Five Summits in Under Five Miles
I am a self diagnosed peak bagger. I'm sick, but I don't want a cure. I crave being at the top of a mountain and knowing I made it there on my own two feet (and sometimes all fours). The sense of accomplishment is the reason I started loving hiking. Personally, I find a lot of my life is not in my control (auditions, interviews, capitalism). So I climb mountains and the only person that can stop me is me. Summit hikes are often long and arduous, but I found some that don't have to be an all day affair. Here are five summit hikes in under five miles. You'll be on top of the world and back down in time for lunch, which for me is always a cheeseburger and fries from Burgers Never Say Die. I know this blog is about hiking, but maybe it should also be about burgers.
2.8 miles 1,030 ft elevation gain Out and Back
I love this little hike. The views start immediately but the vistas from the top are worth the effort. You even get to pass through an old tunnel from the 40's called "Mueller Tunnel". The first half mile is pretty easy and you'll get to a clearing where you can take about 4 different trails. If you wanted to turn it into an all day adventure you could bag five peaks in one day (Mt. Lowe, Mt. Markham, Mt. Deception, Mt. Disappointment, and San Gabriel Peak). But as far as short quick hikes that will get you up and down without any extra fluff, this peak reigns supreme. It's the only trail that turns to the right at the clearing. There's parking right at the trailhead. It's extremely easy to follow until right at the end: make sure you don't head toward the old missile site with satellite towers (Mt. Disappointment). But you honestly won't add much to your hike if you did. You're working the whole time but you're done before you know it! I brought a pup when I hiked it the first time and she did it no problem.
4.5 miles 1476 ft elevation gain Out and Back
I really enjoyed this hike. Not hard at all until you get to the last quarter mile and then it goes straight up. I was very happy to have had my poles. I don't think they are completely necessary, but I wouldn't have wanted to do it without them. Very steep slope and loose rock must keep most people from finishing this trail, because I was the only person at the summit (despite there being quite a few people on the trail leading up to the final push.) The summit is an incredible place to sit and have a picnic. It's very large and flat and was full of wildflowers and butterflies when I was there in May. It was honestly easier coming down then it was going up, but that all might have been mental. It's also very very close to LA. Only like 25 minutes from Silverlake.
3. Saddle Peak
3.4 miles 892 ft elevation gain Out and Back
I did this hike with some girlfriends and what a pleasant day. You can park right across the street from the trailhead. It's a very quick hike with a lovely payoff with views of the ocean at the end. About halfway in, there's an area where people rock climb, so that's always fun to see. There's a point where you turn left to get up to the peak, but we ended up spending most of our time on this rock outcropping overlooking the water and the mansions of Malibu (you'll see it straight ahead before you turn up the peak).
4. Mesa Peak
4.8 miles 1430 ft elevation gain Out and Back
I am remembering how much I loved this hike as I am writing this. I hiked it in March which is just the best month to hike in SoCal on the smaller mountains. It was SOOO green and beautiful. I saw incredible giant birds (maybe California condors but I only just recently bought a bird watching book so honestly who knows). You get views of the ocean and you can keep going and exploring to your heart's content. I reached the end of the trail and didn't want to stop (so I didn't). It's a nice wide fire road for a big portion of it, but you are definitely getting some incline in. The only downside is that you do have to pay for parking (I think it's $8). Otherwise do this little booty buster and then take that booty straight to the beach for a cool down afterwards. Wonderful wonderful hike on the westside.
5. Throop Peak
3.9 miles 1,213 ft elevation gain, Out and Back.
You'll have to drive a ways into the high country for this bad boy. But on a hot day, it's a great way to beat the heat. The higher you are, the lower the temps. I actually continued on after Throop to do 2 more peaks (Mt Burnham and Baden-Powell). But if you just do Throop it's a super straightforward and short summit. You do start at a pretty high elevation so you'll probably be breathing harder than you normally would on this short of a hike. This hike just starts going up up up at first and then it levels off and then up up up to the summit. Super doable, you just may move a little slower at over 9,000 ft.
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