Telegraph Peak and Pt. 7465 via Middle Fork Lytle Creek off trail route - trip report and photos

[headsizeburrito]

A couple weeks ago Uncle Rico asked if anyone had been to point 7465 east of Telegraph Peak and above Middle Fork Lytle Creek. Several people had been to nearby peaks or points along the ridge, but not that specific spot. It sounded like a fun trip over a rarely visited point and I had never started from the Lytle Creek area before, so I went out there on Friday. Based on discussion in the thread and looking at the map, the plan was to start from the Middle Fork Lytle Creek trailhead, take the drainage north of the creek just past Stonehouse, figure out a way up the ridge and 7465, then just follow the ridge to Telegraph. From there I'd loop around via Icehouse Saddle and the Middle Fork Trail back to the start.

I arrived at the trailhead just before 7:30 and was the only one there. The road to the trailhead was a bit bumpy in places, but easily passable. The trail is in good shape and shortly after passing Stonehouse camp, the trail crosses a rocky drainage to the north where I left the trail and started going up. HikeUp in the thread mentioned going up that way and getting turned back by the falls on the west end of the white cliffs, so I wanted to check those out, then figure out how to actually get up to the ridge. Following the drainage is easy walking and rock hopping, with the small stream emerging and pooling in places. You quickly reach the jagged white cliffs, which are very cool and unique for the San Gabriels. The falls are a long series of short drops in a narrow slot, currently the flow is just a trickle. The 15 foot fall at the base had pretty solid rock to the left of the flow, so I climbed up to see how it looked beyond there. Not surprisingly, everything past that point was extremely crumbly. The few holds I tried out at the next fall just came right off the face, so I climbed back down.

Back at the base I had to decide which way to try and get up the ridge with 7465. HikeUp had scrambled to the saddle with point 5610 just east of the falls and cliffs, so my original plan was to do that and then try and scramble north along that ridge with point 6566, then continue along that to 7465. A small chute to a minor saddle just west of the falls looked promising and would be a more direct route, so I traversed the loose slope and scrambled up to the saddle. From the saddle the terrain changes from the crumbly white rock to firm large boulders and fins, with vegetation growing in the cracks here and there. This required several hundred vertical feet of good class 3 scrambling up the ridge, which took some work but was a lot of fun. The exposure was moderate, but falling would have been a bad idea and I was glad I brought my helmet just in case. After the class 3 rock the ridge becomes covered in sharp scree and is mostly class 2 with moments of class 3. At one point I had to cross a short knife edge section of a little saddle and the sharp rocks sliced a 2" hole in the crotch of my pants! At least they were the same ones that already lost a pocket on West Mermaid/Peak 4654, my other pair still only has one minor tear! Overall I would compare this section of the route to the north ridge of Iron Mountain (my TR halfway down the thread) in terrain and difficulty. It doesn't have as much exposure, but it's not easy and you need to be confident in your scrambling abilities and fitness. After a couple hundred feet of this the rock ends and the ridge becomes a little less steep with firm soil and an easy route to where it levels out at point 7465.

Point 7465 is a very nice break after the tough climb, with lots of level and open space. I was a little surprised to see a small cairn at the high point and even more surprised when I moved a couple rocks and found a register in there. It was a small metal tobacco tin and the remarkably well preserved notebook inside was placed by the Sierra Club in 1966! There were only nine entries, the most recent from 1993. I haven't found anything online about this point, so I'm guessing it was on a Sierra Club list at some point and then removed, or perhaps mentioned in an old book. Whatever the case, it was a very cool surprise. I put it in a ziplock bag for a little extra weather protection, though if it has lasted this long maybe it didn't need it! The area around the point has excellent views of the ridge west to Telegraph, as well as north down into the rugged Grizzly Gulch. Up here I also found a metal Gatorade can that was obviously decades old, and found my first tree stump of the ridge. From here to Telegraph there were occasional decades old stumps along the ridge, as well as equally old cuts to shrubs. It seems this route was actually worked on at some point long ago, with a minor trail. I didn't see any recent signs, but animals have helped maintain the trail and it was easy to follow along the high point of the ridge, occasionally dipping to the north side briefly. The ridge between 7465 and the final little climb to Telegraph is very pleasant, with an easy to follow route, no bushwhacking, no more scrambling or exposure, and excellent views. I would say it's pretty comparable to the ridge between Baden Powell and Ross Mountain, perhaps a bit easier. As you approach the final section just below the summit of Telegraph there are multiple use trails and a steep and loose slope. There is apparently a gentler way to the summit, but I wanted to get there and eat my lunch, so I took a direct line up the slope and surprised somebody who was there relaxing when I popped up over the edge.

