From just short of Clear Creek the peak looks like this:
![Image](https://gal.secretsauce.net/travels/SanGabriels/JosephineExpress/DSCF8056.jpg?variant=medium2)
Turns out I climbed the ridge on the right, not the steep-looking faces visible from this angle. I picked up the ridge off Angeles Forest Highway, just past Clear Creek, the Josephine fire road junction, and the gully immediately past it. It's steep, but there's a clear use path. Long sleeves and pants recommended, but this is hardly a bushwhack. On top of the first climby section (~4100ft):
![Image](https://gal.secretsauce.net/travels/SanGabriels/JosephineExpress/DSCF8059.jpg?variant=medium2)
On top of the second climby section (~4700ft):
![Image](https://gal.secretsauce.net/travels/SanGabriels/JosephineExpress/DSCF8062.jpg?variant=medium2)
And the view back:
![Image](https://gal.secretsauce.net/travels/SanGabriels/JosephineExpress/DSCF8063.jpg?variant=medium2)
Soon the terrain becomes more interesting:
![Image](https://gal.secretsauce.net/travels/SanGabriels/JosephineExpress/DSCF8066.jpg?variant=medium2)
I did some class-3 stuff. Probably could have found an easier line, but why??? Then I got here:
![Image](https://gal.secretsauce.net/travels/SanGabriels/JosephineExpress/DSCF8071.jpg?variant=medium2)
The route climbs the bump on the right. Above that, everything interesting is past...
![Image](https://gal.secretsauce.net/travels/SanGabriels/JosephineExpress/DSCF8074.jpg?variant=medium2)
... and after a final push I was on top:
![Image](https://gal.secretsauce.net/travels/SanGabriels/JosephineExpress/DSCF8085.jpg?variant=medium2)
Made it up in 1:21. Looking back on the whole ridge:
![Image](https://gal.secretsauce.net/travels/SanGabriels/JosephineExpress/DSCF8078.jpg?variant=medium2)
The views from top are expansive, but it's a really weird angle, and I had a hard time identifying peaks. Figured it out eventually, but yall try! View to the West:
![Image](https://gal.secretsauce.net/travels/SanGabriels/JosephineExpress/DSCF8081.jpg?variant=medium2)
Right to left, some freebies: Strawberry, Baldy, Dawson, Pine. Then... something, something else a lot further out, and something else closer. First to get these right gets... a pat on the back.