Mt. San Jacinto Outdoor Recreation

What are the best directions to Telescope Peak from LA? Should I stay on the 14 all the way to Ridgecrest or take the Randsburg Redrock Road to Trona Road? Any other travel tips to know about?

How bad is the road from the Charcoal Kilns to Mahogany Flats campground? I've heard stories from bad to really bad. Would a little station wagon make it if I crept along slowly?

Thanks.

James

You can also approach from the East of the I-15 through the town of Baker off Kelbaker Road exit. Mapquest yourself to the town of Shoshone then get to the town of Wildrose by turning west (left) on SR178 at the SR127/178 junction. From Wildrose you should be able to follow signs to Mahogany Flats campground. An alternative that's not necessarily better or shorter. This alternative is better if you do Telescope from Badwater.

Get a full tank of gas and a gyro in Baker. It gets lonely as you travel into Death Valley.

High clearance is reccomended for that road but 4x4 is not required.

Uh, I wouldn't go to Baker. That's the REALLY long way!

Since you don't state whether you'll be traveling from I-14 or I-15:

Get to Ridgecrest; nice rest stop, you can fill up with gas, grab something to eat. Drive out on Hwy 168 through Trona and up towards Emigrant Pass/Widldrose Canyon.

The road above the charcol kilns can vary from year to year. I've driven up it in an old Toyota Corolla, also seen it impassable with a 4WD. Drove it in early May and it was OK for regular cars. I don't know if the recent thunderstorms that ravaged the southern Sierra Nevada Mtns got this far east, so you'll have to see if someone else posts any more recent conditions.

If coming in at night, I'd recommend sleeping at the lower campground (near the Wildrose Canyon turn-off) then navigating the road the next morning - its a short 30 minute drive up, and much safer that way.

Always great views from the top!

As has been said before, the road can be variable. One t-storm or an inexperienced 4x4 driver who churns their way up the hill to make it a difficult drive. Usually the road is pretty good at least until Thorndike Campgrounds, which is about .5mi. past the Kilns, and you can park there. Mahagony Flats is about 1.5mi. beyond that, and 1000' elevation gain if the road is impassable for your vehicle.

Thanks for the tips! I should have said I am coming up the 14 (through Palmdale) so it looks like the 14 to Ridgecrest is the best way to go.

I've driven through the valley from Baker in winter and that was a fun little trip. Badwater to Telescope would be a great hike too (especially after C2C this year). However, maybe in winter.

i recall backpacking to Hanaupauh canyon and its springs, ignorant of extreme hikers ascending telescope. We woke in the middle of the night to a gaggle of hikers...scared the pants off us...the eastern side is very cool; wish id' thought about ascending (when i was only 20 yrs old!)

Thanks to all for the great tips, the drive was great and all roads in great shape. That is until Wildrose road, which is a mess. Large potholes, puddles and generally torn up from last week's thunderstorms. Had to drive slow and careful through stretches. The pavement to the kilns is in great shape but the last two miles of dirt road to the kilns was rugged, large rocks and torn up. At the kilns, I took a look at the road up to Mahogany Flats and decided against it. I parked at the kilns and was glad I did, very muddy, steep, rocky on the way up. Closer to the campground was ok but down lower would have been trouble.

Great hike, great views, cool breezes despite 117 at Badwater. Sparse vegetation with wildflowers, bristlecone pines and deer (did not see any bighorns though). Highly recommend it, not many places where you can look down below sea level. Also recommend a truck for the road up to Mahogany campground. The hike up and down the road was the least fun part of the trip. However, hiking it was better than getting stuck on that road with a ruptured oil pan!