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| Hiking | 6.88 Miles |
1,418 AEG |
| | Hiking | 6.88 Miles | 3 Hrs 27 Mns | | 2.40 mph |
| 1,418 ft AEG | 35 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | This was a hike to the summit of Toro Peak (elevation of 8,716 feet and prominence of 3,996 feet), which is in the highest peak in the Santa Rosa Mountains. Most of the mountain is in the San Bernardino National Forest, although the summit area is part of the Santa Rosa Indian Reservation. The Tribe operates a telecommunications relay station at the summit.
There is a road that goes from highway 74 all the way to the summit. You can take the road about 12.5 miles from Highway 74 and park at a scenic vista about 1/2 mile below the summit. The vista has great views of the Salton Sea.
I wanted to do a longer hike so I parked about 9.5 miles from Highway 74 alongside the road, near a road that leads up to the summit of Santa Rosa Mountain.
I just walked on the road all the way to the summit. Along the way I stopped off at the Santa Rosa Wilderness high point, which is atop a jumble of boulders about 250 feet off of the road. Just past the scenic vista is a closed gate which I sent past. The road gets quite a bit steeper past the gate, but it is still easy enough to hike. I got to the summit and took a long lunch break there to enjoy the nice views. I located a reference mark but the benchmark is apparently not there.
I returned the way that I came.
I had read trip reports from 15-20 years ago stating that there was negative signage below the summit that prohibited access to non-Tribal members. However, I saw no such signage, and didn't even seeing any signs saying that I was on a reservation. Apparently access is no longer an issue.
The road was a bit rough and it took me over an hour to drive the 9.5 miles from pavement to where I parked. I was glad to have a high clearance 4WD vehicle, but perhaps a determined subi driver could make it.
Synopsis
This was an enjoyable hike and I was glad that I decided to make a hike out of it instead of driving to near the top. I think that there would typically be snow up there this time of year, but not this year. The weather was near perfect -- calm winds with a temperature of 38 at the start and 47 when I finished. It was sunny in the morning but it clouded up in the afternoon. |
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| Civilization is a nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there |
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