The summit register on Telegraph is a heavy metal box literally chained and bolted to the rock, yet the lid was somehow broken off, making the whole thing useless. Kind of a funny contrast to the register on 7465, but unfortunately not too surprising given their relative popularity. After a nice lunch break on the summit I headed south to Icehouse Saddle, and even though I've done that section quite a few times, I always forget how long it is. There were several small groups at the saddle where I stopped to reapply sunscreen, then I joined the Middle Fork Trail for the final leg of the hike. I've never been on this trail before, so it was nice to see something new. I had hoped to see the falls, but from the trail I only just barely caught a glimpse, and didn't feel like adding another side trip. It was also nice to be in the shade, but that combined with the moisture meant that the middle section was pretty buggy, incentivizing me to keep moving. Third Stream Crossing had pretty good flow, and eventually as you get back near Stonehouse the trees (and bugs) end. From here I crossed the original drainage I took up in the morning, and finished back the way I started, with one other car in the parking lot and no people between Icehouse Saddle and the trailhead.

Stats: 14.1mi, 8h34m, 5350ft gain/loss
Trash found and packed out: 3 mylar balloons, one very old metal Gatorade can, 3 plastic Gatorade bottles, one food wrapper, one tin can, one part of an old mess kit.

[headsizeburrito]

Middle Fork Lytle Creek trailhead

Starting up the drainage past Stonehouse

Cool white cliffs

Series of small falls on the west edge of the cliffs

Carefully traversing west to a small saddle

Time for the fun part

Looking east over the saddle with 5610

Continuing up through sharp scree

Past the scree, continuing up

High point of 7465, small cairn visible between the two trees, Telegraph Peak left of the tree in the distance

[headsizeburrito]

Summit register placed in 1966!

View of the ridge to Telegraph from 7465

Looking down into Grizzly Gulch

Pleasant and easy ridge terrain between 7465 and 8540

Point 8325 looking towards the North Backbone between Dawson and Baldy

Almost to Telegraph

Telegraph summit looking back the way I came

Sturdy yet busted summit register on Telegraph, should have used an old tobacco tin.

Starting Middle Fork Trail from Icehouse Saddle

Momentary view of falls in Lytle Creek

[headsizeburrito]

Third Stream Crossing

Nice trees along the way

Flowers here and there

Nice line of green along the creek, almost back at trailhead

Trash found and packed out

Detail of route to 7465

Overall trip route and stats

[Sean]

Instant classic! Thanks for the stellar report. Those white cliffs are awesome.

[headsizeburrito]

Yeah, that area is pretty spectacular! Between that and the steep scramble to the west it's the coolest couple miles I've done in months!

Seeing it from above and from your report on Grizzly Gulch, it certainly looks tough like you said. I'm impressed you made it so high with the condition of that rock! It looks like a fun area to see and screw around in, but I doubt it would be safe to go any higher. From my view above and looking at the map it does seem like you could get to 7465 from that side by going up the ridge just west of Grizzly Gulch. It would be a steep climb, but I think you could skirt the crumbly stuff and difficult scrambling/climbing while still getting a new view of it.

[HikeUp]

Instant classic indeed. I frankly can't believe the route you took west of the falls was even imaginable, let alone do-able. I never even looked in that direction. I must say that is one of the top few most difficult places to get to in the San Gabes. Not necessarily technically but just imagination-wise.

Fantastic shit!!!

If you can, would you sketch your route up around the falls on this picture...

[headsizeburrito]

It looks pretty different in that view vs from below! I started at a small scree field that I'm pretty sure I've correctly identified in that photo at the bend just west of that little saddle. The middle section is very approximate, guess I should have used dotted lines! I don't have any photos as my hands were busy and up close it's hard to get any real perspective anyway. I did come up right by a tree which I believe is the one visible there where I have the line start to bend west again. The exact line probably isn't that important, once you are there it's just a matter of going up and trying to plan a few moves ahead. It was steep, but I was able to find a line that wasn't so steep I couldn't have downclimbed if I got stuck somewhere.

[HikeUp]

Thanks for that. Cool.

[tekewin]

Amazing trip and beautiful photos. Completely fresh area for me. Thank you.

[Girl Hiker]

Nice Report and Photos. I love the scree!

[Sammsquatch]

Registered here after lurking for ages just to reply to this post. What a small world Headsizeburrito... I'm the guy that was on Telegraph when you moseyed up from the east ridge. I wonder if you saw the utter surprise on my face! I was only expecting wildlife from the direction you emerged. Usually nobody I know can keep up with me in the wilderness, but that day you made me feel like an old fart ( to my credit, I did have a pulled hamstring =P ) as you slowed down as not to pass me on the way to Icehouse saddle. Anyhow, greetings again! I wonder how many of you all I've seen out there.

[headsizeburrito]

Small world indeed, welcome!

[Uncle Rico]

Awesome burrito! Very cool summit register. I'm gonna have to see that for myself, but I ain't going the way you went. Lol