A new approach to Onion Rock

[zippetydude]

Okay, this is going pretty well. I scouted the straight line approach today. If you look on the ACME Mapper route HJ suggested as "Route 2 -- Northern Approach from Haugen-Lehmann"

http://mapper.acme.com/?ll=33.89535,-11 ... %2Cunnamed

and picture going straight up from the Tank, that's what I did. (On the linked map, look on the left side under the first number 23. You'll see the word "Tank". Pull the map over to center that, then zoom it one more level. The letter Q should be at the bottom of your screen. That's the target.) Anyway, I went up a little over 1600' to the base of the real steep part. It appeared totally doable (I'm still not sure if that's a word) but would require a time commitment as it would entail scrambling over rocks for 1/4 to 1/2 mile.

Did not look hard at all standing right at the foot of it. No cliffs, no expanses of granite or exposure. It would take a while to get back down, but not for safety reasons. From there, unless there is an unburned section, it will be simply grinding on up the slope. BTW, the lower slopes had previously been covered with Cat Claw, which even in its post-apocalyptic burned out state is still highly ummm, shall we say willing to connect. You can imagine what an attempt without kevlar would have meant before the fire.

Anyway, I did about 30% of the full route, and the only slightly unpleasant part was coming back down. If I can make it through, it'll be one of those trips you only do a couple of times due to the long downhill return. Then I'll start looking at finding a way through the bush coming down from the top.

When all is said and done, it affords magnificent views of San G, of the pass down below, and of the boulder fields on the slopes. They look distinctly like glacial moraines, but I'm not aware of any glaciers that continued down to such low elevation. If anyone knows more on the geology of the area, please post!

I'll snap some pics next time up and post a more proper TR.

z

[Hikin_Jim]

A very interesting route, Zip. Looks pretty steep when I plot it out on a map. I think you're talking about the route I sketched out in red, yes?

I also put in a variation in blue and an alternate route that looks slightly easier in terms of steepness in green.

I put the route from Hurley Flat in yellow. It's so much shorter than the other routes. Sucks that Hurley seems off limits.

Lastly, I put in a route from the PCT in gold.

HJ

[neverwashasbeen]

Zip, I'd heard that Jenson drainage had significant Poison Oak prior to the fire, did you notice any on your trip?

[zippetydude]

HJ: Yes, the red is exactly the route. From my scouting, it looks like some of the area to the west did not burn in the fire, so I'll probably need to swing east as I get to the ridge to be able to hit the top.

neverwashasbeen: No significant brush at all survived the fire anywhere that I could see. Poison oak, being a vine, has a way of showing back up the next spring, so I'm hoping to establish a route before it has a chance to grow in again. The whole area is, for now, remarkably open and easy to navigate. Once I've found a way up the very steep section, the rest seems like it will be fairly straightforward. But we'll see about that...

A very strange aspect to the route: From the highest point I went on Sunday, (a little over 1600' higher than the starting point) I could see Onion Rock. Oddly, the Onion looked much smaller than it did from the bottom. This may be something of a twilight zone kind of adventure.

z

[Hikin_Jim]

Further east? Eww. That's some ugly steep terrain. I drew in another route (in black, which is probably appropriate).

HJ

[Ulysses]

Not to hijack this thread, but looking at this topo brings to mind a question I've meant to post here in the past. Does anybody know anything about the trail that starts on Black Mountain Rd just north of Boulder Basin CG and heads north to "Brown Spring"?

[zippetydude]

Uh, I don't, but just shootin' from the hip, I don't know if going to "Brown Spring" would be a destination of my own choosing. Do you know something about the place?

z

[Hikin_Jim]

Do you know something about the place?

It's just down stream from the sewage treatment plant...

HJ

[cynthia23]

LOL Zip and HJ!

"Brown Springs" may be near to "Yellow Waters".

[Ulysses]

Hargh hargh hargh. Bunch of comedians eh? Actually, looking closer I probably read the map wrong and it's a spring along "Brown Creek". I don't know anything about the place other than the start of the trail appears to be in an area that I recall being somewhat scenic. Lot's of tall ponderosa. I've never heard mention of this trail by anyone or any guide books. No mention (that I'm aware of) on any of the Forest Service lists of trails. Of course I'd never heard of Onion Rock until I first read this thread. I think I would be cautious of pot growers if I were exploring the routes you suggest to Onion Rock in a different season.