Garnet Peak is one of the many peaks that thrust out from the eastern edge of the Laguna Plateau. While it is not the highest, it has one of the most commanding views of the desert country of Southern California, including Anza-Borrego desert, Mts. San Gorgonio and San Jacinto, the Salton Sea, and northernmost Mexico.Stats: Distance: …
The Sunset Trail
Perched atop a rolling plateau in the Peninsular Ranges in eastern San Diego County lies a vast, sumptuous meadow, rimmed with pine trees and studded with small, ephemeral lakes. This landscape, which may be one of the most beautiful in all of San Diego, offers contrast, solitude, silence, endless vistas, and cool, shady forests to …
Santa Anita Canyon, Thanksgiving Day Edition
Distance: I'm guessing about 7.5-8 MilesElevation gained: I'm guessing 2,200'Difficulty: Moderately strenuousCritters: Grey squirrels galore.Get there like this.Note: You will need an Adventure PassJust as important: You need to get here early on weekends and holidays since this place is insanely popular.Just a few linear miles from the endless urban sprawl of Los Angeles county …
Continue reading "Santa Anita Canyon, Thanksgiving Day Edition"
Mt. San Jacinto State Park via the Tramway
Distance: 4.8 MilesElevation Gained: 700'Difficulty: ModerateCritters: NoneGet there like this.When I was a kid, my parents took me up to Mt. San Jacinto via the tram. My cousin from Illinois was in town, and I think they were trying to prove to him that California gets cold too sometimes. This seemed to me a very …
Continue reading "Mt. San Jacinto State Park via the Tramway"
Joshua Tree, Day 2: Willow Hole and the Wonderland of Rocks
Distance: 7.2 MilesElevation Gained: Eh.Difficulty: ModerateCritters: RavenGet there like this. Details:Willow Hole and the Wonderland of Rocks. That sounds like either a fantasy movie or an album by an obscure prog band. Turns out that this is an actual place - and a beautiful one, at that.This was the signature hike for this camping trip. I …
Continue reading "Joshua Tree, Day 2: Willow Hole and the Wonderland of Rocks"
Joshua Tree, Day 2: Ryan Mountain
Distance: 2.9 MilesElevation Gained: 1,070'Difficulty: ModerateCritters: NoneGet here like this.Details:While I was sitting atop Ryan Mountain and enjoying a panoramic view of two deserts, a man came huffing and puffing up to the summit. He looked left. He looked right. He then stood there for a couple of minutes, turned around, and left.I struggled to …
Joshua Tree: Keys View, Hemingway, Cholla Garden, Hidden Valley Campground
Before I post the next write-up on the Ryan Mountain hike, I want to briefly discuss four places where I spent a bit of time screwing around in Joshua Tree. None of these places really counted as hikes. If I were to write them up, the posts would be pretty short. However, since I thoroughly …
Continue reading "Joshua Tree: Keys View, Hemingway, Cholla Garden, Hidden Valley Campground"
Joshua Tree, Day 1: Barker Dam
Rocks showing the waterline within Barker ResevoirDistance: 4.5 milesElevation Gained: Not certain there is anyDifficulty: EasyCritters: A roadrunner, a hawkGet there like this.Details:Everything in the desert is centered around water. Plants evolve elaborate responses to the climate such as small, waxy leaves that balance the need to conserve water with the need to photosynthesize abundant …
Joshua Tree, Day 1: Hidden Valley
Distance: 2 + milesElevation Gained: Not MuchDifficulty: Not HardCritters: Not many, aside from a flock of quailGet there like this.Details:All over California you will find remnant populations of trees. These relics are leftover from a cooler, damper time. During that time, various species of trees, such as Torrey Pines, Redwoods, and Giant Sequoias, occupied much …
San Gabriel Peak
Panorama of the San Gabriel Range looking east to Mt. BaldyDistance: 4.2 MilesElevation Gained: 1,600'Difficulty: Moderately StrenuousTime: 2:30Directions to the trailheadNote: Don't forget your National Forest Adventure PassDetails:Red Box Canyon from the TrailheadThe Front Range of the San Gabriel Mountains looms like a massive, green wall over the cities of the San Gabriel Valley. This …
scott turner hikes 