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| Orocopia Mountains HP, CA | |
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| | Orocopia Mountains HP, CA | | | |
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Orocopia Mountains HP, CA
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| Hiking | 5.47 Miles |
1,620 AEG |
| | Hiking | 5.47 Miles | 3 Hrs 22 Mns | | 1.99 mph |
| 1,620 ft AEG | 37 Mns Break | | | |
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none
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| no partners | | I had done some strenuous hiking the prior 2 days in California -- a total of around 32 miles with 7,500 feet of elevation gain -- so I was looking for a relatively easy hike to do on my way back to the VOS, and this one seemed to fit the bill.
The Orocopia Mountains are in Riverside County, NE of the Salton Sea and south of Joshua Tree National Park. The unnamed highpoint of the range, which is within the Orocopia Mountains Wilderness, has an elevation of 3,815 feet and prominence of 2,095 feet. The hike to the highpoint is on the Sierra Club Desert Peaks Section (DPS) peak list. This is probably one of the less difficult DPS peaks to hike.
I drove in to the wilderness boundary and parked. There was one hill to climb about 0.4 miles from the wilderness boundary that you'd want a high clearance 4WD vehicle to navigate. Other than that, I think that an AWD SUV could make the drive.
About 2.5 miles of this hike was on a dirt road, with the remaining 3 miles on a mostly easy to follow use trail.
It was a cloudy, windy day for the hike. There is no escaping the sun on this hike, so I was glad to have the cloud cover.
The use trail mostly followed a ridgeline which had some ups and downs, thus adding a bit of elevation gain to the hike.
It was straightforward getting to the summit, and I hung out there for a bit to enjoy the views. The summit looks right down on the Salton Sea, which is over 4,000 of vertical distance below the summit. The Salton Sea is around 230 feet BELOW sea level, and is twice as salty as the ocean.
This area sits right on top of the San Andreas fault, and I am happy to report that there was no earthquake today!
This was an enjoyable hike and I was glad that I took the time to do it! |
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| May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. -- Edward Abbey |
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