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Which Way To Occidental?

Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2018 1:31 pm
by Sean
Jeff, HeadSizeBurrito, Cecelia and I met at Eaton Saddle early on Saturday. It was one of those amazing mountain mornings. A low-hanging mist made the range appear like it had been processed with a fancy photo filter.

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HSB, his first time hiking with us, brought treats for everyone. How did he know that I like donuts?

Both Jeff and HSB live a ways away from the front range and weren't too familiar with the area, so I'm glad they made the trip and could experience something new. Cecelia had also never been to Occidental Peak, which was the primary goal for the day.

Originally I planned to lead the group on the standard route from the KCBS antenna complex. Dima and I did that route before and made it to the summit on a clear use path. But then I came up with the bright idea of starting from Eaton Saddle, where we were all already parked. I had done part of this route before, but turned around due to time constraints. I knew that the Sierra Club rated it an "easy class 1," so I figured it was a safe bet.

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At first the use path is easy to follow, though steep. It soon becomes less distinct and infrequently cairned. Sometimes the deer paths mingle with the human paths, and it gets a bit confusing. Basically the route runs along the north side of the ridge, except for a few places where the path of least resistance shifts to the ridgetop.

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If you're not familiar with the topography, it would be easy to lose track of your place on the ridge. There are a few bumps and many trees that generally block the views.

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After some scrambling we reached Peak 5560' and looked for a way down to the saddle before the final climb to Occidental. But the final stretch appeared to be very cliffy and much harder than expected. Unable to track down the "easy class 1" route, we retreated to 5560 for a break.

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I happened to have some register jars in my pack, so we left one at 5560 and called it "Not Occidental Mtn." Not the most brilliant idea, I know, but it made me smile for about five seconds, and amusing moments like that are all I live for these days. Well, that and pizza. Oh, and donuts too!

We hurried back to the Saddle and shuttled up to the standard route on the east side of the ridge. There were people and a crane at the KCBS complex. It looked like they were working on one of the towers.

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Along the north side of the perimeter fence, several large tree stumps impressed us. I took a picture so that I could count the rings later. I estimate that the tree was about 235 years old when it died. I also noticed an unusually thick growth ring, which might coincide with the Great Flood of 1862.

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Beyond the tower complex is the helipad with the view of Occidental Peak.

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And beyond the helipad we followed the clear trail along the ridge to the summit.

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Occidental lacks some of the things that make a great summit, such as a view or a clearing on the highpoint. But we made do with the available amenities and took a victory photo on some adjacent rocks. HSB prefers the off-camera lifestyle, so he offered to handle the picture-taking.

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On the way back to the car we packed out a few bottles and balloons. And I acquired a new bolt and nut set, no doubt thanks to careless tower workers. Jeff noticed a balloon just inside the fence, which triggered his problem-solving reflex--as well as flashbacks of his struggle against the tree balloons of Eaton Canyon. Thankfully the fence balloon proved to be no match for his strategems.

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Back at the car, we decided to call it a day and quit while we were ahead. But who could have guessed that grabbing lunch at the Cosmic Cafe would be more troublesome than bagging Occidental? While Jeff and Cecelia sat at a table and drank some of the beer I brought, HSB and I stood in what appeared to be a line for ordering food. But after five or ten minutes we started questioning reality. Aren't lines supposed to move? We started joking about how this must be the line to get into Hell. It doesn't move because nobody wants to enter Hell. They need to start herding us forward with cattle prods.

I could tell that we were amusing the dude in front of us who just wanted some coffee.

The state of ridiculousness reached an unbearable level, and we were still several sinners away from entering the mysterious and terrifying realm of actually ordering food. Plus, we had exhausted our supply of slow-line jokes. Jeff and Cecelia actually wanted pizza from Blaze in La Canada, and HSB was eager to meet up with some friends later...so I relented and surrendered my dream of eating at Cosmic Cafe.

Overall stats: ha ha ha!
Difficulty: Bite me, Sierra Club!

Re: Which Way To Occidental?

Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2018 8:08 pm
by oldcoot
Funnee...

I "discovered" the HPS peak list in 2002 (at age 56), and in October, having scaled 8 of their peaks, headed out one afternoon to do Markham and Occidental from Eaton Saddle to make 10...Markham was a little scary for a newbie but made it...but gave up on Occidental Route 2 after an hour and just making that second "bump"...way more brush and boulders than I could handle...

