Gleason, Rocky, Messenger and Sold
Posted: Sun Jun 13, 2021 5:19 pm
On a warm and wonderful Saturday in June, Cecelia and I drove the recently reopened Mt. Gleason Road (3N17) from Mill Creek Summit. Reports had indicated that the road was in good shape, and this turned out to be true, though you might want high clearance to go much beyond the fire camp memorial.
The temperature was nice when we stopped at the memorial around 7am. No heat or bugs yet. A few years ago I had walked to this spot, before the ruins were removed. But this was Cecelia's first time. The area has been thoroughly cleaned up. They even removed the one building that survived the Station Fire. They did however leave the outdoor BBQ/stove and this memorial for William E. Brady.
Anyone know the story of Mr. Brady? I tried researching him but came up empty.
Next we continued on to Mt. Gleason. The gate was open so we drove right up to the summit, where there was some science stuff,
some tank things,
a footprint in concrete,
and some cabin ruins.
We walked to a bump north of the summit and found a register among some rocks.
The view to the west was clear. We could see Lightning Point and some other points on our agenda for the day.
After driving to the Lightning Point entrance, we made our way to the highpoint of the ridge above the camp and parked at a closed gate.
We walked the ridge about a half mile southward to Rocky Benchmark.
The 1945 benchmark is still there.
Next we drove to the road that goes up to Messenger Peak. The road is gated and abandoned.
So we hiked the short distance and small climb to the summit, where some new trees provided a little shade.
We enjoyed cooling off as the sun had started baking the area by now. There was a register which we signed. And we found a nice vista on the north side for a selfie.
Down below is the Soledad Canyon corridor.
We drove beyond Messenger to Sold Point (5415'). There is a service road that goes up to the Sold Point water tank. We parked here
and hiked up this road to the saddle where the tank is, then we hiked west along the ridge to Sold benchmark,
but we couldn't find the mark. We only found a substantial rock pile with some wire and burned bits of wood, perhaps from a surveyor's tripod left behind.
I considered continuing through to North Fork Station and points in the Magic Mountain Wilderness, but we had had enough of the heat and decided to turn back. We ate lunch at the newly refurbished Messenger Flats Campground.
We were the only ones there. The place has about ten campsites with picnic tables and fire rings, and two new pit toilets.
On the way out we made one more stop at Beartrap Peak, to which there is a steep service road for the tower up there.
After parking at the tower, we hiked a short distance east along the ridge to a CA Division of Highways benchmark called Mt. Gleason J3.
That was our last point of the day. We were almost out of water and ready to get home and take a nap. Who knew that driving and walking could be so exhausting?
The temperature was nice when we stopped at the memorial around 7am. No heat or bugs yet. A few years ago I had walked to this spot, before the ruins were removed. But this was Cecelia's first time. The area has been thoroughly cleaned up. They even removed the one building that survived the Station Fire. They did however leave the outdoor BBQ/stove and this memorial for William E. Brady.
Anyone know the story of Mr. Brady? I tried researching him but came up empty.
Next we continued on to Mt. Gleason. The gate was open so we drove right up to the summit, where there was some science stuff,
some tank things,
a footprint in concrete,
and some cabin ruins.
We walked to a bump north of the summit and found a register among some rocks.
The view to the west was clear. We could see Lightning Point and some other points on our agenda for the day.
After driving to the Lightning Point entrance, we made our way to the highpoint of the ridge above the camp and parked at a closed gate.
We walked the ridge about a half mile southward to Rocky Benchmark.
The 1945 benchmark is still there.
Next we drove to the road that goes up to Messenger Peak. The road is gated and abandoned.
So we hiked the short distance and small climb to the summit, where some new trees provided a little shade.
We enjoyed cooling off as the sun had started baking the area by now. There was a register which we signed. And we found a nice vista on the north side for a selfie.
Down below is the Soledad Canyon corridor.
We drove beyond Messenger to Sold Point (5415'). There is a service road that goes up to the Sold Point water tank. We parked here
and hiked up this road to the saddle where the tank is, then we hiked west along the ridge to Sold benchmark,
but we couldn't find the mark. We only found a substantial rock pile with some wire and burned bits of wood, perhaps from a surveyor's tripod left behind.
I considered continuing through to North Fork Station and points in the Magic Mountain Wilderness, but we had had enough of the heat and decided to turn back. We ate lunch at the newly refurbished Messenger Flats Campground.
We were the only ones there. The place has about ten campsites with picnic tables and fire rings, and two new pit toilets.
On the way out we made one more stop at Beartrap Peak, to which there is a steep service road for the tower up there.
After parking at the tower, we hiked a short distance east along the ridge to a CA Division of Highways benchmark called Mt. Gleason J3.
That was our last point of the day. We were almost out of water and ready to get home and take a nap. Who knew that driving and walking could be so exhausting?
