Yesterday on a whim, I went back to the Angeles for some unfinished business. I wanted to get to Hawks Peak but didn't want to tread the same ground I did recently, so decided to approach from the Angeles Crest Station instead of the end of Harter Lane. The potential downside to that approach is a long, boring road walk along 2N76 which folds back on itself innumerable times as it climbs away from the ACH. But the CalTopo MapBuilder layer shows a path branching off 2N76 near its beginning and climbing to a a ridge on the north side of Falls Canyon, so I decided to give that a go. As far as I can tell, the ridge doesn't have any formal name, so I'm just calling it Falls Ridge.
The route starts from the gate right past the firehouse. A easy to see and well defined use path veers right into the minor drainage right at the gate. It then begins climbing to the ridge in earnest on a steep, narrow, loose, and sometimes rocky guerrilla trail. There's a couple of spots with some exposure where the "trail" has washed away, but its all manageable.
Eventually, you crest the ridge proper and get some relief as the path tacks west along the flat ridgeline. Then there is one more steepish climb before you pop out on 2N76 a short distance east of the mailbox at the gate leading to the teepee. According to my app, in total, going up the ridge cuts about 1.25 miles off the climb.
Anyway, its a relative short road walk from this point to the base of southern ridge leading to Hawks' summit. There is a less defined use trail that follows the ridge up, but it is obvious. There was some brush to contend with but nothing serious. There is a sea of I suppose it is buckwheat just below the summit that you have to contend with, but I was in shorts and had no real problem. Looking at the ridge from the road, I just followed the path of red (buckwheat and chamise).
The summit is relatively flat and affords decent views of the surrounding area. There is a register on the summit in which I noted DavidR's most recent entry. There is also a red ant nest immediately adjacent to the rock pile in which the register sits so I had to move off a bit to avoid getting stung while I picked the stickers and other clingy stuff out of my socks.
On the return trip, I retraced my steps back to the fireroad and then followed it all the way back to Angeles Crest Station. Just so I could say I'd been there. And to avoid the downclimb on the ridge route. On the way down, I noticed some rock retaining walls and check dams that looked like they were probably built during a bygone era. Anyone know anything about these? The rockwork was pretty impressive. Which is why I didn't take any pics of it. Doh!
