Hike 1: PACIFIC CREST TRAIL TO SAN ANDREAS RIFT VIEWPOINT

HIKE LENGTH 6.5 miles out-and-back; 1,000' elevation gain

DIFFICULTY Moderate

SEASON October–May

TOPO MAP Cajon (7.5-minute)

FEATURES The San Andreas Fault, perhaps the most famous fault in the world, has carved a badland beneath the Cajon Pass between the San Bernardino and San Gabriel Mountains. This hike climbs the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) from Interstate 15 to the ridgeline. It offers terrific views, both of the natural features that the fault has carved and of the complex lifelines that man has built through this gap between the mountain ranges.

DESCRIPTION

From Interstate 15, turn east onto Highway 138. Immediately turn right onto the Wagon Train frontage road and follow it 0.3 mile south past gas and fast food to the Pacific Crest Trail Trailhead at the end (GPS N34° 18.362' W117° 27.969')

Follow the trail northeast up a shallow canyon. In 0.7 mile, cross a gas pipeline road. Just beyond, cross seasonal Crowder Creek beneath some cottonwoods. The PCT now begins a long climb up the ridge to the east.

In another 0.2 mile, pass under the first of three sets of high-voltage transmission lines that run along this side of the freeway. The trail now loosely follows and occasionally crosses Forest Road 3N44, which services these power lines. Soon pass the second set of transmission lines.

Views expand as you continue up the ridge. Whipple yuccas dot the slopes and put up an impressive show of blossoms in late spring after a good winter’s rain. At the top, reach a breathtaking view atop heavily eroded cliffs (GPS N34° 19.029' W117° 26.198').

From here, you can take in the handiwork of nature and man. The San Gabriel Mountains, pushed up as the Pacific and North American Plates crash together and buckle, represent one of the fastest-growing (and fastest-eroding) mountain ranges in the world. Mount Baldy is the highest point, surrounded by a host of subsidiary summits. The jagged sandstone slabs in the San Andreas Rift Zone are called the Mormon Rocks to commemorate these early American settlers who crossed this pass in 1851 en route from Salt Lake City to San Bernardino.

Through this landscape run dozens of lifelines connecting people, goods, energy, and data between the Los Angeles Basin and the desert. Native Americans have used this trade route for untold centuries. Spanish officer Pedro Fages crossed the Cajon in 1772 on a lengthy exploration while looking for deserters. Jedediah Smith was the first American explorer to cross the pass in 1826. Route 66 through the pass began as a wagon toll road in 1861, and the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad laid tracks through the pass in the 1880s. Today, Interstate 15 and the BNSF and Union Pacific tracks wind their way down the pass, and 500-kV transmission lines carry power from the Hoover Dam. Hidden beneath the surface, two 36-inch high-pressure natural-gas pipelines and two smaller petroleum pipelines carry fuel to Las Vegas and the desert military bases. Five fiber-optic conduits carry data to and from the basin.

It is possible to continue up another 0.4 mile to the third set of transmission lines beneath Forest Road 3N22 on the ridgeline. However, this road attracts a contingent of folks fooling around with guns, and is neither particularly scenic nor safe.