Has anyone hiked Monrovia Peak, Rankin or Clamshell lately?

[Girl Hiker]

These three peaks are on my to-do list.
Has anyone hiked in these areas lately? what are trail conditions and how difficult is it?

Thanks in advance.

[dima]

The easiest approach is mostly on fire roads. Those are in fine shape, but are boring. If you bring a bike, it would go faster. The firebreak to Monrovia and Rankin from the North is clear. Haven't been to Clamshell recently, but it's probably fine; the peak isn't very far from the road at all. There're more interesting approaches. There's an old firebreak to Clamshell from the South that was a usable trail a few years ago. I've also come in from the West, via the east fork of santa anita creek (I wrote a TR a few years ago, when I did it). That's a cool route.

[Tom Kenney]

Also, here's a trip report, not current (2005), but has route and logistics info: Monrovia Peak

[David R]

I think I have the most recent write-up, take the firebreak up and the fire road back. As I mentioned with the last fire up there they really cleared out most of the firebreak and it is like a highway most of the way.