Madulce Peak, Big Pine Mountain, West Big Pine, Samon Peak
24 March 1988
By: Rick Anglin
Leaders: Rick Anglin, Bob Henderson
Mission "Big Four". Nine stalwart souls accepted the challenge of 48 miles and
8000 feet of gain. They enjoyed what turned out to be a truly remarkable trip.
The trip began Thursday evening, March 24th, at the locked gate in Santa Barbara
Canyon. Bob Henderson, Rick Anglin, Karen Nikisher and Roy Stewart arrived at
about 6:30PM to find Bobby Dubeau already there. Bobby had climbed nearby Fox
Mountain #1 that day just to stretch his legs before beginning this trip. Jon
Fredland soon arrived to join the hike up to the campsite at the intersection of
Big Pine and Sierra Madre Roads, about 4.5 miles and 1760 feet of gain away.
Fortunately, the moon was bright and the road could be walked comfortably
without using a flashlight.
Bobby and Jon shouldered their packs and disappeared into the night. Bob
Henderson had brought his golf cart to carry his pack up the hill; Karen and Roy
had a four wheeled trash cart. Unfortunately, what appeared to be good ideas
from the comfort of the living room couch did not quite work out as planned. One
wheel on Bob's cart kept collapsing because of the load. About half way to the
campsite, Bob shouldered his pack and pulled his now unladened cart behind him.
Needless to say, the wheel did not collapse once Bob was carrying his pack - and
they say that machines have no soul!
Meanwhile, somewhere in the darkness, the axle bushing on Karen and Roy's trash
cart shattered. Fighting the "wobble, wobble, wobble" for only a short time, the
cart was soon stashed over the berm under the brush to be retreived in as few
days. Now that the HPS "natural order" had been restored (heavy packs and a long
way to go), the group marched on into the night.
About 9:30PM, Karen, Roy, Bob and Rick found Jon and Bobby at the campsite
bundled against the cold. The temperature that night fell to around freezing. As
we all threw out our sleeping bags, Don Holmes, David Busdeicker, and Bob Beach
walked into camp to complete the group.
Early the next morning we set out for Chokecherry Springs. For those who have
not visited this spa in the mountains, it consists of a holding tank (a jet
engine shipping case) and a watering trough. Water runs, and I use the term
loosely, from a pipe to the trough. On Friday it took about three minutes to get
a gallon of water from the pipe. No one, perhaps not even the animals, would
take water from the trough.
Everyone loaded up on water, some carrying as much as ten liters. We then
staggered the 1.75 miles and 700 feet up to the saddle near Madulce Peak, our
Friday evening campsite. After eating lunch in the noonday sun, we set off with
daypacks for Madulce.
The trail to Madulce Peak drops down into the trees (800 feet) before climbing
up to the summit (1150 feet of gain). The group made the 6.0 mile round trip and
the 1950 total gain in good time. We were back to our campsite by 4:00PM. As the
sun dropped below the horizon, we were all soon in down parkas and gloves. One
of the most amazing parts of this trip were the daily temperature swings of 40
to 50°. Up to the 80's during the day and down to the 30's at night.
Soon after sunrise, Saturday morning, the group set out on the 16 mile round
trip to Big Pine and West Big Pine Mountains. From the saddle we descended 650
feet to Alamar Guard Station before heading west toward the summits. Walking
under the trees in the cool of the morning was delightful. We found patches of
snow, some still rather large, across the road at several points.
On the summit of Big Pine Mountain we faced a choice of going back to the main
road, the way we had come (an easy walk), or of dropping down the west slope
directly to the road, thereby saving about a mile of walking. We had all heard
stories about the brush on the west slope. However, daring won out and down the
slope we went. The forest bed was soft and moist. This made the walking quite
pleasureable. About 200 yards from the road we were in densely packed poplars.
Bob Henderson and his large loppers were in the lead so the rest of the group
had a fairly clear path to follow. A compass bearing of due west leads to where
we went. We soon reached the road, changed into shorts, and marched on to West
Big Pine Mountain.
The view from the top of West Big Pine is truly spectacular. The sun was warm;
the sky clear. We could see the Santa Ynez Valley, the offshore islands, the
snow capped peaks of the southern Sierras. Visibility was over a hundred miles
in all directions.
Still dazed by the view, the group walked back to Alamar Guard Station to have
lunch before facing the climb back to Madulce Saddle in the hot sun. It turned
out not to be as bad as everyone expected. Soon we were all at the saddle and
hefting our big packs to head back to Chokecherry Springs. Everyone was back to
the springs by 1:30PM. In the midst of refilling water bottles, the decision was
made: we would go for Samon Peak this afternoon so that the group could hike out
to the gate in the cool of the morning. By this time, the spring was delivering
a gallon of water in about five minutes.
We started up the steep scree and boulder slope about 2:30PM. Although only
about 500 feet high, it seemed to take forever since everyone had to take time
to be sure of his or her footing. At the top of the chute, we all donned brush
clothing and headed up to the ridge. This route had not been clipped in three
years and it showed. Bob Henderson's loppers got quite a workout, along with
several pairs of clippers. In some places the brush was over eight feet high,
with new growth intruding into the trail for over two feet. The group cleared a
tremendous amount of brush, but those of you who follow us should be prepared to
clip more.
The sun was quite low by the time everyone reached the summit of Samon Peak. For
Don Holmes, Samon had special significance - bagging Samon left him with only
one peak to go to finish the HPS list. Don bagged four of his last five peaks on
this trip (and finished the List on Arctic Point on April 9th).
The leaders would especially like to thank Don for his help in route finding on
Samon, and for his vigorous attack on the brush monsters.
Daylight was long gone by the time the group got back to the head of the scree
and boulder chute. Fortunately, the moon was bright enough that the chute could
be negotiated safely without flashlights. We climbed down in two smaller groups
to minimise the rockfall danger. Everyone was back to camp by 7:00PM, safe but
tired. Saturday had been quite a day: 19 miles and 3,750 of gain, 1600 feet of
which had been through brush. We had hiked over 11 hours, not counting breaks,
summit time and lunch. The camp was soon quiet as everyone bedded down for the
night, snug in the knowledge that the "Big Four" had been bagged and all we had
to do was walk out.
Early Sunday morning we did just that. Although the breeze was quite cool, the
sun was warm. The group hiked the remaining 11 miles out in 3.5 hours. We were
all eating the watermelon which had been stashed in Jon's truck by 10:30AM.
On the way down, Bob retreived his golf cart. As you might expect, it carried
his pack downhill just fine. Karen and Roy retreived their trash cart and lashed
it to Bob's golf cart for the trip out.
The leaders would also like to thank all of the trip participants for joining in
their insanity. The group was extremely strong and bagged in good style with
great companions.
Such a great trip needs nothing further. But Jon, Bobby, Karen, Roy, Bob, and
Rick drove up to Cuyama Peak Lookout before dining at the crossroads taco stand
in Maricopa - good value for the money but no Michelin star.
