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** Use at Your Own Risk **
02F |
Scodie Mountain |
7294'
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Location: Kern County, about 15 miles east of the town of Weldon, 150 miles from Los Angeles
Maps
| Auto Club | Kern County |
| Forest Service | Sequoia National Forest |
| USGS Topos | Walker Pass 7½, Owens Peak 7½, Horse Canyon 7½ (Route 2) |
| Official HPS Maps | TPO file - Save to your computer then open with National Geographic TOPO! |
| Viewable JPG file - Approximately 1 meg | |
| GPX file or Google Earth KML file to download to GPS units and other map software (How to use GPX and KML files) | |
| Routes as shown on CalTopo using the above files (How to use CalTopo) |
ROUTE 1
- Distance: 7.5 miles round trip on trail and cross-country
- Gain: 2600'
- Time: 4-5 hours round trip
- Rating: Class 2, moderate
- Navigation: Difficult
Original: George Wysup, February 2001
DRIVING ROUTE 1
- Take SR 14 to Mojave.
- Continue north on SR 14 to the intersection with SR 178 signed 178 West/Lake Isabella. This junction is about 40 miles north of the town of Mojave.
- Go west on SR 178 to Walker Pass.
- Continue on SR 178 for 1.0 mile to the entrance to Walker Pass Campground on the left. Park in the campground.
HIKING ROUTE 1
- From the campground parking lot (4960'), follow the signs uphill (south) to the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT).
- Turn right on the PCT and hike a little more than 1/4 mile to where it crosses the Canebrake creek bed.
- Hike south up the creek bed to where it forks at 5200'.
- Take the left fork and continue up to another fork at 5500'.
- Take the right fork. Continue southwest up the creek bed, swinging around to the southeast and up to a plateau near bump 6920'+, about 1/4 mile east of bump 7042'.
- Follow a broad ridge southeast, then east, then southeast again to the summit block.
ROUTE 2
- Distance: 3.6 miles round trip cross-country
- Gain: 2200'
- Time: 3-4 hours round trip
- Rating: Class 2, moderate
Original: Jim T. Carriel, June 1982
DRIVING ROUTE 2
(High Clearance Vehicle required)- At the SR 14/178 junction described in Driving Route 1, go south on SR 14 for 4.5 miles to a dirt road on the right. Some maps identify this point as "Armistead". Turn right. Note your odometer and go as follows:
- At 1.2 miles, fork. Go left.
- At 1.8 miles, forks. Go right.
- At 2.0 miles, 4-way fork. Take the second one from the left.
- At 2.4 miles, junction. Keep straight.
- At 3.8 miles, junction. Turn left.
- At 5.0 miles, fork. Go right.
- At 7.6 miles, a water trough on the right.
- At 8.2 miles, a wide area. Park here.
HIKING ROUTE 2
- From the parking area (5150'), hike northwest toward the smooth ridge of the skyline.
- Aim toward the lower end of a rock outcrop on the upper portion of the ridge. The terrain is steep and sandy.
- Once on the ridge, turn right and follow it up to the summit keeping to the left of the outcrop.
ROUTE 3
- Distance: 9 miles round trip cross-country
- Gain: 2800'
- Time: 5-6 hours round trip
- Rating: Class 2, moderate
Original: Frank Dobos, April 1990
DRIVING ROUTE 3
- Take SR 14 to Mojave.
- At the SR 14/178 junction described in Driving Route 1, go west on SR 178 for 7.0 miles to a dirt road on the left just past mile marker 81.50.
- Turn left and park at this dirt road junction to avoid a citation for driving into the Kiavah Wilderness.
HIKING ROUTE 3
- From the parking area (4760') on the southwest side of the highway, turn right through a Wilderness area gate onto an old road for about 500' to a road on the right with posts blocking it.
- Take this road 1.5 miles to its end (5300').
- From here, hike west up the open slope aiming toward the saddle (6250') just south of 6691'.
- From this saddle go south up the ridge over 6945' and on up to the summit plateau.
- Turn southeast and continue up to the summit. On the return trip it is possible to descend directly from the saddle 1/4 mile northwest of the summit.
ALTERNATE ROUTE
The PCT can be hiked to the east fork of Jacks Creek, 1 1/2 miles west of Scodie Mountain followed by a cross-country ridgeline trek to the summit. This route is 12 miles round trip, 2300' of gain and will take about 6-7 hours. It is fully described as Trip 9 in the book, Exploring the Southern Sierra: East Side, by J. C. Jenkins and Ruby Johnson Jenkins.
SPECIAL CONDITIONS
Scodie Mountain, Pinyon Peak, Onyx Peak #2, and Skinner Peak lie in the Kiavah Wilderness which is bounded on the south by the road over Bird Spring Pass and on the north by SR 178 and Walker Pass. The old trailhead to Scodie on the east side of Walker Pass (Route 3) is now in the Wilderness. If you use this route, you must park along SR 178.
CAMPING
About a mile past Walker Pass is the entrance on the left for Walker Pass Campground. There are restrooms and water during summer months. There are walk-in primitive sites. There are no fees or reservations at this time.
Learn more about Scodie Mountain.
Please report any corrections or changes to the Mountain Records Chair.