Gobblers Knob and Circle Mountain

Anthony · Post by **Anthony** » Mon Jun 03, 2019 8:24 pm

I've been itching to take my first trip to the high country this year and drove out to Wrightwood on Sunday. I also just bought a 4Runner, so I've been itching to get it off road.

We drove up Sheep Creek Truck Trail (3N31) to the PCT. The road was in surprisingly good condition although I wouldn't drive it in a low clearance vehicle. When we parked at the PCT, we saw two groups of PCTers relaxing under trees. From there, we did a quick but steep hike to Gobblers Knob (1 mile with 500 feet gain).

After Gobbler, we drove back down to the valley and did another short but steep hike: Circle Mountain (3 miles with 800 feet gain).

The views from Gobbler and Circle were some of the best I've seen in the San Gabriels. You get 360 views of the Mojave, San Gabriels, and San Bernardinos. Those peaks might be overlooked because of how short they are -- but if you combine them with other hikes in the area -- they're totally worth it.

I think my next trip to Wrightwood will be for Pine Mountain and Dawson Peak.

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Snow on north side of Baldy (from Gobbler)

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Looking east from Gobbler

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Stretching before the next hike

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Hiking out of the valley to Circle Mountain

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The summit of Circle is amazing

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Looks like the register bandit struck again

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Rain over the Mojave

Girl Hiker · Post by **Girl Hiker** » Tue Jun 04, 2019 12:43 pm

Nice pics. Did you find the two benchmarks?
When I hiked Circle Mtn in 2015, I don't recall seeing a register.

Anthony · Post by **Anthony** » Tue Jun 04, 2019 12:52 pm

Girl Hiker wrote: Nice pics. Did you find the two benchmarks?
When I hiked Circle Mtn in 2015, I don't recall seeing a register.

What's a benchmark? These?

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There was also THIS bench... ?

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Girl Hiker · Post by **Girl Hiker** » Tue Jun 04, 2019 1:11 pm

Anthony wrote:
Girl Hiker wrote: Nice pics. Did you find the two benchmarks?
When I hiked Circle Mtn in 2015, I don't recall seeing a register.
What's a benchmark? These?

IMG_8737.jpg

IMG_8598.jpg

There was also THIS bench... ?

IMG_8706.jpg

You must be new to hiking

Those are fire break signs. These are benchmarks. Many of the Sierra club peaks have benchmarks. Some peaks have anywhere from 1 to 3 of them. They are placed on peaks by the geological surveyors. Some of them are reference marks or triangular stations. Perhaps Sean can do a better job at explaining them. I get very excited when I find them. The oldest one I found was dated 1930.

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Anthony · Post by **Anthony** » Tue Jun 04, 2019 1:28 pm

Girl Hiker wrote:
Anthony wrote:
Girl Hiker wrote: Nice pics. Did you find the two benchmarks?
When I hiked Circle Mtn in 2015, I don't recall seeing a register.
What's a benchmark? These?

IMG_8737.jpg

IMG_8598.jpg

There was also THIS bench... ?

IMG_8706.jpg
You must be new to hiking Those are fire break signs. These are benchmarks. Many of the Sierra club peaks have benchmarks. Some peaks have anywhere from 1 to 3 of them. They are placed on peaks by the geological surveyors. Some of them are reference marks or triangular stations. Perhaps Sean can do a better job at explaining them. I get very excited when I find them. The oldest one I found was dated 1930.
10628337_10205091052699250_8868372549419404137_n.jpg11988279_10205091052379242_3268756120122846128_n.jpg

I've actually been hiking for years, but I'm still learning the lingo.

I've seen a lot of geological survey benchmarks, though I don't recall seeing one on Circle.

Post by **JeffH** » Tue Jun 04, 2019 1:52 pm

Those two pics belong in the Triangular Peak Markers thread.

Post by **HikeUp** » Tue Jun 04, 2019 2:24 pm

10 years ago...

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Post by **Sean** » Tue Jun 04, 2019 2:39 pm

The marker on Circle is a little down-ridge from the summit area. They aren't always on the highpoints. Surveyors sometimes needed a better viewing angle and placed them elsewhere.

Girl Hiker · Post by **Girl Hiker** » Tue Jun 04, 2019 5:26 pm

JeffH wrote: Those two pics belong in the Triangular Peak Markers thread.

Ok Jeff lol

Post by **JeffH** » Tue Jun 04, 2019 6:28 pm

Girl Hiker wrote:
JeffH wrote: Those two pics belong in the Triangular Peak Markers thread.
Ok Jeff lol

?

Anthony · Post by **Anthony** » Tue Jun 04, 2019 6:34 pm

JeffH wrote:
Girl Hiker wrote:
JeffH wrote: Those two pics belong in the Triangular Peak Markers thread.
Ok Jeff lol
?

Done!

Question though: what's the point of that thread? To have a place where we can look at triangular metal signs? ?

Post by **Sean** » Tue Jun 04, 2019 9:27 pm

Anthony wrote:Question though: what's the point of that thread? To have a place where we can look at triangular metal signs? ?

Dima wanted a list of them, so we're giving him a list. At first it was about understanding their purpose. Now we have developed a weird fetish.

Anthony · Post by **Anthony** » Tue Jun 04, 2019 9:52 pm

Sean wrote:
Anthony wrote:Question though: what's the point of that thread? To have a place where we can look at triangular metal signs? ?
Dima wanted a list of them, so we're giving him a list. At first it was about understanding their purpose. Now we have developed a weird fetish.

Fair enough. I'll start taking photos of the triangles now that I know there's an audience for them.