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Location: Kern County, about 12 miles west-northwest of Frazier Park, 80 miles from Los Angeles

Maps

Auto Club: Kern County

Forest Service: Los Padres National Forest: Mt Pinos, Ojai and Santa Barbara Ranger Districts

USGS Topo:

Route 1 - Eagle Rest Peak 7½, Sawmill Mountain 7½

Route 2 - Eagle Rest Peak 7½, Cuddy Valley 7½, Pleito Hills 7½

Route 3 - Eagle Rest Peak 7½

HPS: Route(s), waypoints and explanation of usage

Nearby Peaks: Antimony Peak

Distance: 11 miles round trip on a poor road and cross-country

Gain: 3700' total, 2300' out plus 1400' on return

Time: 8 hours round trip

Rating: Class 2, strenuous, summit block is easy class 3

Navigation: Difficult

Leader Rating: "I", normal conditions

Original: John Backus, July 1982

DRIVING ROUTE 1

• Go north on I-5 to the Frazier Park exit. Exit the freeway and turn left onto Frazier Mountain Park Road.
• Go west 12.2 miles to the junction with Mil Potrero Road. (The road changes name to Cuddy Valley Road at 7 miles.) Turn right (left goes to Mt. Pinos).
• Go west 4.5 miles to Nesthorn Way on the right (north). Turn right.
• Drive about 500' to the end of the paved cul-de-sac on Nesthorn Way.
• Exit the cul-de-sac on the right side on a dirt road (unnamed) and continue about 500' to a locked gate on the dirt road. Park here (4850'). Do not park on Nesthorn Way and do not block the locked gate. Permission is not required to hike down the road beyond the locked gate at this time.

HIKING ROUTE 1

• From the parking area, hike down the road about 1.4 miles along the west fork of San Emigdio Creek, passing a sign "Wind Wolves Preserve", to the junction with the east fork of San Emigdio Creek. The final portion of this road is washed out and should be bypassed on the left (northwest) slopes of the creek.
• Turn left (north) down the main canyon of San Emigdio Creek and continue to follow the road, where possible, down canyon to a gate with a sign "Private Property - KCL Co".
• Pass the gate and follow the faint roadbed northerly down San Emigdio Creek. The roadbed is much overgrown and is washed out in many places. Where it disappears, stay on the right side of the streambed. Continue down the road for about 2.3 miles to where the canyon widens out into a sagebrush-dotted meadow (3520'+). Across this meadow a grassy ridge comes down from the northeast with a faint use trail going up it.
• Follow the faint use trail up the ridge, eventually passing through a Pinyon pine grove (5500') and then ascend the steep grassy slope north toward the sandstone cliffs. An occasionally ducked route leads up through the cliffs just above the trees.
• The summit is reached immediately after ascending a ramp that passes the final large buttress on its right side.

Distance: 11 miles round trip on old road and cross-country through heavy brush

Gain: 5300' total, 2400' out plus 2900' on return (includes gain and loss over Antimony Peak)

Time: 8 hours round trip

Rating: Class 2, very strenuous, summit block is easy class 3

Navigation: Difficult

Leader Rating: "I", normal conditions

Original: John Backus, July 1982

DRIVING ROUTE 2

• See the Antimony Peak guide.

HIKING ROUTE 2

• From the summit of Antimony Peak, follow the north-northwest ridge keeping to the right of the small bump just west of the summit of Antimony. The route from this point onward can be extremely brushy.
• Follow the ridge down to saddle 5520'+, then over major bump 6000'+, down to another saddle 5037' and then north up the ridge to about 5400'.
• From here go west to pick up Route 1 at about 5600', which proceeds as follows:
• An occasionally ducked route leads up through the cliffs. The summit is reached immediately after ascending a ramp that passes the final large buttress on its right side.

ALTERNATE ROUTE

Eagle Rest Peak and Antimony Peak can be combined into one hike by combining Route 1 for Antimony Peak with Route 1 and 2 for Eagle Rest Peak. The hike would go out to Antimony Peak via Antimony Route 1, continue to Eagle Rest Peak via Eagle Rest Route 2 and return to the vehicles via Eagle Rest Route 1. This will involve a car shuttle on 6 miles paved road and on 4.5 miles dirt road between the trailheads.

Distance: 9 miles round trip from final locked gate

Gain: 3300'

Time: 7 hours round trip

Rating: Class 2, moderate, summit block is easy class 3

Navigation: Moderate

Leader Rating: "I", normal conditions

Access: Groups should contact the Outings Chair to arrange permission and to receive the lock combination.

Original: George Wysup, March 2000

DRIVING ROUTE 3

• From the SR 166 exit on I-5 north of the Grapevine, turn left (west) toward Maricopa.
• At 7.2 miles, dirt road left (south) marked with a rustic sign "Wind Wolves". Turn left.
• You will shortly reach a gate with a combination lock. If you have received permission, open the combination lock and continue to the Preserve headquarters and sign in, 4.6 miles from SR 166.
• From the headquarters, take the road to the east about 0.3 mile, reaching a closed gate. Please open it before driving through, and then close it behind you.
• Turn right and drive for about a mile to the first stream crossing (concrete bottom).
• Drive about another 5 miles, passing another gate en route to a second stream crossing. Here, high clearance vehicles may be needed to ford the stream (ask the Preserve staff about the stream level).
• Go about 0.2 mile and turn right at the first opportunity, following San Emigdio Creek, to a third (locked) gate. You may have procured a key to this gate at the headquarters office. If not, park here. The hiking description begins from this point. If you have the key to the gate, you may continue driving as far as you reasonably can (about 0.8 mile) and park.

HIKING ROUTE 3

• From the final locked gate (2520'), hike south up the dirt road about 0.7 mile along San Emigdio Creek to a road junction. Take the left fork.
• At the end of the road, find and follow a prominent cattle trail. After about a mile, this trail goes through (under) some willows. Soon thereafter the trail crosses to the west side of the creek.
• Follow it about another mile, passing up an opportunity to climb a rocky ridge to the left (east) and passing up another opportunity to ascend a gentler ridge to the left.
• Go past an eroded cliff on the east bank and cross San Emigdio Creek.
• Ascend a moderately steep, grassy slope, starting at about 3400'. This route joins the ridge ascended in the Route 1 at 4700'. The terrain is quite open for the first 1/2 mile before the narrow, rocky, scrub oak-studded ridge is reached.
• Follow the faint use trail up the ridge, eventually passing through a Pinyon pine grove (5500') and then ascend the steep grassy slope north toward the sandstone cliffs. An occasionally ducked route leads up through the cliffs just above the trees. The summit is reached immediately after ascending a ramp that passes the final large buttress on its right side.

NOTES

HPS hike leaders must contact the HPS Outings Chair to arrange for permission to cross the Preserve and for driving instructions to the Preserve headquarters.

Spring can be the best time to visit the Preserve because the hills are verdant after the winter rains. In some years wildflowers will be in abundance. Temperatures along the creek (the trailhead is at about 2600') are usually moderate at this time of year.

The Wildlands Conservancy created the Wind Wolves Preserve in 1996 as the result of the purchase of over 87,000 acres. The Preserve extends from the northern reaches of the San Emigdio Range through the foothills into the San Joaquin Valley floor. The Preserve has an impressive array of habitats and a unique assemblage of plant and animal species. The Preserve is introducing Tule elk to replace cattle. The Preserve is a popular destination for school field trips with naturalist talks.

Wind Wolf is the name for the rolling waves in tall grass resulting from the wind.

History of Summit Signature

Climbing Archives

Please report any corrections or changes to the Mountain Records Chair.