Map link: https://caltopo.com/m/TJ61
The week was muggy, but I needed some good training for my upcoming JMT trip, so I called a friend, talked it over, and decided upon Copter Ridge.
We met at 0600 at the McDonald’s in Cajon Junction, hoping to get an early start and thereby beat some of the heat. Of course, Copter Ridge is more or less an “upside down” hike, i.e. a hike where one mostly descends to get to the destination and mostly ascends on the return. We’d be going uphill in the hottest part of the day.
No matter, off we went, arriving at the trailhead at Dawson Saddle about 0700. The trailhead is a bit difficult to spot. The trailhead isn’t actually at the saddle itself but is perhaps 200 yards east of the saddle. You just have to look for a trail heading up. There is a trail sign, but it’s parallel to the road and not altogether easy to spot.
The first leg of the trip is up the Dawson Ridge Trail, constructed by the Boy Scouts in 1982. It’s a very moderate route except perhaps for the first quarter mile as one climbs up from Angeles Crest Highway. The trail is well shaded by a mix of mature white fir, Jeffrey pine, and sugar pine.
One quickly reaches the signed junction with the PCT. Turning right (south at first, then southwest), we traverse around the south side of Throop Peak (9,120+). Inasmuch as it is over 9000’ in elevation, Throop is a fairly major peak in Southern California terms, but I don’t regard it as particularly scenic. However, if one were to wish to bag it en route, one could simply have followed the NW ridge of Throop up from the Dawson Saddle Trail instead of following the trail over to the east where it intersects the PCT.
As we headed SW along the PCT, we got our first glimpses of today’s objective, Copter Ridge (7480+).
Heading further along the PCT, we come to a clearing in the trees and get our first real look at our route.
We’ll need to drop down the ridge seen coming in from the right side of the photo to the prominent knob at the end of the ridge.
Soon after taking the above photo, we reached the saddle between Mt. Hawkins (8,820+) and Throop Pk. This point is fairly easy to identify in that the PCT begins a fairly steep descent here. At the saddle, we departed the PCT on a fairly prominent use trail, heading almost due south to Mt. Hawkins. Mt. Hawkins looks rather impressive from the south but, in reality, it’s not much of a peak, rising only 120 feet or so from its connecting saddle. The use trail traverses Mt. Hawkins on the right (west) side. Were one to wish to bag Hawkins, the summit is easily gained by first passing the summit on the use trail and then back tracking slightly following the WSW ridge up the very short distance to the top of Hawkins. Hawkins though is summited fairly easily from any direction.
Passing Mt. Hawkins, we drop quickly down Copter Ridge. The going is easy, traveling through open pine forest, with no significant brush to speak of. The route is entirely class one, with not even a single class two move required. Footing is relatively good, with no scree slopes to negotiate. The route is mixed shade and sun, with numerous conifers extant.
Soon, we see a prominent bump ahead of us. So soon we ask?
Well, there are a couple of false bumps on the ridge, but indeed we are fast approaching our objective. In perhaps 10 to 15 more minutes, we arrive at the prominent bump at the “end” of the ridge. It has taken us about three hours to get here, which isn’t bad for a couple of old geezers doing cross country travel. Of course it has been mostly downhill.
Looking around, I found the views of the Eastern High Country of the San Gabriel Mountains to be of particular interest. Most interesting was the east face of Iron Mountain. I don’t believe I’ve seen it quite from this angle before. I’ve annotated some of the peaks that we could see in the below photo. Correction: The feature labeled "Mt. Harwood" is labeled in error. See topo map in comments below.
After taking in the views and a brief respite, it’s time to retrace our steps, this time in the uphill direction. But first, the obligatory summit shot of our protagonists, Jim D (left) and Hikin' Jim (the author, right).
Off we go, ascending the ridge. It’s now about 11:00 AM, and it’s plenty hot in the full sun. Fortunately for us, there are numerous trees. Our route looks a bit like a drunk’s staggering as we repeatedly zigged and zagged to maximize our time in the shade. We lucked out though; it began to cloud up in the afternoon, eventually relieving us from the hot sun.
As we ascend, we get a good view of, from left to right, Middle Hawkins (8480+), Hawkins, and Throop.
There are innumerable steep sections on the return up the ridge.
None of the sections are all that bad in terms of cross country travel, but 1500 or so feet of gain in the sun is work no matter how you slice it. Fortunately, great views continue to regale us, distracting us from the task at hand.
Mount Baldy:
Mount Baden-Powell (9499’), right, Mt. Burnham (8920+), left.
We had a bit of a tense moment towards the top of the ridge. I had noticed that my partner, Jim, had been lagging. Jim had been sick recently and hadn’t really gotten back up to full strength. He’d been following me at a distance, and I’d periodically wait for him. Toward the top of the ridge, I realized that he was no longer merely lagging but was now nowhere in sight. I called out, but there was no answer. I wasn’t particularly enthusiastic about descending, so I sat down to wait. Jim is an experienced hiker and knows how to go into “slow but steady” mode so as to complete a hike even when he’s not feeling particularly strong. From my ridge top vantage point, I was treated to beautiful views, so I could hardly complain about waiting. Mt. Baldy is on the far horizon, and Ross Mountain (7400+) is the rounded peak seen below Mt Baldy.
A half hour passed. “Hmm,” thought I. This isn’t good. Dark thoughts passed briefly through my mind. I called out. Jim yelled back. Phew! He’s merely slow and not in trouble. Jim soon joined me, apologizing for holding me up. I wasn’t the least bit worried about spending more time in such beautiful surroundings and was glad that he was OK.
Moving on, we quickly regained the PCT, which is far easier to travel than a steep off trail ridge, swung back down the Dawson Saddle Trail, and returned to our car at about 3:30 PM. It had taken us about three hours outbound and about four on the return, for a total of seven hours of actual hiking. The HPS write up quotes six hours, so we were a bit below par, but we enjoyed the heck out of it, and, in the end, that’s what counts.
Overall, a thoroughly pleasant and enjoyable hike and really a fairly easy bag considering the off trail travel. Highly recommended.
