Strawberry Peak from Colby Camp

[David R]

I heard that this trail have been cleared and was open to Strawberry so decided to give it a shot this Sunday. The trail has had a lot of permutations. The original trail is still in existence but comes out from private Colby Camp that I believe is up for sale, any takers? That route is no longer available to the public so a trail starts from Big Tujunga Creek. The bypass trail used to go along the creek and then started ascending the ridge but with the endangered frog issues the trail now begins about 1,000 feet above the creek along the paved road that goes to the camp. The road down has potholes that can swallow your car alive so drive slowly. There is a nice parking lot after you cross the bridge along the creek. There was one person camping out there and another vehicle when I arrived at 9:15.

The trail is quite mellow as it takes large switchbacks to get up and above the creek. The whole area still has a burnt out feel as if the fire was a more recent phenomenon, probably due to the dead trees. The trail is a bit narrow but the tread is solid and there is minimal brush to worry about. The bugs were out in force and I got bit up even though I was covered from head to toe. I wasn't feeling very strong from the beginning of the hike not sure why maybe the sun beating down on me or maybe I was just under the weather. There are very few opportunities for shade on this hike.

The trail contours a lot as you need to get into another stream tributary to turn towards Strawberry. As I was just getting ready to make the turn, I met a mountain biker who was planning on biking the trail system to the 2 and then ride back. He had a couple of other riders who I met further along the trail. The trail stays relatively flat as you contour to connect to the Strawberry north trail. Just before you get to the junction you see the original trail coming up from Camp Colby.

The view of the north face of Strawberry is quite impressive, too bad the rock sucks as this would be a great place for rock climbers. From here I turned to go up the east side of Strawberry. The trail climbs gradually to the saddle. There was at the beginning of the climb, a small stream with water that was still flowing. I reached the saddle and realized I really wasn't feeling well but I knew I only had one more mile to the summit so might as well go for it. This mile went painfully slowly as I had to rest on the steep inclines but I finally made it up to the buggy summit. There was only one other party up there as it was already a bit late in the day and most people had started earlier from the other side. The phenomenon of creating signs for the peaks is getting out of hand, I think there were three wooden signs up there.

On the way down I met a couple who had brought their three dogs with them. They hadn't made it to the peak because one of the dogs was exhausted. All three dogs were off leash and I felt bad for the poor dog but fortunately it was all downhill so I hope they made it back with no further issues.The way down I was tired but since it was primarily downhill or flat I was able to keep on moving with only a couple of stops.

I finally made it back to the parking lot and definitely liked this route as on the back side I only met one other party and it doesn't appear that most people know the trail is open. The route is much longer and has more elevation gain but as long as it isn't too hot, the solitude is worth it. The route was 3,000 feet elevation gain in 12 miles in six hours. Next time I'll make sure it's cooler, pack an energy drink and feel better before I go as it should've been a moderate hike but didn't turn out that way. No pics as usual.

[Girl Hiker]

Nice TR as usual no pics but still want to go check it out.

[Nate U]

This route followed by the "mountaineers" path to the summit I think would be my preferred Strawberry summit method.

I know you don't take photos (I'm not good at that either) but how about a track on a Cal Topo screenshot or something? I'm guessing you don't GPS record your hikes either though. Minimalist, I get it

[dima]

I biked over to look at the start of this recently. There's a fancy-looking bridge over Big T (apparently it's a "Bailey bridge".

And the trail start was marked and looked non-abandoned:

David: so the whole thing that connects to the Strawberry Potrero is a new rerouting?

[David R]

My understanding was the the original trail started at the east end of the parking lot and followed closer to the creek at the beginning before climbing the ridge. If you look at the FS Topo it looks like the original trail was more of a firebreak for the incline and the new trail takes a much longer meandering route. As you get further up there are older retaining walls that are clearly from the original trail. If you could hike from the camp, the 2.8 mile trail would probably be barely a mile. Strawberry Potrero is a little to the east of the junction.

[JeffH]

This route followed by the "mountaineers" path to the summit I think would be my preferred Strawberry summit method.

I think that was the idea for a group hike back in January when it wasn’t so hot. We got rained/snowed out on a couple different weekends.

[Nate U]

I think that was the idea for a group hike back in January when it wasn’t so hot. We got rained/snowed out on a couple different weekends.

Yep it sure was. Lets try again when Sean feels up to it!