South Lykken info

[drndr]

My wife doesn't mind hiking steep uphill but hates coming down it. An example would be she has to go up the museum trail and then down to Ramon Rd. She always says she wouldn't want to go back down to the museum. Too steep. She has done it and didn't like it.

We want to do South Lyken from Mesquite Ave to the other trail head near Murray Canyon Dr. The map looks steep but which side is less steep and the best footing for coming down?

And a side note, I have hiked the Museum trail to Ramon and Skyline many times. I have always been surprised to the lack of wildlife. Including squirrels and even birds and lizzards. I think I've only seen one snake. A few years ago I saw my first family of deer near flat rock and this last weekend saw what I could only guess were 4 brothers of big horn sheep. They all looked identical to me. This was on the trail from the picnic benches to Ramon Rd about half way down. Do people see them all the time? Kinda exciting for us. If I can figure out how to upload from an iphone I will post one.

Dan

[guest]

Hi dmdr,

I really like the south Lykken, have hiked, (used to run it) for 30 yrs., (my very first trail here).
The climb from Mesquite is more gradual than by Oswit Canyon, (Murray Cyn Dr.), so you could do it north-bound.
Or, there's one other exit which happen 2/3rd the way to the south set of picnic benches, which jct to the left, (east), and dumps you out in a small community, (some don't like hikers there, but it's legal, as long as no one parks there), then onto S. Palm Cyn Dr. (right where the kink is in that road). This means a couple miles of pavement back to car.
Or, go up from Mesquite, hike to either set of benches, and back down that more gradual way.
This is Way better trail, and much less steep than Museum tr. I always encourage folks to hike any other trail, than that tore-up, touristy, jumble of false, side trails & white dots to nowhere trail.

Nice spotting on the 4 rams, this year I've been hearing of sightings in numerous places, including high up on the Mesquite Rd. section of S Lykken. BTW, if you, (or your wife hike that, do go due west after benches toward the bottom of the hillside, veer right & down a bit, (starts to get a little sketchy, but not too, ) for a bird's eye view of Tahquitz Falls, almost 1k ft. below).

Another fairly moderate downhill is the Araby, (where Bob Hope's mushroom "Dhome" is, you nay have hiked it. You can park at the base of South Ridge, off Hay 111, (use caution, it's a busy, 50 mph area).

Happy hiking, scott

[drndr]

Thank you Scott. I will go north bound and walk back to the car along the road. We don't mind the pavement stroll and would always prefer any kind of loop hike. And I will definitely check out Araby. Have heard about it but have not done it.

[guest]

Happy to help,
When you reach the top of the Araby tr, maybe 1/4 mile past Bob's old place, (which you will get great perspective of who massive this multi-story behemoth is, plus nice shots of several other cool places, including William Holden's old house, you'll have several options.

The area just south & east is referred to as the goat trails, (mt. bikers enjoy this area, even at night in summer), and there's a bunch of connector trails, & a dirt road that comes up from behind Von's Rimrock, (Gene Autry & Hwy 111). This is also a way to access Murray peak, the highest small mt. in the area at 2,200 ft., with the north facing trail much steeper, (great workout for Skyline, etc), the more gradual route coming up from Garstin, (can access from Araby), then over the Wildhorse,
(via the short Burns tr. I think), which has some steep sections for maybe a 1/4 mile, the rest is cruiser trail.
BLM, (when their open, ha), has a good map of the Santa Rosa / San Jacinto mmnt. trails.
In about a month, these areas should bloom with lots of wildflowers after all this rain.
ss

[Wildhorse]

Another hike may also be interesting. The Thielman Trail May be the least steep trail. It can be part of a loop with the Garstin Trail, which is steep but generally smooth and only about a mile of climbing. I think the loop is about 3.5 miles. It also involves a short walk on neighborhood streets.

[Ed]

I don't know the area as well as guest and Wildhorse, but have hiked it enough to have a fairly strong preference. From Araby Drive, take the Henderson Trail to the Shannon Trail, then follow the Clara Burgess Trail up and down along the ridge, passing the junction with the Araby Trail, the one coming up from the Bob Hope house. Hike down and cross the wash, then up to the summit of Murray Hill and come down the other way, returning to the Shannon Trail via the Wildhorse Trail. Four or five opportunities to make a wrong turn, and I believe I've done them all. Also the 'Clara Burgess Trail' seems to be a specific route through a confusing maze of roads and trails for much of its length, the part where it drops down and crosses the wash. But it is an open area with many people to ask for directions, and a few who can actually give accurate directions. I think the David Mooney Harris book has much better maps and directions for this area than the Ferranti one. I also don't like downhill, and I think this hike minimizes long steep downhill stretches, for the distance and elevation gain, and the views are excellent and varied. If you don't want to do the full hike, you can turn back before making the crossing over to Murray Hill.

[drndr]

Thanks for the info. I had been looking at maps of the Araby trail area. Looks like a maze of trails up there but I have a good map on my phone. I see a couple good loops if I parked at Rim Rd trailhead. One goes to Palm Hills Rd by Vons and the other is using the Henderson/Shannon trail which leads back into the wash leading back to Rim Rd parking. So Araby Tr past Bob Hope's house from Rim Rd, better to go up that or down it if you hate doing steep loose downhills.

D

[Florian]

Just did a through hike on the South Lykken this morning hiking south to north. This is my preferred direction. The sun is at your back and just seems the way to go. Initial climb to the south picnic tables then mostly level with some climbing before you get to the north tables. Then it's all downhill, with a nice little level section in the middle, to Mesquite Ave trailhead. It's good trail all the way and never any really steep sections. There were lots of people on the trail to start near Oswit but then pretty much had trail to myself the remainder of the hike. Left my jeep along Mesquite Ave and my wife dropped me at Oswit trailhead as she was on her way to the gym.

Unrelated, i hate the museum trail too.

[Florian]

drndr: If you haven't done the hike yet and want a car shuttle hit me up. Although if i only have my jeep available i can only carry one passenger. If my wife isn't using the other car then can carry multiple pax.