Location: Ventura County, about 11 miles about south-southwest of Gorman, 83 miles from Los Angeles

Maps

Auto Club: Ventura County

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

USGS Topo: Alamo Mountain 7½, Black Mountain 7½

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

Nearby Peaks: Alamo Mountain, McDonald Peak, Sewart Mountain, Black Mountain #2, Cobblestone Mountain, White Mountain #2

Distance: 6 miles round trip on road and brushy use trail

Gain: 2100' total, 1100' out plus 1000' on return

Time: 3-5 hours round trip

Rating: Class 1, moderate

Navigation: Moderate

Original: Warren E. von Pertz

DRIVING ROUTE 1

• Go north on I-5 to the town of Gorman. Get off on the signed Gorman exit.
• Turn left at the bottom of the off-ramp and go under the freeway.
• Go 0.1 mile to Peace Valley Road. Turn right.
• Go 1 mile to the entrance to Hungry Valley Recreation Area on your left (paved). Turn left. Note your odometer and go as follows:
• At 0.2 miles, entrance station. If manned, you can avoid payment of the fee by telling the State Park employee that you are passing through to Alamo Mountain.
• At 5.2 miles, intersection. Turn right (west) toward "Piru Creek", signed.
• At 11.2 miles, improved car camping area on right, with toilets. Often used as a meeting point.
• At 11.4 miles, Piru Creek crossing. There is a seasonal gate just before this stream crossing.
• At 13.4 miles, the pavement ends.
• At 17.8 miles, fork to the left. Keep right.
• At 17.9 miles, junction with the Alamo Mountain Road. Turn left. (To the right leads to Twin Pines Campground and Alamo Mountain Route 2.) Note your odometer again and go as follows:
• At 3.3 miles, fork immediately beyond a small road cut through the ridge. (To the right leads to Alamo Mtn Route 1.) Turn left.
• At 4.0 miles, the road continues east at the Little Mutau trailhead. Past this point the road can sometimes be poor but is usually passable.
• At 6.3 miles, the parking spot for McDonald Peak.
• At 7.2 miles, a dirt berm, a sign indicating no further motor vehicle traffic, and a large parking area, suitable for car camping. Park here.

HIKING ROUTE 1

• From the parking area (6500'), pass the gate and hike east on the old road for 1 mile to the obvious high point of the road. This is the summit area of Sewart Mountain.
• Continue downhill on the old road for about 0.5 mile to a fork with an obscure road on the right, signed "Sespe Wilderness". This is the turnoff for Cobblestone Mountain and White Mountain #2.
• Keeping left, continue another 0.5 mile down the old road until just east of the saddle between Sewart Mountain and Snowy Peak, finding an obvious short side trail trending straight but on the left.
• Climb this steep trail, which meets the ridgeline and picks up an obvious brushed-out trail that follows the ridgeline northeast to the summit.