Triplet Rocks from below via Bear Creek - trip report and photos

[headsizeburrito]

Triplet Rocks! This one has been on my list for some time, so I'm pretty stoked to have made it and also to have done so via a non-standard route. For this trip I teamed up with Dima, who had checked out a different possible route last December. The plan this time was to drop in from the Twin Peaks saddle, follow the Bear Creek tributaries down below Triplet Rocks, then hopefully follow a minor gully back up the ridge with Triplets, returning via the standard route along the Triplets to East Twin ridge. Last month we scouted the approach, though we didn't say that was the goal in that thread because I wanted to make the full attempt first. A loop (or at least a lollipop loop) is always more interesting than an out and back, and while there was a claim of doing Triplets from below posted in Dima's Above Bear Creek thread, there was very little info on the route or evidence, so I figured it would be fun to maybe be the first to at least properly document an alternate route.

Here are a few good reports on the standard route for reference: Peaks for Freaks, TRVRS guide, SocalHikes.

I woke up at 2am to meet Dima at the La Canada Flintridge park and ride at 3:30am, from there we carpooled to the Buckhorn trailhead and started by headlamp at 4:40am. The goal was to do the trail section by headlamp and reach the Twin Peaks saddle at first light for when the off trail descent into the west branches of upper Bear Creek. Our timing worked out well and we reached the saddle on schedule at 6am, leaving 2L of water there for the return. The way down went smoothly since it was familiar ground, there was also noticeably less water than last time, which helped make it a little quicker and easier. Our turnaround point last time had a fair bit of trash from old grow operations and camps, so we were on the lookout as we went. We did see black tubing here and there, as well as some fertilizer bags and a sprayer, but less trash overall than last time and all of it was pretty old and clearly washed down from somewhere higher up. The terrain in this section before the start of the climb was pretty mild and once we found what appeared to be our gully we took a little break (including fresh pineapple from Dima!) before the start of the real work. The gully we took wasn't particularly prominent and started out fairly brushy, but before long as we gained elevation we were able to get into some boulder filled slopes that made for fun and easy scrambling, as well as sections of steep and loose dirt among trees and scattered rock. Fairly early on we in this random gully I noticed a cairn, which was quite unexpected. It was right where a faint trail crossed perpendicular to the gully so I wondered if it was put there by growers, but maybe it was just an animal trail and coincidence. Looking back at the other thread Sean said the person who did a similar route placed a cairn at one point, so maybe we found it. We went from 3500' to 5500' in less than a mile so it definitely took some work, but was actually much better than we expected, with very little bushwhacking and no major cliffs or other obstacles. There were a couple spots with some moderate class 3 that we went over but could probably be skirted if you wanted to take a little extra time. When we emerged on the ridge at about 5500' we had a good view of the Triplets right in front of us, but weren't quite sure how to actually get there. The SE face is mostly rock and very steep, so we started following the base around to the eastern side looking for a way up. We had to lose a bit of elevation as we went, so eventually we got tired of that and went for the first line up that looked like it probably wouldn't kill us. This ended up working out pretty well, with 200-300ft of fun steep class 3 with some easy class 4 moves and moderate exposure. From this direction we couldn't quite tell where the top was, but we soon emerged and realized we were there!

It's a very cool spot with quite a few other large boulders besides the three that give it the name. Only the first of the three rocks is reachable without actual rock climbing, but it's a nice big surface with great views in all directions. The register was here and it seemed to average two or three entries per year. The pipe bomb style register container had a hole in one end and was missing the cap on the other end, but the water resistant notebook inside was in good shape, so I guess it's still doing it's job. We spent a good 45 minutes or so resting and enjoying the spot, looking at the rugged ridge between us and East Twin certainly didn't motivate us to start working on it right away! There was indeed a register entry for April 1, 2016 from Dan Bay that says "Ascent from Bear Creek, 5.5 hours, nice route with water," so I guess we can't claim to be the first to reach Triplets from that general direction. Not clear from that entry on the exact route, but it makes for an impressive time no matter where he started from. There are also several repeat offenders in the register, I guess of the few people who go there, some really like it!

