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Climb through the wildflowers in the
Chumash Wilderness on the west side of Mt.
Pinos.
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Four majestic 8,000+ foot peaks are
strung out in a row in the Los Padres: Mount Able, Grouse Mountain,
Sawmill Mountain, and Mt. Pinos. Despite their heights, none of
these is a particularly difficult climb. Both Mt. Pinos and Sawmill
have caches on them, so I have added this cache on Grouse to
enhance your caching experience.
You can start at Mt. Able, parking
on the road's edge about half a mile from the top of Cerronoroeste
Road. There is a lovely camp at the top of this road, if you want
to make an overnighter out of this one, but I did the walk from
this direction to Mt. Pinos and back in one 6-hour trip. Or you can
start from the huge parking lot near Mt. Pinos, climb to the top,
and head down the western side of the mountain towards Mt. Able.
This would make the trip slightly shorter and spare you the
gruelling last half-mile climb up Able.
The cache is in a cluster of rocks
and requires no bushwhacking. Its altitude is 8367 feet, even
though it is only along the side of Grouse. Covered in pine needles
for much of the way, this trail is mostly shaded and
well-maintained. You will be hard pressed to find a prettier,
quieter, and less crowded trail so close to Los Angeles.
Enjoy!
Directions for this hike from
either direction can be found in Day Hiker's Guide to
Southern California. In brief, take the I-5 to Frazier
Park exit & go west on Frazier Mtn Rd, then bear
right on Cuddy Valley Rd. Pass through Lake of the Woods,
then go about 5 miles & bear right (to get to the Mt. Able
trailhead) & go 8 miles on Mil Potrero Rd. to
Cerronoroeste Rd. Go left and follow approximately 7 miles
to the trailhead, posted on your right, half a mile below the
summit. If you are at the camp, you've gone too far.
To reach the Mt. Pinos parking
lot, bear left 5 miles after Lake of the Woods, and go 9 miles
to the Chula Vista picnic area. From there, it's another
mile on dirt to get to the trailhead for Mt. Pinos.
This cache was developed
by a member
and a canine affiliate
of the Southern
California Geocachers.
