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Mount Lawlor
Jul. 2nd, 2023 03:14 pmWelp, I checked the forecast before going to bed last night and the temperatures were all revised upwards for today. My original plan had been to hike a couple of easier peaks up in the northeastern part of the Angeles National Forest, but I decided that the best way to beat the heat would be to add some elevation. So I set the day's objectives as Winston Peak (7502') and Mount Akawie (7283') and went to sleep.
I woke up early, got everything ready to go, hopped in the Baby Bronco, and told Google Maps to take me to Cloudburst Summit on the Angeles Crest Highway. Google said it couldn't find a route. Well, it wouldn't be the first time Google Maps had been confused about the current state of the roads this trip (it thought that Glendora Ridge Road was closed yesterday, which it was not), so I pointed myself at Highway 2 in La Cañada Flintridge and headed up. The drive was smooth right until I got to Red Box Picnic Area. Turns out the Angeles Crest Highway is still closed between there and Vincent Gulch Road, well past Cloudburst Summit.
It was 6:45am. I didn't want to burn a bunch of morning hours driving somewhere else to hike, so today's objective was going to have to be something close. I ran through various thoughts in my head (including just driving the five miles to Mt. Wilson and hoping there was cellphone reception or Wi-Fi; Wilson itself is a trivial drive-up, but while I suspected as much, I did not know that for sure) when, wandering at the western edge of the parking area for the Haramokngna American Indian Cultural Center, I got just a bit of reception. The nearest HPS peak was Mount Lawlor (5957'), which I had skimmed over last night but passed on in favor of higher game. I was able to quickly download route information from the HPS site as well as a map. Figuring 6 miles round-trip and 1300' of gain shouldn't be too bad, I set out at 7am.
And lo, the Strawberry Trail was really quite pleasant. While there were stretches that were a bit too vegetative for my taste (I'm not really a huge fan of narrow trails with bushes on both sides that are higher than my head) the shaded sections—and that includes the hedge tunnels—were actually pretty temperate. I was feeling good enough to take a quick detour to Point 5166, immediately opposite the firebreak that forms the most direct route up Lawlor (HPS guide: "This ridge is very steep and very loose. A high degree of care is required on this section." No thanks!), took some pictures, and then continued on my way. This led to a long stretch of trail that was actually shaded from the sun by Lawlor's bulk. I felt pretty great hiking up that part, and even when the trail emerged from Lawlor's shadow I was still quite content at 8:15am when I reached the Strawberry-Lawlor saddle at 5200+'. I allowed myself momentarily to entertain the thought of adding Strawberry Peak to the day's agenda before dismissing it as a bad idea given the lack of beta I had on Strawberry and my limited water supply.
That brought me to the crux of the hike, which was the steep use trail out of the saddle up onto Lawlor's ridgeline. The first part was the steepest, but overall this was the most exhausting part of the hike, not helped by being in direct sunlight the entire time. There were quite a few moments when I was grateful for a nearby rock formation to hold, and there were also a fair number of stretches where the trail—though always present—involved close encounters with vegetation, on both sides. (And that also meant spiderwebs.) It took me maybe fifty minutes to navigate the ridge, and by 9:06am I stood on top of Mt. Lawlor. Surprisingly, the views from the summit weren't actually the best of the hike, except maybe east to Barley Flats, due to the large flattish area on top. And that area is covered in seeding plans that worked very hard to get into my socks, so I didn't want to wander around too much. I took my pictures, chugged some water, and headed back down.
The ridgeline went a lot faster on descent. The steep parts were mercifully not as bad as I thought they were going to be and the vegetable parts were actually quite fun because they were a preventative against falling off the ridge. When I got back to the saddle, I came across a pair of hikers who asked me where the Strawberry Trail led onwards. I gave some guesses but emphasized that I didn't really have information past Lawlor. I really do need a paper map of this area.
Unfortunately the Strawberry Trail—while still easy—was much less pleasant now that the shadows had fled. By the time I had reached the final stretch of the trail, past Point 5166, I was just focusing on getting to my air-conditioned vehicle. It was too hot! It only took me an hour and twenty-one minutes to descend, and when I reached the Baby Bronco I stopped my GPS trackers, slung my backpack into the back, loosened my boots, and fired up the AC-powering engine. It was just before 11am, and I had no desire to be out in the heat any more today.