Eventually we decided we better get moving, and soon it was clear why the standard route has the reputation it does. The first half mile was particularly difficult, with a lot of upper class 3 scrambling and a good bit of bushwhacking. There may be one ideal line, but it's rarely obvious, and a minor deviation can lead into a nearly solid patch of manzanita, a big drop, or some other obstacle. After an hour of this we looked back and spotted two people on the Triplets! It was pretty surprising given how rarely the spot is visited, and because it was already 3pm at this point. With how rugged the ridge is and how many possible lines you could take it's very believable that we passed each other along the ridge without seeing each other. I suppose the other possibility is that they took an alternate route there like we did. Whatever the case we didn't see them again, but Dima wrote in the register that we came from Bear Creek and would have a trip report on Eispiraten.com, so hopefully they are intrigued by the near miss too and find this post! We continued along, making very gradual progress. As you get closer to East Twin there is less big rock and more loose and slippery stuff, which is hard in a different way and requires close attention to avoid slipping and falling down one of many steep chutes. We did eventually find a faint and intermittent use trail and some occasional rock markers, which make things a little easier. As you get closer to East Twin you get more trees and less brush and rock, which helps a lot. We generally stayed on the north side of the ridge, which tended to be less steep and have less vegetation, but there was still a fair bit of crossing back and forth. We finally reached East Twin at 7pm and even though we still had some distance to cover, the hard part was over! We retrieved the stashed water at the saddle and somewhere between there and the trail junction to Waterman and Buckhorn it got dark enough for us to need our headlamps. We spooked a buck on the way back, but the trail section was otherwise uneventful. We made it back to the car at 9:30pm, quickly getting into our stash of gatorade, chips, cookies, and peanut butter cups. We also found a fee notice form on the windshield, it turns out Dima's pass was expired by a week, although technically a pass isn't required because there are no bathrooms or other maintained infrastructure at this particular parking area.

It was a very long and demanding day, but it was an excellent adventure. It was great to get to Triplet Rocks just because it's a cool and rarely visited location, doing it from a non standard route was an extra bonus. Dima and I both agreed that while the approach is longer in mileage, it's probably actually easier than the standard ridge route because the terrain isn't as rugged. I could also see it being done from the Smith Mountain trailhead, taking Bear Creek upstream, then joining the route we used. This report is a bit sloppy and I might come back and edit things, but for now I'm going to call it good so I can caption the photos and then go to sleep!

Stats: total time almost 18 hours, 16.7 miles, 6,600ft gain/loss, approximately 15 balloons found and packed out

[headsizeburrito]

Pre-dawn wildlife

Crappy sunrise pic as we neared Twin Peaks saddle

Nice bathtub on the way down

Dima bypassing one of the larger falls along our descent

Looking up at the ridge early in our climb

Typical terrain of the lower section of the gully we were going up

Mysterious cairn on this boulder in the gully and a fairly well established trail, unclear of human or animal

Going up sections like this were a nice change from bushes or loose soil and rock

Looking back to the NE on the way up

Steep and loose terrain as we got close to the ridge

[headsizeburrito]

First view of the Triplets from the ridge to the SE

Summit register

We weren't the first to do a version of this route, but I guess second place isn't too bad

Our entry in the register

Looking at East Twin from Triplet Rocks, this ridge almost looks too easy!

Panorama from Triplets looking generally SE

Good angle on the Triplets as we slowly made our way to East Twin

Another look at the Triplets from further along the ridge

Finally reached East Twin

Post hike car snacks!

[headsizeburrito]

The Man trying to keep us down

GPS track of the section from Twin Peaks Saddle to Triplet Rocks

[Girl Hiker]

CONGRATS TO BOTH OF YOU!
one day, I hope to bag Triplet Rocks. A few years ago Sean and I attempted this but failed.
I know that others have succeeded as well.

[Girl Hiker]

By the way nice shots of Triplet rocks and the sign.

[dima]

This was cool!

Appropriately, we saw bear prints (I think) in Bear Creek:



The ascent gully looked quite questionable at its mouth. Its Bear Creek confluence looks like this:



It then opens up. There're a few obstacles towards the bottom. Further up it becomes steep-yet-straightforward.

And I made a pano too. Not going to say it's better, but it's definitely bigger.



It was a smoky day, due to the Holy fire presumably. Still, one could do worse!

[anarchist]

Nice adventure!

Could the carin you found be from Dan Bay?

What's next?

