Trail 4E03 Below Live Oak Springs

[The Ghost]

For those of you interested in other trails besides C2C.

Trail 4E03 is in great shape below Live Oak Springs. Did the complete traverse from Garner Valley (Butterfly Peak Trail/Tunnel Springs/over the PCT/Live Oak Springs/ Live Oak Canyon trail ) to Palm Canyon Road. Long day, probably around 15 miles but well worth the effort. Very few people get up there and it has a true wilderness feel except for the Longhorn Cows that are around.

The trail has been brushed out and was easy to follow to the 4600 level. After that it is pretty open country. Would recommend going with someone who has been up there before, one could lose the trail pretty easily.

Also went up to the Rock House Cabin at Oak Canyon this week. Still in great shape and lots of things to see in the area.

[Ulysses]

Sounds interesting. I'd like to try that hike. I figured the whole Divide was still closed from the Mountain Fire. I see 4E03 on my SBNF map but I don't know the trailhead. I'm assuming somewhere east of Morris Ranch Rd.?

[Hikin_Jim]

Sounds like a cool trip. What trailhead in Garner Valley did you start on? I've never heard of the Butterfly Peak Trail. When I did Butterfly Peak last Memorial Day, I sure didn't see any trail near the peak!



HJ

[The Ghost]

Jim,

Take a look at some maps and do a search on Butterfly Peak. Believe the Sierra Club has it on one of their "lists" Look for the prospector trail approach.

The trail does go past the mines in the area and goes up and down to the Tunnel Springs old road/trail. You then crest at the PCT/ Live Oak Springs Junction and start down. If I remember right you took a picture of the trail sign on your PCT hike last Spring.

As far as the area being closed because of the fire do not believe this area is affected except for the PCT being closed from Hwy 74. Live Oak Springs is 5.5 miles from Cedar Springs Trail where the fire was stopped. Note that if you do take this trail you cross over the PCT and maybe are on it for 10 feet.

Would recommend a car shuttle if you want to go below LIve Oak Springs and out to Palm Canyon, etc.

[Hikin_Jim]

Butterfly Peak is on the Hundred Peaks List. Their directions aren't very accurate, nor are they particularly clear, but it would be something like this. I'm guessing a little bit since their description isn't at all clear. It could just as easily be this (again approximate) which would be a better route.

You piqued my interest when you said "Butterfly Peak Trail." I was thinking you meant a trail in the same sense as, say, 4E03 or other recognized trails. The route to Butterfly is more a collection of back roads, abandoned roads, climber's trails, etc.

I came in from the east the time I did it. Pretty brushy. No clear trail or use trail. The HPS directions from the east are slightly clearer than from the west, but only slightly.


HJ

[KathyW]

Ghost - sounds like a nice hike. I'm going to go back sometime between now and the spring and go up to the Rockhouse area from Palm Canyon. I almost made it before, but ran out of time before I got to Rockhouse. This time I think I'll try finding a faster way down to where the trail starts in Palm Canyon instead of starting out near Hwy 74. I might look into dropping down from the east near Dutch Charlie Canyon or Potrero Spring. I think I'll just take a day and check out the possible entry points to Palm Canyon.


I picked up a use trail after I left the old road that you take from Tunnel Spring when I did Butterfly Peak last year - I followed the HPS directions and map and found them to be pretty close. I had expected a bushwack after I left the road, but I didn't get one - I did it from the east - started at Santa Rosa Summit and took the PCT north - it was a nice hike without a lot of elevation gain.

[HH8]

When I did Butterfly Peak last Memorial Day

... opted to bypass Cone Peak. We also opted not to do Palm View Peak even though it’s easy and very near the trail. Our thought at the time was that we’d need to come by this way again anyway to get to Cone Peak, so let’s just do Palm View Peak when we come back. Unfortunately, the Mountain Fire broke out in July 2013, about a month after we passed through this area, and all this beautiful timber may now be gone.

All the more reason to get out there and get hikin!

[halhiker]

Now my secret place is out! One of my favorite spots in the San Jacintos.

If you're a C2Cer, listen up. You'll hate this hike. There's not nearly enough elevation gain here and you'll never be overwhelmed by the amount of crowds here. There are no shortcuts, no cairns and no beer at the top. You can't hit a new record PT here because there's too much to explore. You'd hate this place. Really. HATE IT. Definitely don't go there.

[Hikin_Jim]

I picked up a use trail after I left the old road that you take from Tunnel Spring when I did Butterfly Peak last year - I followed the HPS directions and map and found them to be pretty close. I had expected a bushwack after I left the road, but I didn't get one - I did it from the east - started at Santa Rosa Summit and took the PCT north - it was a nice hike without a lot of elevation gain.

Kathy,

Do you have a plot of your route posted anywhere?

Here's the route that we followed, sketched in with a light blue line. The brush wasn't horrible, but there definitely was not a use trail. The thing that wasn't clear to me from the directions was exactly what point one would jump off from road 6S10A -- where we jumped off or the ridge just north of there. Neither jump off point had a use trail.

HJ

[KathyW]

Well, some use trails are clearer than others - I tend to accept any track (animal or human) as a use trail no matter how faint it is if it helps me get where I want to go.

My track from the hike: http://kathywing.smugmug.com/California ... vMsptVh/X3