The assembly point found 18 individuals signing for the trip. A 5.7 mile car shuttle into Santiago Canyon enabled us to start the climb at 9:15.
Mt. Pacifico is clearly visible from the parking area. We moved up the creek bed for 15 minutes and onto the ridge leading directly up to the summit. The middle third is heavy with brush and fallen timber and climbers are advised to stay generally to the left during the upper reaches. The apparent peak is not Mt. Pacifico but from that point the terrain is open and pleasant with large rocks, pine needles, and mature Conifers. Jeffrey Pines dominate the mountainside with large Sugar Pines featuring the peak decor. The total gain of approximately 2500' was completed in two hours and 45 minutes, and we enjoyed an excellent lunch break in the full sun with beautiful clouds all-round us.
We started down at 1:00 utilizing another ridge which lies to the east of our more direct approach. The descent was routine except for the heavy growth of interlaced bushes just before the creek bed is reached. As one comes off the last rise, a white rock formation at the base of the cliffs should be identified and should be your objective. From there it is possible to find an acceptable path through the heavy growth particularly if one guides on a tall pinyon pine growing in the creek bed.
The Santiago Road is excellent at this time of year and with care can be driven by large model cars. Everyone reached the starting point by 3:00 and joined the usual heavy Sunday afternoon traffic home.
