|
|
|
** Use at Your Own Risk **
06I |
West Big Pine |
6490' |
Location: Santa Barbara County, about 20 miles north of Santa Barbara, 145 miles from Los Angeles
Maps
| Auto Club | Santa Barbara County |
| Forest Service | Los Padres National Forest: Mt Pinos, Ojai and Santa Barbara Ranger Districts |
| USGS Topos | Big Pine Mountain 7½, Madulce Peak 7½, Fox Mountain 7½, Salisbury Potrero 7½ |
| Official HPS Maps | TPO file - Save to your computer then open with National Geographic TOPO! |
| Viewable PDF file - Approximately 9 megs | |
| 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) |
Nearby Peaks: Samon Peak, Madulce Peak, Big Pine Mountain
ROUTE 1
(USFS Adventure Pass may be required)- Distance: 35 miles round trip on dirt road
- Gain: 4400'
- Time: 19-21 hours round trip (2 days)
- Rating: Class 1, very strenuous
- Navigation: Easy
Original: John Backus, May 1981
DRIVING ROUTE 1
- Drive north on I-5 past the Grapevine to the SR 166 off-ramp. Turn left (west).
- Head west 36.5 miles, passing through Maricopa, to the junction with SR 33 south. This junction may be reached by a slower route via SR 33 north from Ojai. (There is a junction with SR 33 north in Maricopa that you will pass in Maricopa.) Turn left (south).
- Go 2.7 miles to Foothill Road on the right. Turn right (west).
- Go 2.1 miles, crossing the Cuyama River, to the Santa Barbara Canyon Road (9N11) on the left. Turn left, note your odometer, and go as follows:
- At 3.1 miles, just past a ranch house, junction with a dirt road on the left and a paved road on the right with a sign "Santa Barbara Canyon Road". Turn right.
- At 7.5 miles, fork with Santa Barbara Ranch visible ahead. Go right and cross a creek. The pavement ends.
- At 10.8 miles, fork with Dry Canyon Road on the left. This is the turnoff for Lizard Head and Cuyama Peak (LO). Keep straight.
- At 12.6 miles, a locked gate. Park here.
If the Cuyama River is impassable, return to the junction of SR 166 and SR 33 and go as follows:
- Go west on SR 166 for 4.7 miles to a bridge over the Cuyama River, and an immediate junction past the bridge, on your left. This is Kirschenmann Road (paved). Turn left.
- Continue 2.4 miles to the end of Kirschenmann at Foothill Road. Turn left (east).
- Drive 3 miles to Santa Barbara Canyon Road on the right (south). Turn right and continue as above.
HIKING ROUTE 1
- From the parking area (3440'), hike through the small gate and continue up the road. At 4 miles there are the posts of a second gate; off the road to the right is a flat area suitable for camping.
- Continue up the road, keeping left at a fork with Sierra Madre Road about 0.5 mile farther, and go about 5 miles farther to Chokecherry Spring (5500'), marked by a water trough and a large water tank. This is the turnoff for Samon Peak.
- Continue south up the road about 1.7 miles (700' of gain) to a saddle where the road starts downhill. About 30 yards past the saddle, a trail starts off to the left, visible from the saddle. This is the turnoff for Madulce Peak.
- Continue on the road about 1.2 miles to a fork. The left fork leads a short distance to the old Alamar station site. This is an excellent dry campsite.
- Take the right fork and continue 2 miles to where a jeep road goes up the slope to the left. This is the turnoff for Big Pine Mountain.
- Continue along the main road passing a trail on the right. This goes down to Big Pine Campground where there is a spring with unreliable water. Continue to a fork with a sign "Mission Pine Trail".
- Turn right onto the Mission Pine Trail and proceed west for about 1.5 miles to an area where steep cliffs are seen ahead, falling away to the left (south). This is the summit area of West Big Pine.
- To reach the summit, stay on the trail as long as it goes uphill, passing some rock outcrops until just north of the peak.
- Leave the trail at its highest point and ascend easy slopes on your left to the foundations of an abandoned lookout and spectacular views.
ALTERNATE ROUTE
If coming from Big Pine Mountain, it is possible to descend cross-country through brush along the southwest ridge of Big Pine to the road. Keep to the right side of the ridge to avoid the worst of the brush. This places you on the main road just west of the trail to Big Pine Campground.
NOTES
The road that goes past Chokecherry Spring separates Dick Smith Wilderness, on the east, from San Rafael Wilderness, on the west. The road itself is not Wilderness and is suitable for mountain bikes.
West Big Pine is generally climbed with Madulce Peak, Big Pine Mountain and Samon Peak on a 3-day backpack trip called "The Big Four". For all four peaks, the distance is 45 miles, the gain is about 8000', and the whole experience is very strenuous. There is water at Chokecherry Spring. If you camp at Alamar, you must carry overnight water 3 miles and about 1000' of gain from Chokecherry Spring. Bears frequent the area, so it is advisable to bear proof foodstuffs and other consumables when leaving your campsite.
History of Summit Signature
Climbing Archives
Please report any corrections or changes to the Mountain Records Chair.