Hiking the Sierra Pelona

I describe three days hiking the PCT in the Sierra Pelona Mountains, ending in Agua Dulce.

April 22, 2024; 15 miles

This was a relatively easy hiking day except for a bit of damage to and around the trail due to recent wildfire.  First, I passed the 500-mile mark, measured from Campo at the Mexican border.  I think the “500” would be easier to see if the stick boundary were removed.  There was another “500” spelled out with pine cones, but it was harder to make out.

This section of the trail had a number of campsites with water sources, constructed by the forest service in the 1950’s and 1960’s.  I’ve seen this in other parts of the country.  People had lots of children and not much money, so the federal government thought it was healthy for families to get back to nature through hiking and camping.

One of the problems caused by campers and hikers, especially the careless ones, is wildfire.

And in southern California, the immediate result of wildfire is poodle-dog bush (pdb).  This nasty plant is a member of the forget-me-not family and is apparently always ready to start growing when the land is stressed, such as after a wildfire.  The dark scruffy growth under the green leaves reminds people of the hair of a poodle dog, thus giving the plant it’s colloquial name.  The long stems, dormant in April, will burst forth with purple flowers closer to summer.  As far as I know, no part of this plant should be touched because it will leave nasty, itchy blisters, like poison ivy or poison oak.  And the irritant can get on your clothes, so your clothing must not touch this plant either.  Apparently, pdb does not compete well for water when other plants are around, so it disappears when the forest starts to renew itself.

Toward the end of the day, I found this nice spot inside the trees for a campsite with this nice picnic table close by.  Some parts of the trail are green and grassy.  It is not all dry with drought- resistant bushes.

Even though the picture above is nice and sunny, by mid-evening the whole mountain was engulfed in the clouds, meaning that there was fog, wind, and everything became wet.  By morning, it was still foggy, and I had to pack all my wet camping gear and hike on.

April 23, 2024; 16 miles

Today’s hiking was relatively uneventful, where the biggest issues were getting down to two gaps in the mountains – at Lake Hughes Road and at Green Valley where there is a Forest Service fire station – and back up again.  Here is the trail about to cross under some power lines en route to Green Valley.

One interesting development was the appearance of black-tailed jackrabbits.  They are bigger and have floppier ears than the cottontail rabbits I see in Oklahoma.  I could only get a picture of a dead one in the trail.  What killed him?  I don’t know.  Why hasn’t he been scavenged?  All I see around here are ravens.  I am used to hiking in the Ozarks, where there are so many turkey vultures (often called buzzards) that I have sat down for a water break and they start circling over my head.

I decided to hike past the fire station, where two other hikers were setting up their tents.  I got water from the station’s PCT spigot, and followed the winding trail to a nice campsite on a flat ridge that had enough wind to dry out my tent.  I found the first of many pieces of art left on the trail north of Agua Dulce.

April 24, 2024; 17 miles

I didn’t get started so early since I hiked until almost dark the evening before.  There were north-bounders passing by while I was eating breakfast and striking my camp.

Early in the day I passed the Leona Divide 50 mile running race winner board through 2010. There is also a memorial bench for the late originator of the race, Bob Kimmerly.  The 2024 race was just held on Saturday April 20, and there are many race options now, from 30 miles to 100 miles, which is a qualifier for more prestigious ultramarathon events.  The bulk of the race’s miles are along the PCT.

The trail along this section is very well maintained and conducive to a running race.

I passed though Bouquet Canyon and caught a glimpse of Bouquet Lake.

In the afternoon I was able to “camel up” on water from Bear Spring, where the water trickles from the PVC pipe.  This time I did take a picture of a rather large oak tree, as opposed to my forgetfulness at Golden Oak Spring.

As I hiked down from the mountains, I could see the next, higher mountain range, the San Gabriel Mountains, lit up beneath the cloud layer.

At the bottom of my descent, I found another piece of artwork, shown below.  I also found a place to camp about 3 miles north of the center of town, above a junkyard of mostly spent RV’s and prefab homes.