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Mar 28, 2021 — The roads leading out to East Ord Mountain are great until the end. I would recommend anyone just hike through the desert, starting here (34.62163, -116.73378). Low-clearance will need to start here since the standard approach road is poor, and higher-clearance will need to go pretty slowly. I did do the road and my hike stats/map reflect this. To reach the trailhead, leave Camp Rock Road here (34.60628, -116.74767) and then turn right here (34.61838, -116.75189). Some vehicles could drive farther up the mining road, but the hike was already too short for this much driving effort and turn-around spots farther up were more difficult to come by.
After hiking up the road for a quarter mile, I dropped down to the right into the major drainage since the road started heading the wrong direction. I heard complains of the standard route (marked in green) just being a loose and unpleasant gully, so I wanted to try another option, taking the drainage to the west of the standard route. I thought it was quite nice, Class 2 boulders and easy dryfalls bringing me up the west slope of East Ord Mountain. Farther up the drainage I could keep to the left bank and avoid unnecessary boulder-hopping. A Class 2 slope led east, where I got a glimpse of the summit block. I continued to the base of the boulder-strewn summit and kept left around the cliff band that guarded the summit. Some fun, but short-lived Class 2 led to the summit block.
Rather than return the way I came, I decided to descend East Ord Mountain's southeast ridgeline on what appears to be another standard approach option. The route began really pleasant, some light Class 2 mixed in with the moderate descent grade. There were a couple of outcrops that had cairns marking the most efficient way around them, and the views were nicer than the gully approach, obviously. I could see my car below, but the ridgeline leading down to it seemed to be getting more rocky. Instead, I dropped to the right off the ridge and descended a loose, awful slope. If not for this, I'd highly recommend taking the ridge as an out-and-back, but this kind of ruined the otherwise pleasant route. I continued down the drainage, climed out of it, and merged with the approach mining road.
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