Yerba Buena Ridge
Posted: Sat Nov 09, 2019 9:05 am
Been awhile since I put up a TR so figured I'm about due.
Went out last weekend to do some exploring on the west end of the San Gabriels. Since I had been up to the Mendenhall Ridge and out to Kagel, I settled on the Yerba Buena Ridge by way of the Oak Spring Trail. Candidly, I wasn't expecting much, but was pleasantly surprised by how nice it was. Much better than expected.
I pulled off to the side of Gold Creek Road just past the closed picnic area and started up the Oak Spring Trail. The picnic area was closed, but looks pretty nice actually. Anyone know what's up with that?
Anyway, the trail steadily climbs to a small saddle just east of Pt. 2749 before dipping slightly to Oak Spring. On the way up, I thought I heard a low humming sound so stopped for a better listen. Then I saw a cloud of bees just ahead of me swarming uphill in a southwest direction. I envisioned them headed to Oak Spring where it might still be damp and then got all paranoid that they were Africanized and I might run into them again.
Fortunately, I didn't, At the saddle, I contemplated Pt. 2749, but decided to leave it for another day. Oak Spring was super nice, green, and shady and did in fact still have water. It also had a good number of those damn flies so I snapped a couple of pics and kept moving.
After Oak Spring, the trail enters Oak Spring Canyon and then gradually ascends to a junction with Yerba Buena Road (3N30.1 I believe). The path here was a bit grassy, but not obstructed in any way.
Here, I turned east and headed for the high point (3892). This part was just a road walk, but you get pretty good looks into Big T, Lukens, and the Verdugos. There is some structure immediately north of the high point. I couldn't really tell what it was and didn't investigate further. There is also a water tank just southwest of the high point (Boulder BW12) which I used as my lunch and forest bathing spot (am I doing this forest-bathing thing right?).
I thought I might see hunters out, but I didn't. But while I was sitting on Boulder BW12, a guy in a jeep came racing up Yerba Buena Road with his music blaring. Then I felt right at home. On the way down, I spied another water tank (Doane BW11) a short distance from the Oak Spring trail junction so I checked that out before retracing my steps back to the trailhead.
Here's a few pics from my day.
Went out last weekend to do some exploring on the west end of the San Gabriels. Since I had been up to the Mendenhall Ridge and out to Kagel, I settled on the Yerba Buena Ridge by way of the Oak Spring Trail. Candidly, I wasn't expecting much, but was pleasantly surprised by how nice it was. Much better than expected.
I pulled off to the side of Gold Creek Road just past the closed picnic area and started up the Oak Spring Trail. The picnic area was closed, but looks pretty nice actually. Anyone know what's up with that?
Anyway, the trail steadily climbs to a small saddle just east of Pt. 2749 before dipping slightly to Oak Spring. On the way up, I thought I heard a low humming sound so stopped for a better listen. Then I saw a cloud of bees just ahead of me swarming uphill in a southwest direction. I envisioned them headed to Oak Spring where it might still be damp and then got all paranoid that they were Africanized and I might run into them again.
Fortunately, I didn't, At the saddle, I contemplated Pt. 2749, but decided to leave it for another day. Oak Spring was super nice, green, and shady and did in fact still have water. It also had a good number of those damn flies so I snapped a couple of pics and kept moving.
After Oak Spring, the trail enters Oak Spring Canyon and then gradually ascends to a junction with Yerba Buena Road (3N30.1 I believe). The path here was a bit grassy, but not obstructed in any way.
Here, I turned east and headed for the high point (3892). This part was just a road walk, but you get pretty good looks into Big T, Lukens, and the Verdugos. There is some structure immediately north of the high point. I couldn't really tell what it was and didn't investigate further. There is also a water tank just southwest of the high point (Boulder BW12) which I used as my lunch and forest bathing spot (am I doing this forest-bathing thing right?).
I thought I might see hunters out, but I didn't. But while I was sitting on Boulder BW12, a guy in a jeep came racing up Yerba Buena Road with his music blaring. Then I felt right at home. On the way down, I spied another water tank (Doane BW11) a short distance from the Oak Spring trail junction so I checked that out before retracing my steps back to the trailhead.
Here's a few pics from my day.