So, Rattlesnake became my 10th HPS peak a month later...I'd intended to just do the Shoemaker tunnels, but had Chris Brennen's directions to Rattlesnake with me and spotted the described turn-off from Shoemaker Road and figured, well, will just head up that a bit to say I did...three tough hours later, to my shock, I was on top...so stunned, I forgot to take a pic of the FANG benchmark, so had to go up there again a year later to get a shot of it...

Ironic that the "2nd-toughest" San Gabriels peak on their list became my No. 10 because I couldn't make "easy" Occidental!

By the way, I sent HPS a letter suggesting they change that "easy" rating, and got replies from two of their list-completing leaders indicating it was tough...one had given up on the route and turned back, in fact. Apparently distance and elevation gain were the only criteria for ratings...

Wound up doing only 63 HPS peaks, but many of those multiple times and routes...

oldcoot

Re: Which Way To Occidental?

Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2018 8:11 pm
by headsizeburrito
Yeah, I have no idea where the class 1 route could possibly be from where we turned back on the west side of the peak, that saddle and climb to the summit was very steep and loose from where we turned around!

I still plan on finally doing Wilson at some point on a weekday to avoid the crowds, and no longer feel bad that Cosmic Cafe won't be open then. If they are only open on weekends, how can they not handle the weekend crowds?! Once I eventually made it over to Icehouse Canyon (screw you 210!) to meet up with some friends, we went to Buckhorn Pub for the first time, which was much more pleasant. My cheeseburger was quite good, and Cosmic Cafe doesn't have beer!

Thanks again to everyone for the good company and fun trip!

Re: Which Way To Occidental?

Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2018 10:22 pm
by dima
What happened to that West approach to Occidental? Sean, didn't we come down that way? Seemed fine...

Re: Which Way To Occidental?

Posted: Mon Apr 30, 2018 7:35 am
by Sean

dima wrote:What happened to that West approach to Occidental? Sean, didn't we come down that way? Seemed fine...
Yeah, we did! So I guess I totally messed up the approach from the west. Damn. I blame whatever HSB put in those donuts.

Re: Which Way To Occidental?

Posted: Mon Apr 30, 2018 10:37 am
by Sean
oldcoot wrote: By the way, I sent HPS a letter suggesting they change that "easy" rating, and got replies from two of their list-completing leaders indicating it was tough...one had given up on the route and turned back, in fact. Apparently distance and elevation gain were the only criteria for ratings...
I have a theory that Charlie Knapke included Route #2 without ever hiking it himself. His trip report in the Sierra Club archives starts from the standard TH #1, as do all the other archived reports.

Screw it, I'm going back to figure this out and write the definitive route guide for Occidental Peak.

Re: Which Way To Occidental?

Posted: Mon Apr 30, 2018 8:49 pm
by JeffH
Even if we didn’t reach Occidental by the planned route, I can cherish the memory of being a part of christening a new peak. It was still a good day to be out, great views mixed with a bit of trail finding.
I like these events, I get out of my normal follow-the-trail character.

Re: Which Way To Occidental?

Posted: Fri May 04, 2018 9:18 pm
by Girl Hiker
I want to go back. Sean find that route!

Re: Which Way To Occidental?

Posted: Fri May 04, 2018 9:27 pm
by Girl Hiker
It was a fun day, despite not finding the route. I say let's go back another day. Here are some more pics.
it was nice meeting you burrito man.

Re: Which Way To Occidental?

Posted: Sat May 05, 2018 10:40 am
by JeffH
I feel like a slacker for not sharing a few photos yet....



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Misty mountain morning, looking out from Eaton Saddle.

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View back at Markham.

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Somewhat helpful cairn along the way. As B-Man said, it really just meant that someone else was here and maybe or maybe didn't find a good route.


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Yup, that's a trail. We also found a couple of deer sleeping spaces.

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Looking at Occidental from above the saddle, about where we decided to abandon this attempt.


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Placing the summit register at Not-Occidental.


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Trail on the other side of Occidental is slightly easier to follow.

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Shot of what we actually conquered on the day.

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Lots of folks ready to order food, not very much of it ready for pickup.

Re: Which Way To Occidental?

Posted: Sat May 05, 2018 12:37 pm
by Girl Hiker
Jeff, we are both slackers. Thanks for the pics.