Mt. San Jacinto Outdoor Recreation

Beautiful day for a hike to Santa Paula Peak
map
I love this hike. There are parts of this trail where you walk right through huge fields of flowers. It's too early yet but they are just now starting to come out!

Fighton: The flowers that are there already are really pretty - thanks for sharing your pictures and giving me another hike to add to my list. How long do you think before the flowers are about at their peak?

Kathy

KathyW wrote:Fighton: The flowers that are there already are really pretty

KathyW. I know you would love this area! Look at the trail goes right through the flowers!

KathyW wrote: - thanks for sharing your pictures and giving me another hike to add to my list. How long do you think before the flowers are about at their peak? Kathy

I don't know but last year on 3-29-08 this is what the same area looked like. An explosion of flowers!

There must have been more rain because everything looked greener last year. Maybe it will rain more in time and the lupine will come out too!

I hiked with a friend that I picked up in Castaic. We had the entire hike to ourselves with the exception of Doug, who owns the adjacent ranch and his hiking business partner Eric whom we ate a snack with at the summit.

Turned out Eric is an avid hiker and carried a collection of maps including a Tom Harrison Sespe Wilderness Map. He told many stories of his solo hikes and camping trips. This was his first time to this spot though!
I am sure it's because the trail head is remote. Reminds me of Snow Creek except you can obtain permission from the property owner, if you ASK FIRST! (sorry I just can't help it! )

i'm thinking to do this hike.. do you know where i can find trail info..
or where i should ask permission and all ?

i've been having hard time to find any good and reliable resource for the trail

The islands look like Anacapa (on the left) and Santa Cruz (on the right).

Nice pictures.

vilen13 wrote:i'm thinking to do this hike.. do you know where i can find trail info..
or where i should ask permission and all ?

i've been having hard time to find any good and reliable resource for the trail

I do. pm me when you plan to go.

Here is an excellent trip report of the hike with pictures.

http://planetrambler.com/150mph/090308_ ... index.html

magikwalt wrote:Here is an excellent trip report of the hike with pictures.

http://planetrambler.com/150mph/090308_ ... index.html

Wonder why he didn't mention that you need the combo to get past the gate at the 126 highway? and getting permission from mr diamond? You can't drive up the road in his fourth pic w/o it.
Hope nobody goes there and discovers that the gate is locked. Then they have to park there on the highway and hike all that way up to the diamond house before the hike starts.

On his first pic of The Trail he says, "After almost a mile, you have to climb over this barbed wire-topped gate. Hope you're good at climbing. Now you're in cattle country."
You don't have to! just go to the left a ways and the barbed wire can be unhooked and you can stroll right on through! just reconnect it after you pass!
Once you are past there then get ready to have your breath taken away! paradise
The flowers are amazing! and the hike is really fun! very different than anything around east of the san gabriels that I have seen.

Good point. Perhaps you could post those items he missed so the thread would be complete and full of the correct info. Thank you in advance.

magikwalt wrote:Good point. Perhaps you could post those items he missed so the thread would be complete and full of the correct info. Thank you in advance.

Walt,
I've hiked it 5 times now. The first time I went was with a guy that had hiked it before, He called Mr. Diamond and got permission before we went. Where you park your car is important.
I got Mr. Diamonds phone number from my friend and called him each time before I went. Each time he asked if I knew the combo and exactly where to park and thanked me for calling.
I always called first because, well I'd hate to open that gate w/o permission and what if he changed that combo! And he might say NO! who knows? It's his property!

As far as posting the combo (which could have been changed) and his phone number, I'm not sure Mr. Diamond want's that info on the internet. And I sure ain't gonna post a phone number here! Right Perry?
But I will pm you his number and what the combo was, You can call him and ask him all that stuff.