Modern Hiker

A short stint on the Pacific Crest Trail to a mountain with a lot of history. A cool, shaded, north-face trail takes you to the summit’s old Nike Missile radio base, while (an alleged) bushwhack leads to old gold mines.

Looking at my hiking logbook last week, I was shocked - shocked - to discover I hadn’t done a single hike for the entire month of May.

Granted, I had some other big things going on. Weddings, birthdays, nerd conventions, etc. But this last long weekend in May, a hike was required. I don’t think I can run a web site called Modern Hiker if I spend an entire month not hiking.

And so, through the Angeles National Forest to the Pacific Crest Trail I went.

I managed to beat back our ‘June Gloom’ gray skies and get out of bed at a decent time, but even at 10AM the picnic grounds near La Canada Flintridge were packed to capacity. A sign outside the Clear Creek ranger station informed visitors that not only was the parking near the picnic area full, but so were the middle and upper overflow lots.

Thankfully, I was headed far to the north side of the forest, away from the holiday crowds of Los Angeles and closer to the relative emptiness of the Antelope Valley.

After driving on a thin, winding paved road that briefly lapsed into dirt-road status near a fire department camp, I arrived at the trailhead, exited my car, and immediately kicked myself for not getting out on the trail more often this month.

A cool breeze whipped over the ridge line, filling the air around me with the scent of Jeffrey pine and lifting crows skyward. Other than the wind and birds, the place was completely silent.

In other words, perfect.

The trail begins just past a small metal gate at the northeast corner of the parking area, and hooks up with the Pacific Crest Trail right away. The pine-lined path was shaded and cool, and starts off nice and level.

The PCT is well cared-for and generally clear of debris. There are, however, several nice fallen trees on the sides of the trail.

Eventually, the trail does start to pick up a bit of elevation, but it’s nothing too difficult. It is nice, however, to get out of the tree cover for a little while and see the stark transition the landscape makes - from desert to chaparral to pine. No matter how many times I see that, I’m always awestruck.

The trail was remote, but I still passed a few other hikers on the way in. One was a new family carting off their baby daughter (good to get started early), and another was a group of pole-hiking older folks, who looked like they were having a great time out in the woods. Solitude is one of the main reasons I go hiking - it’s a rare commodity in the sprawl of L.A. - but I always enjoy striking up conversations with fellow hikers. It’s usually a nice respite from walking alone in the woods.

As the trail continues up the north side of Mount Gleason, it intersects what is either an old dirt road or the former grade of the PCT.

The book I’d read about this trail said it was possible to take this old road down into the canyon below, where the remnants of several major gold mines still stood. I followed the grade down for a short while, but eventually it got overgrown and I lost the path. I suppose it may be possible to just scramble down into the canyon, but as I didn’t have a great topo map with me, I just kept climbing up toward the summit instead.

As you get closer to the ridge, the trees start thinning out into mini-meadows, which are absolutely beautiful to hike through when the wind is tossing the grasses around.

After rising above the ridge, I spotted two bearded gentlemen airing out piles of socks and sitting on the ground. One of them spotted me and gave a hikers’ hello, so I went off my trail for a few yards to greet them.

I asked if they were through-hikers, and when they confirmed, I congratulated them. They were having a great time on the trail, and while they said they haven’t had any trouble finding water here in parched Southern California, they were very much looking forward to the snow-fed rivers of Central California. Even though I knew they wouldn’t take it, I offered some of my snacks - ’cause, you know, they’d just hiked over 400 miles. Understandably, they looked a bit exhausted, so I didn’t want to bother them much longer. I wished them well and continued up an old jeep grade toward the summit of Mount Gleason.

The summit was surreal.

The former site of a Nike missile radio base, a large chunk of the summit had been leveled for the buildings, which have since been removed. The result is a seemingly out-of-place plateau, surrounded by the more traditional-feeling forest.

Even though that weirded me out a little bit, by stepping south to the ridge, I got a beautiful sweeping vista of Mount Lukens, Fox Mountain, and Condor Peak - their lower elevations still blanketed by our marine layer.

And just a tad north of the flattened land was an old, crumbling cabin or some leftover army building.

After a short walk down a long disused paved road, the trail meets back up with the paved / dirt road I used to get to the trailhead, right by a more intact abandoned radio tower.

The tower is pretty much stripped bare and surrounded by a nasty barbed wire fence, so you won’t be able to do much exploring … but if you walk around the north side of the complex, you can find some nice boulders to sit on while you eat lunch … and take in some nice views of Strawberry Peak and the backs of the front range while you’re at it.

After taking in my fill of mountain air, it was a short trip back down the abandoned road to the trail. Then back to the big city, energized for another week.

 

The Basics:

- Distance: 7.3 miles
- Elevation Gain: About 1000 feet.
- Time: About 3 and a half hours, with breaks.
- Trail Condition: Excellent while you’re on the Pacific Crest Trail, and very good when you’re on old jeep roads climbing to the top of Mount Gleason.
- How to Get There: At Mill Creek Summit Picnic Area on the Angeles Forest Highway, turn north onto Mount Gleason Road. Continue past the first intersection with the PCT (unless you feel like adding 8 miles RT to the hike), and bear left onto a dirt road when the road forks. The dirt road returns to pavement near the bottom of a saddle, which is where you want to pull off into a parking area. The trail begins in the northeast corner of the lot, behind that ugly yellow gate.

- Map It

The Notables:

- Easily-graded section of the Pacific Crest Trail.
- Great views of the Antelope Valley desert while under the shade of Jeffrey Pines.
- Old Nike missile base and leftover buildings.
- Evidence of past gold mining (in nearby backcountry).

Extending Your Stay:

- You can get here from anywhere on the PCT that you feel like starting from. If you want to start further back on Mount Gleason Road, it will add 8 miles roundtrip from the spot where the trail first intersects the road.
- The old mining operations are north of the trail, in Gleason Canyon. You can either venture cross-country (with a good map, please!) or access this area from the trailhead. Instead of taking the PCT east or west, there is an old 4WD road that descends north into the canyon. At the junction in the bottom of the canyon, stay headed west.

More Pictures:

- As always, on Flickr.