Hike Hines Peak Los Padres National Forest, CA

May 03, 2024 — Hines Peak is the high point of the Topatopa Mountains, a volcanic summit that towers over Ojai, CA and the Pacific Ocean. An obstacle we've come to learn about the Los Padres National Forest is that despite hours of planning the year prior, everything about the landscape will change. Roads get washed out, forest fires force closures, reports emerge of the dreaded Poodle Dog Bush sprouting up, trails become overgrown, and with the variability in altitudes certain areas can get very hot while others still have snow. So no matter how much research we thought we'd compiled, our many potential peak options for today were no longer viable. Chris had hiked Hines Peak a year ago, so Tyler and I repeatedly reassured him that "we're definitely not doing Hines Peak. Definitely not. We wouldn't ask you to do it again. That would be ridiculous." And yet here we were doing Hines Peak. What a trooper. Fortunately today we also included the various minor summits near Hines Peak, so Chris at least had some new dots to check off. "Yay, more dopamines!" he exclaimed, his nickname for peaks, which captures the essence of the insatiable dopamine hit peakbaggers get upon reaching a summit of any stature.

When open, the option to drive along Nordhoff Ridge Road to the base of Hines Peak would reduce the amount of effort required for this hike significantly, but Sisar Canyon Road and the Red Reef Trail are very pretty and absolutely worth doing. The trailhead for Hines Peak is just a series of small pull-outs in a neighborhood, where signage warns not to park anywhere else, so arrive early in case these small pull-outs fill up.

We started up on the initially paved Sisar Canyon Road, which quickly turned to packed dirt and is closed to vehicles. As far as road walks go this one is quite nice. It crosses Sisar Creek a few of times, but boulders aided in keeping our feet dry. We ascended the switchbacks along Sisar Canyon Road, well below Topatopa Bluff, a beautiful cliff feature visible above that would serve as our first summit of the day. At a hairpin turn, we reached the junction with the Red Reef Trail and continued north away from the road along this. The trail initially kept high above Sisar Creek and offers great views of the hills surrounding us. Hines Peak wasn't visible yet, but Topatopa Bluff sure was.

We briefly crossed Sisar Creek at the White Ledge Campground, which was ridiculously helpful for our moods on the way back later when we all had run out of water and could drink from the flowing creek. The trail continued ascending to the ridgeline through chaparral, where we joined Nordhoff Ridge Road and headed east. Sticking to the road only a short time, we started up the steep western slope of Topatopa Bluff. The road is closed to motor vehicles shortly after where we left it. I believe a trail has been recently carved up Topatopa Bluff's ridge since previous reports describe this as a steep ascent, but switchbacks now bypass the visibly eroded direct route people were using in the past.

After enjoying the views of the marine layer below and the ridgeline toward Nordhoff Peak from Topatopa Bluff, we continued onward to Peak 6440. A lovely ridge walk on a good trail led to a very short bushwhack to gain this summit. We continued along the ridge to get back onto the trail after this short detour, then descended to the primary ridgeline. Here we picked up the section of Nordhoff Ridge Road closed to vehicles, our hiking highway for accessing the various peaks surrounding us.

We bypassed Cream Puff Peak for now, knowing we would get to it later, our eyes set on Hines Peak just ahead. The road/trail gained and lost some elevation before dumping us at the base of Hines Peak. A short eroded section of Class 2 along the crest that some have claimed is a "knife edge" was a fun feature that added some light spice to this otherwise tame trail hike until now. Past this crux, the slope steepened significantly and became covered in dirt and scree, though a social trail did weave up and around some rockiness and helped to keep the "two steps up, one step back" to a minimum. There was a bit of Class 2 higher up due to a rock outcropping that the route wrapped around, though this is a bit dangerous due to all the erosion and loose rock. We reached the false summit and continued to the high point from there.

Just north of Hines Peak is the unnamed Peak 6403. We had vacillated about including it, but finally decided it would require minimal effort to add to the itinerary. Though this peak does not have a trail, it's pretty easy to avoid any brush, and there is some Class 2 shortly before the summit. The views north into the Sespe Wilderness are really great, but the summit itself isn't memorable.

We continued along the ridgeline, prodding at weaknesses in the brush until we found clearings that allowed us to drop back to the old road/trail below, then started up to Cream Puff Peak, our final summit for today. This was a much steeper endeavor than Hines Peak and did not have enough of a social trail to make the ascent easier. Without hiking poles, I found clawing my way up at certain points better than letting my feet sink into the scree. There's some Class 2/3 to gain the summit, but you can wrap around to avoid it. The views were excellent, though they're comparable to Hines Peak.

On our way back, we bypassed the Topatopa Bluff ridgeline by continuing along Nordhoff Ridge Road, passing the gate that blocks motor vehicles.