New Year hike - Sunset Peak

[JeffH]

I know we need the rain and/or snow but the weather here has been outstanding the last couple of weeks. I spent a great day biking over to CHWP and then walking that 5-mile loop before biking home, rubbing it in to my friends across the country because I can wear shorts after Christmas. Anyway, for my quick little new year hike I walked up to Sunset Peak. When I drove up there, the gate on Glendora Ridge Road was closed, so I just parked in the Village and walked up from there. It adds about 3/4 mile each way to the trek. I also noticed that Cow Canyon Saddle has a lot of No Parking signage around saying that it's a fire lane, although it is hand-made. Since the road was closed I didn't anticipate seeing anyone else out, and that was correct until I was nearly back to my car. I only saw three people on the fire road plus a few more on the paved GRR near the Village. I walked up the fire road to the hairpin turn, then took the ridge route up to the top. It was cool just to hang out there for a while in nearly complete silence, with only a few birds hopping around to make noise. On the way down I took the SE ridge shortcut down to the fire road junction and walked from there.

Photos from my day out.....

My starting point from the Village.

Cow Canyon Saddle, with the new (to me) No Parking signs.

Panorama taken from the hairpin turn spot. Awesome day to be out! That gash across the way is a dirt road, looks like a fun bike ride all the way to the East Fork/Glendora Mtn Road junction. The up-and-down Ridge Route is in the foreground.

Going up the ridge - this stuff is easy to bypass along the right side.

Large summit plateau. I remember that big bush as just a little tyke. The marker is still missing and now so is the register box.

I have never seen a benchmark here, this time I walked all over looking for one. Perhaps this is the remnant?

Despite all the times I've been up here I never noticed the date on this cement block.

Shortcut down the SE ridge. I walked out on that fire break to take the next pic.

Same picture, 53 weeks apart, I remembered I had one from Christmas 2016. The lack of snow is stunning.

Hiking stats from Map My Run. I see that what I call the Ridge Route is noted as the Shortcut Route via Open Street Map.

[HikeUp]

SE ridge?

Always a fun peak to do, especially alone!

[dima]

Looks like a nice day out there. I'll make it to that peak someday. Do you know what the deal with the closures is? Why was the gate to GRR closed? And is the cow-canyon-saddle approach to Lookout Mountain closed now? My preferred route is from the village these days, but if the main approach is closed, what little maintenance that trail gets is going to get reduced.

[JeffH]

I think it's easy enough to walk around the gate to the Lookout 'trail'. I was eyeing that while on the way up, thinking that it looks like an old firebreak but basically just keep ascending to the saddle, then ascend a lot more to the summit. The tree is blocking the view but the gate is about a hundred yards in front of the route.

[Girl Hiker]

I know we need the rain and/or snow but the weather here has been outstanding the last couple of weeks.

Awesome report! I do remember reading your TR last time you hiked this peak in the snow. However there is a survey marker there behind the big square metal thing (whatever it's called). Kind of hidden. I was there last year and it was still there with a register.

[Girl Hiker]

Survey marker

[Girl Hiker]

The benchmark is here behind this thing to the left by a bush a little towards the edge

[JeffH]

The benchmark is here behind this thing to the left by a bush a little towards the edge

I never looked over there, I figured it would be near the summit. Oh well, next time I get up there I can do some exploring.
If you're talking about all that corrugated, I recall reading once that was the apparatus for melting snow to supply the fire lookout.