There's been plenty of write-ups of this peak including at least one by myself that I will not repeat but there are some significant changes to the area as I found out yesterday. At the spot where the triangular sign is as you climb up Clamshell Ridge a massive ridge-wide firebreak has been created completely clearing all of the brush and grass up to Clamshell Peak. Apparently after the fires in the next canyon they decided it would be good to have some firebreaks in place. This section used to be the most brushy and now has a similar feel as far as hiking like Pigeon Ridge over in San Gabe canyon. In addition they have also cleared the route up to Rankin and over to Monrovia Peak. The only annoyance are the big grooves left in the ground to prevent run-off. The route is pretty ugly now but allows for quicker movement with the lack of brush. For those that'll miss the brush you still have the lower steep section with a decent amount of brush to wade through.
The ground was frozen solid in many spots including the gully dropping off of Monrovia making for careful maneuvering otherwise this hike is now a lot easier other then the steep gain not disappearing anytime soon. The fire road down had some recent rock fall from the recent storm but they already have a dozer out just below White Saddle that appears to be clearing it all up. That's it as far as updates, until next time.
Monrovia Peak
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Girl Hiker
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My dad lives up the near the west 120 gate of Yosemite and worked for a guy doing logging up in that neck of the woods for a long time. Some of the slopes I've seen him drive a tracked log skidder on were nuts. I had problems walking up some of them to limb trees they had felled when I worked with him one summer in my teens.