EISPIRATEN

Several years ago I painstakingly compiled a list of named peaks in the Gabes, both officially and locally named ones. From Peakbagger I learned of a small bump called The Moon, situated above the Acton Conservation Camp on Soledad Canyon Road. For my fiftieth birthday I wanted to hike something uniquely stupid, and The Moon fit the bill.

Cecelia, Jeff, Madison and Nate joined me for this party. We met at the Indian Canyon Trailhead and shuttled to the starting point, a small gully near the Conservation Camp. After a bit of scrambling at the beginning, the gully took us to a saddle, where we joined the clear firebreak path.
The area is full of firebreaks and trails cut by the residents of the Conservation Camp. They all have fun names, too, like Cyclone, No Fear, Big Ben and Dirty Byrne.
After a mile or so, we reached a steep climb with signs pointing to The Moon. At the top there was a bump signed "The Ham." A gravesite for "Ham" (probably a pet) was also here. We continued along the ridge after this point until we finally reached The Moon.
We landed on the Moon at the end of the clear firebreak path. Oddly, the Peakbagger page places The Moon at The Ham's location. I figure the trail workers have moved The Moon since the last Peakbagger report in 2017. Which makes sense, since the real moon moves around too. Anyway, Peakbagger needs updating.

We took a break, ate some Moon Cheese that I brought, and Madison dressed me up in party accessories.
To be continued...gotta run.

I didn't particularly like the Moon Cheese.
It's a novelty freeze-dried snack that I found at Albertsons supermarket.

I did, however, enjoy leaving our pirate flag up there.
We considered bushwhacking to point 3665, but after a little reconnaissance, we turned around.
The rollercoaster ride along the brushy ridge looked like it would take too much time and resources. Plus, I needed to not injure my back, which was starting to complain. So instead we backtracked to a trail that dropped us into Nelson Canyon.
I think this was called the Cyclone trail. It's mostly a nice singletrack with a few rough, class 2ish spots. It crosses the stream several times and has a couple exposed sections along cliffy areas.
Cyclone leads to the No Fear firebreak on the opposite side of the canyon. We, however, returned to The Moon ridge and retraced our steps to the car.

Then we partied at Indian Canyon Trailhead where there is a picnic table. Jeff made his signature grilled cheese, and Nate served his homemade acorn liqueur. For dessert, Cecelia brought birthday cupcakes. It was a wonderful birthday with wonderful friends. Thank you all for coming and celebrating with me!

The Moon did get moved, it was that very obvious round bump you climb steeply that is shaped like the moon. Oh well more revisionist history.

Throwing the best birthday parties in the most obscure locations!

Some route notes:

More pics

Sean assured me this would be a uniquely stupid outing. Happy to report that it was actually quite a fun day with several of the forum goofballs.

Sean! Did you moon on the moon?

Matthew wrote: ↑Tue Dec 10, 2024 5:17 pm Sean! Did you moon on the moon?

There were a couple moon sightings.

I'm proud to be one of those goofballs. While driving to the trailhead I got to see a really nice sunrise in my rearview mirrors, I arrived a little earlier to enjoy a cup of hot chocolate and a breakfast pop-tart. Never having driven through Soledad Canyon, I was impressed with the late season trees in the river bed, even though no water was present it was a spectacular sight. The hike was fun in the lower canyon as the stream took a winding course uphill, meaning every little turn opened up some new views. Once up on the ridge it was time to think about clothing choices, it was definitely warm out there on this December morning. Plenty of signs abounded, which actually made things more confusing because they were not specific about listing the location or destination. Anyway, we managed to reach the moon and it was a pretty good place to hang out for a while. Descending on the alternate loop was great, that flowing creek and trees changing colors made for a pleasant end to the journey.

A few more pics:

Matthew wrote: ↑Tue Dec 10, 2024 5:17 pm Sean! Did you moon on the moon?

Nope.

A few pirates did moon