Castle Crags June 30

After some deliberation, our summer vacation plans settled on a 2-week road trip up through Oregon and Washington. I had not been to Washington at all since I was capable of making memories and was particularly excited to sample its three national parks and Mt St Helens. Careful research and planning turned up over a month of interesting and off-the-beaten-path things to do and as typical I worked to craft a dense day-by-day schedule, subject to reality. Careful packing meant we were prepared for a host of possibilities including rooftop tent car camping, backpacking, packrafting, canyoning, and even rock collecting. We even anticipated potential nightmare scenarios of mosquito swarms after a previous summer's experience in Oregon with a modified screenroom that could be added beneath a car-mounted sunshade.

There were still plenty of unknowns as we left Riverside on the 29th. Would the mosquitos be murderous? Would we find camping spots where we needed them given the frequently over-reserved nature of campgrounds these days? Would the weather cooperate? Would the rivers be too low for packrafting and creeks too high for canyoning?

Unavoidably, the first major hurdle was to traverse our long state as efficiently as possible. Far from my favorite drive, this meant traversing the full length of the Central Valley through long tag-teamed stretches of driving. It was hot and smoggy with few scenic interests (brief and faint views of Sutter Buttes and Mt Lassen) until we past Redding and started climbing through the forest. A fully burning fireball of a semi-truck in the middle of the interstate highway was the surprise highlight- no firefighters or police were on the scene yet and so we joined all the other motorists carefully passing near the center divider, feeling the intense heat instantly radiate into the car as we passed quickly. At the end of the 10.5 hour drive we arrived at Castle Crags State Park, our road trip gateway. We had a brief look at the auxiliary campsite along the Sacramento River before driving through the main campground and selecting a quite nice site (#47) at the campground's edge. After a quick jaunt up the road to the Castle Crag Lookout, we settled into camp and rewarded ourselves with a cold drink, deciding to go for an early start hike up to the granite spires.

In the morning we packed up our camp efficiently and set off for the trailhead at the lookout, only to run into a gate that was not closed the night before. Looking for an explanation, we drove to the park entrance where a sign said the road would be closed starting this day, something we might have appreciated the park rangers communicated to us the evening before. If we still wanted to hike it would mean starting from the entrance trailhead, shifting our hike from the planned 5.6mi/+2200' round trip hike to a 7.1mi/+2700' hike. We deliberated but were packed and ready and so set off. 

Most of the hike was a steady climb through dry, uninteresting forest, dodging poison oak on narrow trails and walking some old dirt roads. For only the last 0.8 miles did the trail finally emerge from the pines, then oaks, into the granite wonderland with more expansive views. The end of the trail was really what it was all about, as the photo selection attests to. We only ran into one other couple for the good portion of the hike, accepting the low population density as the consolation for the extra hiking we had to do. 

The trail ended fairly abruptly beneath an amphitheater of rock pinnacles and a dramatic cliff-face over Root Creek. I enjoyed the exposure, erosional patterns, cliff-hanging trees, Shasta looking on the horizon, and general uniqueness of the place. We then strolled over to the observation deck area at the base of Castle Crag Dome. I knew there was supposed to be a scrambling route to the top of the dome and was tempted, but looking at it made it clear it would add more time than I hoped and so I passed on the chance.

I brought out my trekking poles for the steep downhill descent. At one point a rattlesnake noisily warned us just off trail. Lizards were seen with almost every step. The day's heat was beginning to build and we were glad to not be one of the many groups we passed just now making the climb up the hill. Back at the car, sweaty, and technically still before our campground checkout time, we returned to the campground to take advantage of the free hot showers. This was perhaps the best idea we had for the day, leaving us clean and refreshed for surprisingly trafficked driving through the height of Oregon (nearly matching our drive time crossing California!). Onward we drove through unpleasant Portland traffic for the south slopes of Mt St Helens. I have no doubt there must be some interesting nooks, crannies, and peak scrambles in the Castle Crags wilderness but for now I was satisfied to poke at its accessible edge.

San Gorgonio Mtn June 26

Another month almost snuck by without me getting up to something. It's been a busy time of getting my graduate students finished, service commitments, and doing various other things for other people, so I felt justified in taking a day for myself. I had yet to summit San Gorgonio Mountain, southern California's highest peak at 11499ft, so that seemed like a suitable solo outing. I opted for the Vivian Creek Trail option from Forest Falls (17.3mi round trip, 5500ft elevation gain) as it meant less driving. I strategically packed a sub-3lb backpack (planning to filter water at creek crossings along the way rather than carrying it) and broke my standard practice by wearing lightweight shorts rather than hiking pants. I set off from the trailhead at about 6am, the crisp dawn air helping motivate progress. I cruised the short distance along the old forest road and then cut across the rocky expanse of Mill Creek, currently a river of boulders not water. I then followed switchbacks 800ft vertical up the steep side of the valley to the peculiar hanging valley of Vivian Creek. Below this point Vivian Creek plunges through a series of waterfalls back down to Mill Creek, another past solo venture of mine. From this point on it would be terra nueva for me.

The trail gradually ascended along Vivian Creek, at intervals crossing through some lush meadows and past some sizable cedar trees reminiscent of sequoias. I passed a few backpackers at Halfway Camp unnoticed at about 1.5 hours. Unfortunately this was far from halfway to the summit. Switchbacks climbed out of Vivian Creek through a more sparse forest surrounded by scrub. As the trail exited Vivian's drainage and traversed over to High Creek, I got my first shot of sunlight, which would persist throughout the rest of the day. This face provided spectacular views across to Galena Peak opposite Mill Creek Canyon. 

I found High Creek busy with a flurry of backpacker camps, some packing up to hike down, others readying to dayhike to the summit. The low scrub coating the west wall of the valley seemed particularly interesting to me, an ecosystem I haven't seen too frequently in southern California. I stopped to filter my first water at the High Creek crossing and chewed some electrolytes. At 9200ft elevation, I still had some climbing to do!

More switchbacks. Here I passed a few ascending hikers and a trail runner heading down. I got a great view of Raywood Flat, the geomorphic oddity slowly being erased by Mill Creek Jumpoff and Middle Fork Jumpoff, like a candle burning at both ends. The forest here was irreparably devastated by the 2020 Apple Fire for as far as I could see. Beyond was the standalone massif of San Jacinto Peak, site of my last peakbag. 

The upright trees gave way to boulder fields and stunted conifers, wind-swept to snake along the ground. Finally reaching the main ridgeline, I was single-minded in beelining for the summit but in hindsight I should have taken more off-trail detours to peer down the north side glacial cirques. At the summit I overlapped briefly with one other friendly hiker. The smog considerably diminished the clear potential of the view but nevertheless I enjoyed picking up many distant landmarks through the haze. To the north I could see Dry Lake (wet!), San Gorgonio moraines, Barton Flat, Sugarloaf Mountain's landslide face, Big Bear Lake, the Cushenbury Quarry area near the Blackhawk Landslide, and a sliver of hazy Mojave Desert beyond. To the west I could make out Mt Baldy, the Box Springs Mountains in Riverside, and hazy Santa Ana Mountains past. To the south was Mt San Jacinto, the San Timateo Badlands, Coachella Valley, and Toro Peak in the Santa Rosas. If it was clearer I should have been able to see the Salton Sea. To the east was the high desert of Joshua Tree and Twentynine Palms. With a short detour from the summit I could also look down into the North Fork of the Whitewater River with its glacial moraines I was quite interested in. I sat on the summit long enough to absorb the sight, down a snack, chug some water, apply some sunscreen, and even lay out on the only flattish rock for five minutes or so. The temperature was very pleasant and although looking across I was still clearly within the southern California smog layer, the air tasted noticeably cleaner than my hike up. As I could see a group approaching on the final stretch I reluctantly got ready to head back down.

My trekking poles came out as I tried to make good time retracing my steps. I generally dislike out-and-back hikes compared to loops, and with the day's heat beginning to set in, I was just looking to get back. I passed many people on the way to the summit as I headed back down. I bypassed the main switchbacks altogether on the slope back down to High Creek, apparently knocking about a mile of trail from my hike. At the High Creek crossing I stopped for some more water and again later at the Vivian Creek crossing. The return hike was without incident though I relied heavily on my poles to catch my left ankle from rolling five times and also began to feel the wear of the descent on my knees. I made it back to the trailhead around 3:15pm. I ended up logging 16.2mi, 5300ft ascent, and a 8hr15min time. All in all it was great to get out. The Mt Baldy summit trails have apparently just been reopened following the Bridge Fire so I guess I'll have to hike the last of SoCal's "big three" at some point.