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| | | Santiago Peak - Orange County HP, CA | | | |
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Santiago Peak - Orange County HP, CA
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| Hiking | 9.63 Miles |
2,056 AEG |
| | Hiking | 9.63 Miles | 3 Hrs 57 Mns | | 2.71 mph |
| 2,056 ft AEG | 24 Mns Break | | | |
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none
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| no partners | | This hike went to the summit of Santiago Peak (elevation of 5,687 feet and prominence of 4,387 feet), the highpoint of Orange County. Along the way I also went to the summit of Modjeska Peak (elevation of 5,496 feet and prominence of 536 feet).
There are numerous roads and trails that lead to the summit of Santiago Peak. As I would found out, the area is much more popular with mountain bikers, motorcycle riders, and 4WD enthusiasts than it is for hikers.
I parked and started hiking at a large parking area located near the intersection of Maple Springs Road and North Main Divide Road, known locally as "Four Corners". The last 7 miles of the drive were on a narrow dirt road. I didn't think that 4WD was necessarily needed for the most part, but I had mine engaged anyway. There were a few places where high clearance was needed though. There were lots of blind curves that slowed me down quite a bit, but I made it to the parking area.
I got there early, and thankfully there weren't many people there when I started. I walked on the road for close to 2 miles, then took a lesser road up to Modjeska Peak. Then I took a use trail most of the way up to Santiago Peak. By the time that I got up to Santiago Peak there were quite a few mountain bikes, motorcycles, and trucks out on the roads. I saw one hiker on Modjeska Peak, and then I passed a group of 4 hikers on my way up the use trail to Santiago Peak. Those were the only hikers that I saw.
On the way back I had to hike 2-3 miles on the road, and there were bikes and vehicles everywhere. A couple of times mountain bikers were flying downhill from behind me, and never said a word as they whizzed by. Most of the time I had to step off the road and let trucks and motorcycles by. The road walk back was not very enjoyable, to say the least.
The area was pretty, but all of the road traffic wasn't the best environment for hiking. I was there on a Saturday, so odds are going during the week would be much better.
Synopsis
I don't think that I will be hiking in Orange County again anytime soon. |
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| Civilization is a nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there |
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