On the way back to the hotel I stopped by a couple used bookstores (nothing of interest, although I did make the unpleasant discovery that Montrose was having a vintage car show that was extremely loud) and Atomic Comics in Artesia, which had a bunch of the Dixon-era Robin issues that I'm missing. Including #46, which I've been hunting for annoyingly long.
I woke up early, got everything ready to go, hopped in the Baby Bronco, and told Google Maps to take me to Cloudburst Summit on the Angeles Crest Highway. Google said it couldn't find a route. Well, it wouldn't be the first time Google Maps had been confused about the current state of the roads this trip (it thought that Glendora Ridge Road was closed yesterday, which it was not), so I pointed myself at Highway 2 in La Cañada Flintridge and headed up. The drive was smooth right until I got to Red Box Picnic Area. Turns out the Angeles Crest Highway is still closed between there and Vincent Gulch Road, well past Cloudburst Summit.
It was 6:45am. I didn't want to burn a bunch of morning hours driving somewhere else to hike, so today's objective was going to have to be something close. I ran through various thoughts in my head (including just driving the five miles to Mt. Wilson and hoping there was cellphone reception or Wi-Fi; Wilson itself is a trivial drive-up, but while I suspected as much, I did not know that for sure) when, wandering at the western edge of the parking area for the Haramokngna American Indian Cultural Center, I got just a bit of reception. The nearest HPS peak was Mount Lawlor (5957'), which I had skimmed over last night but passed on in favor of higher game. I was able to quickly download route information from the HPS site as well as a map. Figuring 6 miles round-trip and 1300' of gain shouldn't be too bad, I set out at 7am.
And lo, the Strawberry Trail was really quite pleasant. While there were stretches that were a bit too vegetative for my taste (I'm not really a huge fan of narrow trails with bushes on both sides that are higher than my head) the shaded sections—and that includes the hedge tunnels—were actually pretty temperate. I was feeling good enough to take a quick detour to Point 5166, immediately opposite the firebreak that forms the most direct route up Lawlor (HPS guide: "This ridge is very steep and very loose. A high degree of care is required on this section." No thanks!), took some pictures, and then continued on my way. This led to a long stretch of trail that was actually shaded from the sun by Lawlor's bulk. I felt pretty great hiking up that part, and even when the trail emerged from Lawlor's shadow I was still quite content at 8:15am when I reached the Strawberry-Lawlor saddle at 5200+'. I allowed myself momentarily to entertain the thought of adding Strawberry Peak to the day's agenda before dismissing it as a bad idea given the lack of beta I had on Strawberry and my limited water supply.
That brought me to the crux of the hike, which was the steep use trail out of the saddle up onto Lawlor's ridgeline. The first part was the steepest, but overall this was the most exhausting part of the hike, not helped by being in direct sunlight the entire time. There were quite a few moments when I was grateful for a nearby rock formation to hold, and there were also a fair number of stretches where the trail—though always present—involved close encounters with vegetation, on both sides. (And that also meant spiderwebs.) It took me maybe fifty minutes to navigate the ridge, and by 9:06am I stood on top of Mt. Lawlor. Surprisingly, the views from the summit weren't actually the best of the hike, except maybe east to Barley Flats, due to the large flattish area on top. And that area is covered in seeding plans that worked very hard to get into my socks, so I didn't want to wander around too much. I took my pictures, chugged some water, and headed back down.
The ridgeline went a lot faster on descent. The steep parts were mercifully not as bad as I thought they were going to be and the vegetable parts were actually quite fun because they were a preventative against falling off the ridge. When I got back to the saddle, I came across a pair of hikers who asked me where the Strawberry Trail led onwards. I gave some guesses but emphasized that I didn't really have information past Lawlor. I really do need a paper map of this area.
Unfortunately the Strawberry Trail—while still easy—was much less pleasant now that the shadows had fled. By the time I had reached the final stretch of the trail, past Point 5166, I was just focusing on getting to my air-conditioned vehicle. It was too hot! It only took me an hour and twenty-one minutes to descend, and when I reached the Baby Bronco I stopped my GPS trackers, slung my backpack into the back, loosened my boots, and fired up the AC-powering engine. It was just before 11am, and I had no desire to be out in the heat any more today.
On the way back to the hotel I stopped by a couple used bookstores (nothing of interest, although I did make the unpleasant discovery that Montrose was having a vintage car show that was extremely loud) and Atomic Comics in Artesia, which had a bunch of the Dixon-era Robin issues that I'm missing. Including #46, which I've been hunting for annoyingly long.
