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Headlee

Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2019 9:25 pm
by JeffH
January 20, 2019
That is the original name, now it is known as Smith Mountain.
After the storms last week I was expecting about a half million people to be in the higher elevation, clogging up the roads and trails. To avoid all that I chose something a bit lower for my weekend walk.
After dropping Karen off at the airport I drove up to Azusa Canyon, joining only one other car in the parking area for the Bear Creek trail. This is an interesting trek, looking across the canyons the trail seems near but the various ridges, gullets and drainages make for a much longer route. At one point I heard some water falling so I ventured into the brush to see a real waterfall. After a branch broke under me and my foot was dunked, I came upon some flow over a rock about a foot tall which was a little disappointing. Adding to the misery, I managed some pretty good scratches on my arm from rubbing against the prickly stuff near the trail. After a little more uphill I took a short break at the saddle, enjoying the outstanding views from there. It’s a spot where the ruggedness of the San Gabriels is really on display and this time of year the hillsides are really green.
The last half mile of this hike is up the steep use trail, where I met up with a couple other hikers who had ended their summit attempt. I asked about the terrain and they told me the trail was very sketchy and likely to be lost. I thought then that I might be able to find a way, after all I’ve hiked with Sean so I am much better at finding sketchy routes. A few minutes later I hit the summit, which is adorned with a small register and a benchmark in a large rock. Since I went to the trouble of hauling my Jetboil up there I took a much longer break and enjoyed some hot chocolate to go along with a granola bar.
From the top I noticed a fire break heading up the apparently unnamed peak to the west, which then follows a ridge almost back to the trail - has anyone here ever tackled that? It might make for an interesting day, although not in the summer.
On the way down I saw plenty of cars heading up toward Crystal Lake, and also heard a helicopter circling around. On reaching the last turn back near Hwy 39 I saw the chopper parked across from the trailhead. Watching for a bit, an ambulance brought a passenger down, escorted by paramedics, a fire truck and a ANF fire crew. I didn’t hang around long enough to watch them take off, since it was getting close to lunch time and I might get grumpy when not eating.
Once again, a great day out in the San Gabes and a reminder of why it’s great to live in SoCal.


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Trailhead sign


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Early view of the peak


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Tiny waterfall


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Hiking injury - I carry alcohol to guard against infection. Since it is scotch I took it internally.


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About to head up from the saddle


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Sketchy trail section


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Sunny summit


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Original name on the register


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Snack time


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Rescue time

Re: Headlee

Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2019 10:00 pm
by dima
Nice trip! I'm not clear on the firebreak you're talking about. This is West of the peak?

Re: Headlee

Posted: Fri Jan 25, 2019 7:49 am
by JeffH
The trail goes up to a saddle - straight ahead it continues to West Fork. Turn left to go up Smith, turn right to go up this other route.
First pic shows the firebreak on the left side, second is looking down at the saddle and beginning of firebreak.

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Re: Headlee

Posted: Fri Jan 25, 2019 12:39 pm
by David R
There is a firebreak that goes all the way from West Fork over Smith to the 39, you're seeing the continuation.

Re: Headlee

Posted: Fri Jan 25, 2019 5:09 pm
by dima
Ah, I see. Yeah, that firebreak to the North connects to Hwy 39 near where the publically-open road ends. Going the other direction, there is indeed a route back down to the West Fork parking area: smith-mountain-south-ridge-and-bear-creek-t6152.html

Re: Headlee

Posted: Tue Jan 29, 2019 9:10 am
by Girl Hiker
That is a great hike and workout. I like Smith Mountain.
Thanks for the report.

Re: Headlee

Posted: Tue Jan 29, 2019 4:14 pm
by Sean
Headlee is the name of the man who ran Headlee's Camp La Cienega, which was along the road below Smith Mountain in the 1930s.

Re: Headlee

Posted: Fri Feb 01, 2019 8:37 pm
by JeffH
Sean wrote: Headlee is the name of the man who ran Headlee's Camp La Cienega, which was along the road below Smith Mountain in the 1930s.
What is the story behind the name change?
For that matter, why change Chapman to Timber?

Re: Headlee

Posted: Fri Feb 01, 2019 9:13 pm
by Sean
JeffH wrote:What is the story behind the name change?
For that matter, why change Chapman to Timber?
Headlee is just the name the surveyors gave the benchmark. Kind of like Fang BM on Rattlesnake Peak. Smith Mountain was called "Smith" before the benchmark was installed. One theory has it named for "Bogus" Smith, who was an early miner in San Gabriel Canyon.

I don't know about Timber Mountain.

Re: Headlee

Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2019 7:43 am
by RichardK
According to the Sierra Club Hundred Peaks Section here: http://www.hundredpeaks.org/signatures/17d.htm Mt. Baldy Ski Lifts wanted three mountains that all started with the letter "T". So, Chapman Mountain became Timber Mountain.
Name given by early Sierra Club skiers and hikers (ca. 1930). It was singled out by Walt Wheelock as one of 30 early m peaks with use-names that at that time had "not yet become well established" (1954).
Gudde notes that this name is elsewhere commonly given as a "wooded" generic term to distinguish it. from a neighboring "bald" peak.
This peak overlooks the Baldy Notch facility of the Mount Baldy Ski Lift Company. They recognized the value of accepting a romantic-sounding local use-name for this peak (1950). With its addition, and the later renaming of the original Mount Harwood to Thunder Mountain by the USBGN, the "three T's" as a dream advertising gimmick were completed (1963).

Re: Headlee

Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2019 10:35 am
by JeffH
Oh yeah, I had forgotten about the original Harwood changing to Thunder! I always speculated that the "Three T's" was the reason for the change.
Thanks for searching out this gem.