USE AT YOUR OWN RISK
Location: Kern County, about 12 miles west-northwest of Frazier Park, 80 miles from Los Angeles
Maps
Auto Club | Kern County |
Forest Service | Los Padres National Forest: Mt Pinos, Ojai and Santa Barbara Ranger Districts |
USGS Topos | Eagle Rest Peak 7½, Sawmill Mountain 7½, Cuddy Valley 7½, Pleito Hills 7½ |
Official HPS Maps |
TPO file - Save to your computer then open with National Geographic TOPO! |
| Viewable PDF file - Approximately 4.2 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: Antimony Peak
ROUTE 3
- Distance: 9 miles round trip from final locked gate
- Gain: 3300'
- Time: 7 hours round trip
- Rating: Class 2, moderate, summit block is easy class 3
- Navigation: Moderate
- Leader Rating: "I", normal conditions
- Access: Groups should contact the Mountain Records Chair to arrange permission and to receive the lock combination.
Original: George Wysup, March 2000
DRIVING ROUTE 3
- From the SR 166 exit on I-5 north of the Grapevine, turn left (west)
toward Maricopa.
- At 7.2 miles, dirt road left (south) marked with a rustic sign "Wind
Wolves". Turn left.
- You will shortly reach a gate with a combination lock. If you have
received permission, open the combination lock and continue to the
Preserve headquarters and sign in, 4.6 miles from SR 166.
- From the headquarters, take the road to the east about 0.3 mile,
reaching a closed gate. Please open it before driving through, and then
close it behind you.
- Turn right and drive for about a mile to the first stream crossing
(concrete bottom).
- Drive about another 5 miles, passing another gate en route to a
second stream crossing. Here, high clearance vehicles may be needed to
ford the stream (ask the Preserve staff about the stream level).
- Go about 0.2 mile and turn right at the first opportunity,
following San Emigdio Creek, to a third (locked) gate. You may have
procured a key to this gate at the headquarters office. If not, park
here. The hiking description begins from this point. If you have the key
to the gate, you may continue driving as far as you reasonably can
(about 0.8 mile) and park.
HIKING ROUTE 3
- From the final locked gate (2520'), hike south up the dirt road about
0.7 mile along San Emigdio Creek to a road junction. Take the left fork.
- At the end of the road, find and follow a prominent cattle trail. After
about a mile, this trail goes through (under) some willows. Soon
thereafter the trail crosses to the west side of the creek.
- Follow it
about another mile, passing up an opportunity to climb a rocky ridge to
the left (east) and passing up another opportunity to ascend a gentler
ridge to the left.
- Go past an eroded cliff on the east bank and cross San
Emigdio Creek.
- Ascend a moderately steep, grassy slope, starting at about
3400'. This route joins the ridge ascended in the Route 1
at 4700'. The terrain is quite open for the first 1/2 mile before
the narrow, rocky, scrub oak-studded ridge is reached.
- Follow the faint
use trail up the ridge, eventually passing through a Pinyon pine grove
(5500') and then ascend the steep grassy slope north toward the sandstone
cliffs. An occasionally ducked route leads up through the cliffs just
above the trees. The summit is reached immediately after ascending a ramp
that passes the final large buttress on its right side.
NOTES
HPS hike leaders must contact the HPS Mountain Records Chair to arrange for
permission to cross the Preserve and for driving instructions to the
Preserve headquarters.
Spring can be the best time to visit the Preserve because the hills are
verdant after the winter rains. In some years wildflowers will be in
abundance. Temperatures along the creek (the trailhead is at about 2600')
are usually moderate at this time of year.
The Wildlands Conservancy created the
Wind Wolves Preserve in 1996 as
the result of the purchase of over 87,000 acres. The Preserve extends from
the northern reaches of the San Emigdio Range through the foothills into
the San Joaquin Valley floor. The Preserve has an impressive array of
habitats and a unique assemblage of plant and animal species. The Preserve
is introducing Tule elk to replace cattle. The Preserve is a popular
destination for school field trips with naturalist talks.
Wind Wolf is the name for the rolling waves in tall grass resulting from
the wind.