Page 1 of 1

Round Top (south ridge): 01-31-2009

Posted: Sat Jan 31, 2009 9:03 pm
by HikeUp
Hiked up to Round Top via the south ridge today. Turned out to be a mostly bushwhack-free firebreak/ridge route with about 3400' total gain and 9.5 miles round trip (car-to-car). The ridge is a roller coaster route similar to Iron Mt. but half the vertical scale! Navigation is a piece of cake - stay on the ridge and/or just keep going up.

I parked about 0.5 miles east of where the dirt road I would start out on intersects Upper Big Tujunga Cyn. Rd. (just west of Alder Creek). This is the closest place to park given that most stretches of this road are marked "No Parking". Walk up the dirt road for about 1.3 miles to where it crosses the main ridge at a saddle. Then turn on to the ridge for the remainder of the route. I returned the same way, but there is/might be a trail that you can take down from just north of Round Top to Loomis Ranch where you could then return to your car via the Alder Creek Trail - which may or may not exist. Some maps show these trails.

Do not count on any shade unless you want to crawl under a manzanita. It was a cloudless day, a windless day and I forgot to put the 40 oz. of gatorade in my pack (which stayed chilled in my car). Suffice it to say I ran out of water with about 2 miles to go, and ran out of energy (usually provided by gatorade) with about 0.3 miles left. I sat down on the side of the road in the shade to cool off and gather some energy when a couple of bicyclists stopped and offered me a few ounces of water and made sure I was gonna make it - thanks guys! I think it was more of an energy thing and overheating due to the lack of shade more than a lack of water (I overheat very easily). Lesson learned - don't forget your energy source.

A casing (7mm) - saw lots of dead bottles on the lower parts of the ridge...
ImageImage

View of the ridge and the summit...
Image

A size twelve widow maker (on the right :) )...
Image

Ze was here...
Image

Brought these loppers along just in case I got myself into some brush that needed a trim (they weigh less than a pound I think)...
Image

More pics.

Google views of route...
Image
Click to see full size image

Image
Click to see full size image

Re: Round Top (south ridge): 01-31-2009

Posted: Sat Jan 31, 2009 9:23 pm
by Bill
Nice TR. Cool loppers. You've been hiking in my jurisdiction. I work at the FS in Acton. I gotta do some of these hikes. 8)

Re: Round Top (south ridge): 01-31-2009

Posted: Sun Feb 01, 2009 3:34 pm
by Ze Hiker
nice job

any idea how it looks heading down past Loomis Ranch to chilao?

Re: Round Top (south ridge): 01-31-2009

Posted: Sun Feb 01, 2009 5:14 pm
by HikeUp
wrote:any idea how it looks heading down past Loomis Ranch to chilao?
No idea. I sort of looked but couldn't see any evidence of a trail down to Loomis, but that certainly isn't definitive. Next weekend looks cooler than this one for your hike - nice!

Re: Round Top (south ridge): 01-31-2009

Posted: Mon Feb 02, 2009 7:04 am
by mattmaxon
wrote:nice job

any idea how it looks heading down past Loomis Ranch to chilao?
Just an FYI

Loomis Ranch is Private Property, I know one of the owners, they request hikers respect the property lines....

That aside I have often wondered about the old Loomis Ranch Trail, shown in Yellow. PP shown in Lt Blue.

Image

It is my understanding there are things to see at the old mine site, the owners have hiked to it some years back

The Alder Creek Trail skirts the PP on the South and East and was quite passable last year, I don't expect much has changed.

The Loomis Ranch Road to Chilao is well a road, long hot and ugly (IMO) Bushwhacking up to Chilao would be an unpleasant / unrewarding task requiring several pints of blood to complete.

Chaparral Whitethorn a plenty! This is one of my most hated plants in the local mountains well over and above the despised @UCCA

Matt

Re: Round Top (south ridge): 01-31-2009

Posted: Mon Feb 02, 2009 7:58 am
by Sewellymon
FYI- the Alder Creek Trail from Upper Big T to Loomis Ranch and dirt road to Chilao is part of a semi-popular mt bike ride loop (that takes Silver Moc back to the car...