Anyhow, after getting The GPS track from Dima, I was confident I could do it. However, I read some recent reports that it was overgrown and unless you had a track it would be hard to follow.
So my backup plan was to find a way through the property at Cow Cyn saddle.
I had made numerous calls to the Forest service because I read that special permission was needed to walk past the private property.
After being referred to several agencies, I finally got the number of the property owner but the jerk never called me back.
So I decided to just do it!
Two of my friends joined me on Wednesday. We parked at Sunset trailhead. The Big Red gate didn't intimidate us. We climbed over some rocks around the gate and continued on the road. There is a second Black gate that I assume is supposed to prevent you from going onto the property but that didn't work. They also put some other barriers where the trail starts but we just walked around it.
Obviously, not a full proof method for keeping hikers out. Although the gate & the No Parking signs may seem intimidating.
Anyways, as we headed up the trail, I was looking out for signs of human life but the property was deserted. There were some trailers and they moved some things around by the old camp site.
So, our journey finally began. Little did we know what was in store for us & that it would be a really tough hike with tons of bushwacking.
From the start the trail is overgrown. On the positive side the wildflowers put on quite a show. The beautiful purple Chia ruled. For the most part the trail was easy to follow with a few rock slides along the way.
Then the nightmare began. It got really thick in some areas. I wish I had a machete. We were able to push our way through and thank goodness it wasn't cat claws.
I did noticed someone had recently hacked there way through and put bright orange trail markers. Thank God for that!
If you dont have a track or know the trail you could get lost so I was grateful I remembered the way. The trail definitely gets lost up to the first saddle where we took a break.
Oh and the Yucca are huge! I think this mysterious trail angel gave up just before ascending the steep ridge. Because we had to continue with the delightful bushwacking. Lol
While climbing the long, meandering
exposed ridge, we found a nice shady tree to take another break.
The views along the way were nice with cool rock formations to climb on.
We did go off trail. It was a bit treacherous and we scrambled up to the top. It wasn't pretty but we made it. The trail was buried in thick brush.
The final push to the summit is thick with cat claws and you can't really see the summit until you push through.
At the peak we were rewarded with beautiful views of Baldy, Ontario & Telegraph peaks among others.
The summit was clear. The 3 BM's still in tack. The witness post was buried under some brush. I picked it up and made it stand upright with rocks but I'm not sure how long it will last.
The registers last entry was 2022 and te earliest one was 1998. I was excited to find my entry from 2015vwhen Sean rook me thete for the first time.
Finally, we took a long lunch break & admired the views. And of course the obligatory selfie.
So I had this bright idea of trying to do a loop and exit through Bear Canyon but that was unsuccessful. Again more thick brush and I lost the trail after descending the ridge from the summit so we ended up climbing back up and followed our track back the way we came
For being a short hike it took us all day to complete trek.
I don't know who the trail angel was or when they tried to trim the trail but it helped.
Oh yeah and I picked up a hitchhiker.