[walker]

Wow, congratulations to both of you. That's quite an accomplishment and a treat to cross so much remote country in one day. Well done! Looks like it was well rewarded by the stellar view - Think it's feasible as an out and back route?

One way to shave off two or three miles is to leave the Twin Peaks trail when it first meets the Waterman ridge saddle/shoulder, skirt the top of the Buckhorn ski club lifts and descend the ridge that runs due south to peak 5878. It has a fairly well defined use trail along much of it and is a very quick descent to the peak 5878 saddle then west into the canyon. I unpleasantly ran into a grower along this ridge about 4 years ago so I came to call it the "narco harvest trail."

I also encountered a grower's trail west of the falls section, on the south side of the creek. This led south up the ridges to an elaborate water distribution cistern on the ridgetop, drawing water from a side canyon to send via black tubing to grows on both sides of the ridge. This location was active about 2-3 years ago. For reference, it was near the squarish ridge spur to the east of the red number 27 on the topo - just downhill from the 5800 elevation mark on the map.

I had hoped to hop over that ridge and explore the drainage just south of there as an alternate approach, but once I came across that operation, I bailed pretty quick. Have fun out there and be safe! Hope I can try your route someday. :-)

[dima]

Could the carin you found be from Dan Bay?

Impossible to tell. This is one of those cairns that makes no sense. It's well inside the gully, not near any junctions (at least not any we were aware of!). In the gully there're some animal tracks and some balloons; very little else, especially human-made stuff. I did find this:

Definitely human-made but I didn't recognize it. headsizeburrito said it looked like a part of some machinery used to fill balloons. Fortunately there was a patent number molded into it, which could be looked up. It is this: https://www.google.com/patents/US4167204

Balloons (and balloon accessories) are everywhere!

walker: thanks for those descriptions. I had assumed most of the grow stuff is in the main Bear Creek drainage, further East, but I guess even our channel has stuff. The water cistern sounds like a cool thing to visit. When's the grow off season?

If you want to check out the Triplets, you should take our route; it's easier than the ridge from East Twin, although there's more elevation gain. Quick/dirty numbers:

"Normal" route there/back: internet says 6500ft - 7500ft gain

Our route there/back: 7750ft gain

Our ascent, but starting from hwy 39 trailhead to Smith Mountain: 6650ft gain

So without thinking too hard, it looks like approaching via Smith Mountain saddle is the "easy" way. Bring a helmet

[headsizeburrito]

I agree that going from Smith Mountain would probably be the easiest way. I don't know what the section of Bear Creek is like above where the trail meets the creek (through quads 1 and 36), but I seem to recall others doing at least part of it. Doing it during a low water time of year would probably make it a lot easier. From there you would just join up with our route, then return the same way. No reason it couldn't be done as an out and back, the climb from the creek to the ridge was steep, but nothing actually tricky (aka upper class 3 or more) until the very last bit below Triplet Rocks, and you could probably find an easier way up and down that section if you spent a little time. Doing our route as an out and back would be doable, and still probably easier than the standard route because while it's longer, it isn't quite as rugged. I'm a little surprised more people haven't done a route like this, though I suppose there is some fun in the idea of it's inaccessibility. If too many people find out about easier route then it'll get too popular!

I'd be interested in checking out that cistern too if there was a time of year to do it reasonably safely. Alas since I'm moving out of state at the end of next week, I'm out of time. I've got one more good hike planned for this weekend though!

[Sean]

Thanks for the more-than-one-paragraph-not-april-fools-day report! You took the longer way to the north ascent. I believe Dan Bay dropped in from the saddle near Buckhorn Spring. It's pretty easy--at least the part I've done is easy--and direct.

[dima]

Thanks for the more-than-one-paragraph-not-april-fools-day report! You took the longer way to the north ascent. I believe Dan Bay dropped in from the saddle near Buckhorn Spring. It's pretty easy--at least the part I've done is easy--and direct.

From the spring you take one of the drainages presumably? Which side of pt. 7190? Dan summited after 5.5 hours. That's super quick, even with the shorter approach.

[Sean]

From the spring you take one of the drainages presumably? Which side of pt. 7190?

