Potato Mountain loop
Posted: Thu May 23, 2019 9:19 am
Once again, the very front front range of the Gabes, I wanted to avoid the cold and wind and snow and rain up higher. On Tuesday I set out just after the morning rain with the intention to hike Potato Mountain from the Claremont Hills Wilderness Park. From the lower parking area it's a 9-mile round trip which makes it a nice effort to finish within the 4-hour parking limit. Since it was cool out I also thought it would be a good time to try out some backpacking stuff, so I brought along my Jetboil and while on the summit I had some chamomile tea and dehydrated black refried beans with a bit of cheese. Yummy!
I caught a few scattered rain drops while going up Cobol Canyon in CHWP while also getting some sunshine so I didn't worry about them. It was one of those days where the wind and shade made for a very cool hike, while the periods of sun generated plenty of sweat. Once I turned off the main road up to Palmer-Evey motorway I only saw one person until the summit, when four more showed up. As usual, once I reached the Evey junction I took the ridge up to the top of Potato, it might be a quarter mile shorter than the road - I take it because it's different and it's hard. While sitting on the water tank I used the breeze to dry off my outer shirt and at the same time I cooked up my lunchtime feast. I also decided then to take the fire break down, a route I have not travelled for about 45 years. I also pondered about fire breaks in general - since they are not maintained any more, at what point will the youngsters on the trail today not know what we mean when talking about them? This break goes down the west side, it has a bit of uphill in the middle capped by some nice rocks. I do remember taking breaks on them while on the uphill portion so many years ago.... Once the descent begins, you are pretty much committed to this route due to the steep slope. A couple times along the way I thought I saw footprints, or at least scuffed up dirt and mud which seemed it should be human tracks. Part of this was really steep, my AllTrails track showed over 50 degree slope at times, where I just skidded down while trying to maintain a semblance of balance. I did make a rear end landing once but practically bounced right back up and continued the slide. The very faint trail that I was following was just bent grasses, and once it led me into some bushes which I tried unsuccessfully to go around. Finally I reached the Padua water tank and a paved road, which I followed down to Mt Baldy Road and then back to the CHWP parking lot. Due to my long summit break the total time was a little over four hours for the 7.2 mile adventure, AllTrails calculated it at almost 1900 feet of elevation gain. I got home before it started raining again, making this just another great day in the mountains.
Always a good start to the day when the trail is open. For these pics I can skip the CHWP part......
View of Potato Mountain as I am nearing the Evey Canyon junction, this sign means there should be 0.7 miles remaining to the summit. The fire break runs down the ridge on the right.
Summit decoration, I also saw more of these stuck to a yucca over by the fire break.
Descent route looks easy from here, although I know some uphill exists.
This is one of the steep sections, a shorter one is just before the water tank at the end of the break. For a while I tried making my own switchbacks by weaving back and forth.
Looking back up from whence I came. Fire break is not clearly defined this close, it's easier to see from a distance.
Here is the trail I was following, at this point I didn't see any more footprints. I was also unable to find a way around those bushes but a slim pathway existed through them.
Almost there, although one more steep sliding section is ahead. I also thought about a locked gate but once I got closer I saw footprints heading up so that meant freedom.
The road leads to the old Padua Theatre and then through a residential area.
AllTrails view of the day, I wish this tracker would calculate elevation loss too.
I caught a few scattered rain drops while going up Cobol Canyon in CHWP while also getting some sunshine so I didn't worry about them. It was one of those days where the wind and shade made for a very cool hike, while the periods of sun generated plenty of sweat. Once I turned off the main road up to Palmer-Evey motorway I only saw one person until the summit, when four more showed up. As usual, once I reached the Evey junction I took the ridge up to the top of Potato, it might be a quarter mile shorter than the road - I take it because it's different and it's hard. While sitting on the water tank I used the breeze to dry off my outer shirt and at the same time I cooked up my lunchtime feast. I also decided then to take the fire break down, a route I have not travelled for about 45 years. I also pondered about fire breaks in general - since they are not maintained any more, at what point will the youngsters on the trail today not know what we mean when talking about them? This break goes down the west side, it has a bit of uphill in the middle capped by some nice rocks. I do remember taking breaks on them while on the uphill portion so many years ago.... Once the descent begins, you are pretty much committed to this route due to the steep slope. A couple times along the way I thought I saw footprints, or at least scuffed up dirt and mud which seemed it should be human tracks. Part of this was really steep, my AllTrails track showed over 50 degree slope at times, where I just skidded down while trying to maintain a semblance of balance. I did make a rear end landing once but practically bounced right back up and continued the slide. The very faint trail that I was following was just bent grasses, and once it led me into some bushes which I tried unsuccessfully to go around. Finally I reached the Padua water tank and a paved road, which I followed down to Mt Baldy Road and then back to the CHWP parking lot. Due to my long summit break the total time was a little over four hours for the 7.2 mile adventure, AllTrails calculated it at almost 1900 feet of elevation gain. I got home before it started raining again, making this just another great day in the mountains.
Always a good start to the day when the trail is open. For these pics I can skip the CHWP part......
View of Potato Mountain as I am nearing the Evey Canyon junction, this sign means there should be 0.7 miles remaining to the summit. The fire break runs down the ridge on the right.
Summit decoration, I also saw more of these stuck to a yucca over by the fire break.
Descent route looks easy from here, although I know some uphill exists.
This is one of the steep sections, a shorter one is just before the water tank at the end of the break. For a while I tried making my own switchbacks by weaving back and forth.
Looking back up from whence I came. Fire break is not clearly defined this close, it's easier to see from a distance.
Here is the trail I was following, at this point I didn't see any more footprints. I was also unable to find a way around those bushes but a slim pathway existed through them.
Almost there, although one more steep sliding section is ahead. I also thought about a locked gate but once I got closer I saw footprints heading up so that meant freedom.
The road leads to the old Padua Theatre and then through a residential area.
AllTrails view of the day, I wish this tracker would calculate elevation loss too.