koo-koo for Cucamonga
Posted: Mon Jun 22, 2009 10:27 am
I decided to take a little stroll from the closed San Sevaine Road (1N34) gate on Lytle Creek Road up towards Cucamonga Peak this past Saturday. Visibility below 5000' was a meager 100' in the morning. The view south over the IE and SG valley was a sea of clouds all day. I turned around at 1330 PDT, about 1.72 trail miles from the summit, in order not to anger the marriage g-ds with a late return to Simi Valley. The views down the middle fork of Lytle Creek, the ridge of the 'Ts' and of Cucamonga herself were great and not too hazy. The Joe Elliot campground itself is trippy. Cut timber everywhere. I can only imagine what this looked like before all these trees were burned and/or cut down. Do any forum members know the history of this CG? When it last burned?
The hike itself is just a (long) slog up 1N34, mercifully all dirt, then down to the campground. It passes a branch to a lookout and microwave relay site. Upon entering the Cucamonga wilderness at the end of the CG, the trail gently climbs and contours towards the peak. There is one pair of switchbacks at around 7200' that is overgrown and crossed with deadfalls. The yellow trail flares were more useful than annoying here. I bypassed this entirely on the way down, following the adjacent ridge through minor buckthorn. There were some interesting artifacts on the ridge including a rusted-out riveted water heater tank.
I was on the hoof at 0600, and back at the jeep at 1850. Had I been able to see the endless switching back of San Savaine road in the morning, I might have thought better of starting this hike.
This Young Mule Deer Stag (Odocoileus hemionus) was just above the "Big Tree" Camprground:
An Alligator Lizard (Elgaria multicarinata multicarinata) on 1N34:
Cucamonga peak from 1N34, before descending to Joe Elliot.
Another beautiful Rattlesnake (Croatlus Oreganus Helleri) that was relaxing under the foliage mid-road. It slithered off when I turned towards it to take this picture, no rattling:
A fuzzy jpeg of the pdf of my track for the day:
The hike itself is just a (long) slog up 1N34, mercifully all dirt, then down to the campground. It passes a branch to a lookout and microwave relay site. Upon entering the Cucamonga wilderness at the end of the CG, the trail gently climbs and contours towards the peak. There is one pair of switchbacks at around 7200' that is overgrown and crossed with deadfalls. The yellow trail flares were more useful than annoying here. I bypassed this entirely on the way down, following the adjacent ridge through minor buckthorn. There were some interesting artifacts on the ridge including a rusted-out riveted water heater tank.
I was on the hoof at 0600, and back at the jeep at 1850. Had I been able to see the endless switching back of San Savaine road in the morning, I might have thought better of starting this hike.
This Young Mule Deer Stag (Odocoileus hemionus) was just above the "Big Tree" Camprground:
An Alligator Lizard (Elgaria multicarinata multicarinata) on 1N34:
Cucamonga peak from 1N34, before descending to Joe Elliot.
Another beautiful Rattlesnake (Croatlus Oreganus Helleri) that was relaxing under the foliage mid-road. It slithered off when I turned towards it to take this picture, no rattling:
A fuzzy jpeg of the pdf of my track for the day: