This is more of a road walk than an hike, but it is to the highest point in the Santa Susana Mountains along the north edge of the San Fernando Valley. Due to the wildfires I needed somewhere to go and that seemed like the best option. I just drove up there and, because I'd had Oat Mountain on my list, I looked that up and went to the trailhead.
No, the title isn't a law firm: it's five peaks near Mt Wilson that I biked and hiked.
I started at Red Box and biked up the Mt. Wilson Road. Just after the 0.3 mile marker, I arrived at the Bill Reilly trailhead (it's somewhat easy to miss). That's where the Mt Disappointment Road starts. It's asphalt and closed to vehicles.
Just before the 2.0 mile marker and a cistern, there's a use trail for Mt. Deception (5,796'). I locked the bike here and started hiking. The beginning of the use trail is steep and loose, but it's a short trip to the summit. I didn't see a benchmark.
These are pictures and a video from the "Satwiwa Loop and Upper Cabin Trail" (link) on the western edge of the Santa Monica Mountains. The first part of the trail - the Old Cabin Trail - is a joggable Class 1 trail. That trail ends at the remains of the old cabin and the Danielson monument, which commemorates the man whose land became part of Point Mugu State Park and the neighboring NPS property.
On my way to Glacier National Park I had the not-so-bright idea of visiting our hat, aka Canada. I looked up dayhikes and the Hoodoo Trail in Alberta's Writing On Stone Provincial Park was the closest. It's a Blackfeet sacred site and a World Heritage Site, but, frankly, it's no Bryce Canyon. OTOH, there are petroglyphs that are interesting to look at.
These were taken near Mt Chapel on a Griffith Park bike ride. The Air Quality Index today was 'Unhealthy', with haze and pollution trapped in the Los Angeles basin. On the plus side, that made the sun a bright red. It was quite a sight, even if I would have needed a real camera and not a cellphone to capture it. Bring on the pollution!
"What?" You're no doubt asking, because you know the two titular destinations are well over an hour apart.
It happened like this: I biked from Red Box up the Mt Disappointment Road with one simple idea in mind: getting a pic of my bike on the top of San Gabriel Peak. The road is a little steep then it levels off and there's some tree cover. The ride was fine, but then I began the hike-a-bike to the top. It was almost noon, in July, and quite hot. I was worried about getting heat stroke from pushing the bike in that weather and in the full sun.
While I later biked to the highest point in the City of Los Angeles, this time I just hiked it. I took the Dunsmore Canyon route from Deukmejian Wildnerness Park in Glendale.
I didn't research the route first and I went clockwise; I probably would have gone counterclockwise instead: the return would have been smoother and more joggable. There's also a bit of a maze of trails at the beginning and, despite being one of the world's best navigators, I got turned around a bit and had to double back.
The Sheep Hole Mountains are a small range not far from Twentynine Palms in the Mojave desert. The highpoint of the range is just 4613', but getting to it involves a tough Class 2/Class 3 scramble. I did this with someone else and, because I'd just driven in, we got a late start and due to the time we had to turn around before we got to the top. There were also issues with finding the best route.
The boulders you see in the pictures are quite large even if it looks otherwise.
I'm going to try this again and report back.
Pacifico Mountain (7124') is in the back range of the San Gabriels so, generally speaking, it's more of a pristine environment than the front range peaks.
I biked it using the fire road that goes almost all the way to the top, but I can't yet claim the peak.
While you wait in suspense to find out why, I'll point out that the road is most gravel. There's a gate across the road and it's currently open. It's also hunting season. And, it was a Saturday. That meant there were several cars on the narrow road. I pulled aside and stopped for them rather than risking a sideswipe.
I biked Hostetter (from the 210 and La Tuna Canyon) to Verdugo Peak. All the way up, my bike was bugging me to do a fashion shoot and I obliged it.