USE AT YOUR OWN RISK
Location: Los Angeles County, about 15 miles east of Palmdale, 60 miles from Los Angeles
Maps
| Auto Club | Los Angeles and Vicinity |
| Forest Service | Angeles National Forest |
| USGS Topo | Sleepy Valley 7½ |
| Official HPS Maps |
TPO file - Save to your computer then open with National Geographic TOPO! |
| | Viewable JPG file - Approximately 1.5 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) |
ROUTE 1
- Distance: 12 miles round trip
- Gain: 2500' total, 2100' out plus 400' on return
- Time: 6 hours round trip
- Rating: Class 1, moderate
- Navigation: Easy
- Route: Trail and fire road
Original: Karen Leverich, March 2009
DRIVING ROUTE 1
- Take CA 14 (Antelope Valley Freeway) to Palmdale. Exit onto
Palmdale Blvd. East. Turn left and go west.
- Continue 8.3 miles (Palmdale Blvd will become Elizabeth Lake Road)
to the junction with Bouquet Canyon Road. Turn left (south).
- In 3.9 miles, the Pacific Crest Trail
intersects Bouquet Canyon Road, with a large dirt parking area on the
left (south) side of the road. Park here.
HIKING ROUTE 1
- From the parking area, follow the Pacific Crest Trail south for
2.77 miles to the crest of the Sierra Pelona Ridge.
(This is just east of bump 4614'
- Turn left (east) and follow the fire road for 2.38 miles to where
it intersects with a road coming in on the left (north) at about elevation
4887' (this is the road coming in from Route 2). Keep straight and hike
0.68 mile further to the summit.
- There are four bumps of similar elevation in the summit area.
The first has a "Mint" benchmark; the second is the summit of McDill.
NOTE
The dirt road on the ridge divides and recombines several times.
If you prefer the lower angle option, stay left (north) for the first
three and right (south) for the last two.
A variation to this route (also shown on the maps) is to leave the PCT
after 1.6 miles and short cut up to the ridgeline on a steep
use trail. The statistics for this variation are 9.4 miles round
trip with 2028' gain (1956' out plus 112' on return).
