24-mile circle backpack trip up Fish Canyon and over the ridge to Bear Canyon, down Bear, Cienaga, and Redrock Canyons is no longer an option.
HIKE 4
BOUQUET CANYON TO BIG OAK SPRING, SIERRA PELONA
HIKE LENGTH: 7 miles round-trip; 1,300' elevation gain
DIFFICULTY: Moderate
SEASON: All year
TOPO MAP: Sleepy Valley
Features
The Sierra Pelona—bare-topped, wind-buffeted, and lonely—forms a long arc across the northern mountains, separating Mint Canyon from first Bouquet Canyon and then Antelope Valley. Standing athwart the great wind funnel of Soledad Canyon, the crest is often battered by hurricane-force gusts. Sierra Pelona Lookout has recorded velocities of up to 100 miles per hour.
Nestled in protected recesses on the north slope of Sierra Pelona are isolated groves of live oaks, some of them patriarchal in stature. According to the American Forestry Association’s Big Tree Register, the world’s largest recorded canyon live oak—measuring 37 feet, 4 inches in trunk circumference—stands in a shallow draw on this north slope. Unfortunately, the tree was severely damaged in a brush fire many years ago. Today only its burned hulk remains, stark fingers pointing skyward.
This trip follows the Pacific Crest Trail up from Bouquet Canyon, visits Big Oak Spring and the charred remains of the world-record oak, and climbs to the top of Sierra Pelona for far-reaching vistas. Do it in summer, fall, winter, or spring—but not on a windy day.
Description
From Antelope Valley Freeway (CA 14), turn west onto Palmdale Boulevard, which becomes Elizabeth Lake Road. Follow it 9 miles, and then turn left (south) on Bouquet Canyon Road, following it 5 miles to the Pacific Crest Trail crossing. Park in the clearing to your left (south). Be sure to display your Adventure Pass on your parked vehicle.
Proceed up the signed PCT, climbing the north slope of chaparral-coated Sierra Pelona. As you gain altitude, you look down Bouquet Canyon, pastoral with its ranch houses and spreading oaks, with Bouquet Reservoir occasionally visible in the distance. You cross a poor jeep road and drop briefly into the upper reaches of Martindale Canyon before climbing again in a westward direction to a junction with the Big Oak Spring Trail, 2 miles from the start. Leave the PCT and follow the unimproved side trail through a grove of fire-damaged oaks. In about 200 yards you round a point and see the remains of the champion oak up to your left. A distinct pathway climbs to Big Oak Spring, a trickle of water guarded by stinging nettles (painful if they penetrate the skin). Return to the junction and continue up the PCT, now climbing southward, to the bare crest of Sierra Pelona, 1.5 more miles. Your vista now is impressive, especially if you walk a short distance west along the ridgetop fire road. Southeast, across the broad trench of Soledad Canyon, are the peaks of the main range—Mounts Gleason, Pacifico, Waterman, and Williamson. Northwest are the long hogbacks of Liebre and Sawmill Mountains. And north is the desert—sprawling, sun-bleached, and seemingly endless.
An option is to walk 3 miles east along the ridgetop fire road to Mount McDill (5,187') for an even better view. Descend the way you came. If you don’t mind bushwhacking, you can drop down the old Big Tree Trail, its upper end 50 yards east of the Big Oak Spring Trail, to Bouquet Canyon Road, and then walk 0.5 mile east along the highway to your car. This trail has not been maintained in recent years.
HIKE 5
PLACERITA CANYON STATE PARK TO WALKER RANCH CAMPGROUND, LOS PINETOS SPRING, LOS PINETOS RIDGE, FIREBREAK RIDGE, MANZANITA MOUNTAIN
HIKE LENGTH: 8 miles round-trip; 1,800' elevation gain
DIFFICULTY: Moderate
SEASON: October–June
TOPO MAPS: Mint Canyon, San Fernando
Features
Gentle hills, rounded ridgetops, oak-dotted canyons, and lots of chaparral—this describes the Placerita Canyon country near the western extremity of the main body of the San Gabriels. If you like your mountains simple, almost pastoral, and much less abrupt than usual for the San Gabriels, this is a trip for you.
Placerita Canyon is etched in history. California’s first gold rush occurred here in 1842, six years before John Marshall’s famous discovery at Coloma. It began when Francisco Lopez of Rancho San Francisco (near present-day Newhall) grew tired of chasing stray horses and sat down to rest under an oak tree. While resting, Lopez dug up a cluster of wild onions. Clinging to the roots were tiny gold nuggets. The discovery caused much excitement and attracted miners from all over California. These San Fernando Placers, as they become known, produced several hundred thousand dollars in gold before the excitement died down a few years later.
Today the gold rush area is preserved as Placerita Canyon State Park. The spot where Lopez is believed to have dug up the gold-bearing onions is known as “The Oak of the Golden Dream.” It is marked with a plaque.
This trip goes up Placerita Canyon, shaded by overarching oaks and sycamores and graced with a trickling creek, to Walker Ranch Campground, and then climbs through chaparral and oaks to Los Pinetos Spring and on to the crest of Los Pinetos Ridge. Here, you are rewarded with far-reaching vistas north across the peaceful Placerita and Sand Canyon country, and southward across sprawling San Fernando Valley. Then you descend via the Firebreak Ridge–Manzanita Mountain Trail to complete a delightful loop hike.
Description
From the Antelope Valley Freeway (CA 14), turn right (east) onto Placerita Canyon Road and follow it 2 miles to Placerita Canyon State Park. Note that park hours are sunrise–sunset. Plan accordingly. Park in the easternmost dirt parking area to your right, just before the nature center.
Cross the creek and pick up the Walker Ranch Trail, marked by a wooden sign and metal pole, which leads east, on the right side of the creek. Follow the trail 2 miles as it winds its way up-canyon, crossing and recrossing the creek (with water in spring, but usually dry by midsummer) to Walker Ranch Group Campground. Here, you reach a three-way trail junction. The left trail goes 0.25 mile up to Placerita Canyon Road, an alternate trailhead. The path angling to your right is the Waterfall Trail, going up Los Pinetos Canyon 0.5 mile to a small cataract. On this trip you turn a sharp right (south) and follow the marked Los Pinetos Trail as it climbs the chaparral- and oak-coated west slope of Los Pinetos Canyon to Los Pinetos Spring, nestled in a woodsy recess, 2 miles from Walker Ranch Campground. Here, you meet a dirt road coming down from Los Pinetos Ridge fire road; don’t take it. Just before the water tank, make a sharp right and follow the shortcut trail leading up to the ridgetop fire road, 0.5 mile.
If the day is hot, you may wish to return the way you came. There is no shade on the remainder of the loop trip. If the day is cool and you wish to continue, turn right (west) and follow the fire road uphill about 0.3 mile until you intersect the prominent firebreak leading north, down Firebreak Ridge. Turn right (north) and follow the firebreak as it descends north and then west, over several bumps, 2 miles to a junction with the trail leading right (north) down to Placerita Canyon State Park. (Note: You will see this trail to your right as you descend the last section of the firebreak; there is no sign at the junction, so watch for it carefully.) Descend the trail, passing a short side path left that leads 100 yards to the summit of Manzanita Mountain, to reach another junction just above the state park. Go right, passing a water tank, and descend a final 200 feet to the park. Cross Placerita Creek to your car.
