridge today. The beginning is extremely easy to spot, as the ridge begins where one has a clear view of the dam below. At the initial start going up, I was surprised to find it relatively well maintained with defined switchbacks. After finishing the switchbacks, there was a trail going in a northerly direction. I was curious where it would go, so I followed it and was surprised to find myself back on the old Mt. Wilson Trail. I haven't hiked the Mt. Wilson Trail for almost a year, so the discovery of that new bypass was strange.

I ended up continuing on and ascending the Hiker Bob connector trail to Hastings and then Jones. I hadn't yet fully experienced the bastardness of Bastard Ridge, so I descended from Jones Peak. If it's a bitch ascending Bastard Ridge, descending it (or more accurately, sliding down it) without hiking poles is like eating a shit sandwich. But I'm happy to have experienced it. Definitely will ascend it next time.