The NE saddle of 7190. Parking is across from the Buckhorn exit. Go up the Buckhorn Spring road and continue up to the saddle when the road turns toward the spring. Drop down the other side of the saddle and follow the drainage with a decent use path in parts. There is a class 3 scramble around a waterfall. Beyond that I have no personal knowledge. But Dan made it sound easy, and that sounds about right to me. I used the branch to reach Bear Creek Peak (6320+).

[dima]

Ah, I see it now. That would save 2000ft of gain on the out/back trip, and would bypass the waterfall section on the approach. 5750ft of gain total!

[tekewin]

Damn, amazing hike you two! Congrats! You have blazed a new route and documented it for the future. Thanks for sharing everything. It must have been really exciting to see that your route was going to go through. You are both fast and it took you 18 hours. What a monster hike. The boulder part of the gully looks pretty good, the steep dirt not as fun, and you were probably too tired or focused to get many shots of the final approach.

I was a Dan Bay skeptic, now fan.

Dima, that looks like two fresh bear prints to me.

With your awesome beta, and the eispiraten brain trust working on it, there might be hope for me to attempt this some day.

[headsizeburrito]

you were probably too tired or focused to get many shots of the final approach.

Yeah, this is often one of the tricky parts about documenting a route, on the hard or tricky stuff you are too busy to worry about taking pictures! Plus in some of the steep rocky sections it's hard to get a picture that accurately shows the angle and terrain anyway because you are too close.

Here is the one not great shot I took of the final approach as we were going more or less straight up, much of it was steeper than this but you can get some sense of the area full of large boulders with spots of bushes and trees:

I'm definitely curious what else this Dan Bay guy is up to, if he's doing more stuff like this I'd love to read some actual trip reports instead of just short facebook posts!

[dima]

Honestly, the final approach is not super noteworthy. It's steep, but the terrain is composed of large, stable boulders mostly. You climb over them, but there's little exposure and not a lot of brush.

[dima]

Oh, anybody got experience with these tickets? I can ignore it, right? There're no facilities at that trailhead

[tekewin]

Oh, anybody got experience with these tickets? I can ignore it, right? There're no facilities at that trailhead

I am not a lawyer and don't know if it is enforceable, but I'd pay the $5 fee to not take any chances.

[Sean]

Oh, anybody got experience with these tickets? I can ignore it, right? There're no facilities at that trailhead

First of all, read the "Dear Forest Visitor" on the inside. If it's the same thing I got, it should say that it's not a ticket. They are asking you to pay up, but won't come after you. I got one last year and haven't paid yet. It stays on your record, and if you get caught again, they might then fine you. You can clear the citation from your record by paying. Incidentally, I've tried to pay twice (because I was at fault), but each time their system was down, so whatever. If you believe you were not at fault, you can write to them using the notice and envelope. Where were you parked?

[RichardK]

Oh, anybody got experience with these tickets? I can ignore it, right? There're no facilities at that trailhead

I got one once in Icehouse Canyon in spite of having the hang tag displayed. Cue up Three Blind Mice. I took a picture of the tag and mailed it in asking to have the citation cancelled. I never heard anything again.

They are not tickets, just a request to pay the parking fee.

[HikeUp]

8 years ago I forgot to put my MisAdventure Pass on the rear view mirror so I had a ticket on my windshield.I was parked at Islip Saddle.

I called the number on the "Notice of Required Fee", told the guy that I had an annual pass but had forgot to display it. He told me to make a copy of the pass and enclose it with the Notice in the return envelope and mail it in.

Make a copy of a legitimate pass and mail it in.

[HikeUp]

Why did you have a quarter?

[HikeUp]

Oh, and awesome trip and awesome TR!

[dima]

Why did you have a quarter?

To establish scale. It wouldn't be clear how big the prints are otherwise.

[HikeUp]

Why did you have a quarter?

To establish scale. It wouldn't be clear how big the prints are otherwise.

No, I know that. But i was jokingly asking why you carry pocket change on a big hike like this. lol

[dima]

No, I know that. But i was jokingly asking why you carry pocket change on a big hike like this. lol

A taco truck or a frutas guy would have really hit the spot on that ridge.

[AW~]

Totally cool....you joined Mermaid and Twin East nicely. I might go there someday lol

[wesweswes]

Great write up. I made it up waterman and twin peaks last year, but we didn't have enough time to go for triplet rocks... maybe time for another go out there.