Hike Horn Peak and Turtle Mountains High Point Turtle Mountains Wilderness Area BLM, CA

Jan 28, 2022 — The Turtle Mountains are home to some incredibly cool volcanic peaks, but these are all in the northern end of the range. This route is intended to reach the large lump that comprises the Turtle Mountains' high point. The hike is pleasant overall, but requires a long drive and a fair amount of walking through a wash and on a dirt road. I included Horn Peak, another high point to the south of Turtle Mountains High Point. This addition was definitely worthwhile and I got a nice sense of this part of the range. I returned from the high point via the standard route most use to acess the peak.

To reach the trailhead, navigate here (34.11963, -114.68369) and pass over the aqueduct. Just past it take a left, heading west. Don't follow the road that parallels the aqueduct. The road bends here (34.12096, -114.71329) and continues northwest along Horn Spring Road. The road continues to here (34.18861, -114.75138), where it seems to end completely at a wilderness boundary. However, the road makes a hairpin turn and bends back leading southeast where it then crosses a wash, the worst part of the drive. There were a couple of signs that label this road as Castle Rock Road. The road will then turn north around here (34.18744, -114.74678) and continue to the wilderness boundary. I think a Crossover vehicle could likely make it the whole way.

The road continues from the wilderness boundary, but is only accessible on foot. A half mile or so along this road, I noted a large wash draining east from Horn Peak. I left the road and headed through the desert to reach the mouth of this wash. I followed the wash for a while and when the wash narrowed and became a bit boulder-hoppy, I popped out and continued on higher, more tame terrain. I then dropped into a side-drainage while heading northwest. Note on my attached map due to an imagery error it may not appear that I'm within the drainage, so I marked this spot for clarity. This drainage bends west and continues through a short narrow section with some Class 2+ scrambling. From here the most reasonable-looking ascent option up Horn Peak appeared to be via its southeastern ridge. I came out of the drainage and ascended the progressively steepening slope. The ridgeline became rocky and had a few outcrops that needed avoiding. The ridge stays Class 2 and is overall pleasant, but it's got some steep sections with loose rock.

From Horn Peak I continued north along its ridgeline, Turtle Mountains High Point visible to the north, my next objective. I dropped off Horn Peak's steep northern slope (max Class 2) and continued along the humpy ridgeline. After a few lumps along the way (nothing memorable or notable really), I found myself at the final descent to the southern base of Turtle Mountains High Point. I had a choice: follow the meandering ridgeline and then side-hill along a potentially steep slope and lose less elevation, or head directly north and drop to just below 3000 feet before ascending the southern slope of the peak. I chose the latter and it was fine.

On my way up Turtle Mountains High Point, there was a major false summit at around 3700 feet. To this point the terrain was steep, but had minimal rockiness and basically no scrambling. It took some steep Class 2 to get down the north side of the false summit to a minor saddle on the southeast side of Turtle Mountains High Point. Some Class 2 on big rocks were the only obstacles. The final southern ridgeline to reach the summit had an extended rock outcrop along the crest, so I kept to the left (west) to avoid this and keep the route Class 2. From the end of this short ridge, a final couple hundred feet led to the summit.

From the summit of Turtle Mountains High Point, I could see much of the larger SoCal peaks in the area, a nice vantage point. Now to get back using the standard route. I dropped down from the summit and rather than continue back along the Class 2 ridge, the route headed to the left (east) away from the ridgeline. I was honestly expecting a more obvious social trail, but there was only an occasional cairn. After some easy side-hilling, the route led to a minor eatern spur ridge than led down Class 2. Here the social trail was much more obvious and it was overall a pleasant and straightforward descent along this spur ridge. The route then drops to the right off the spur ridge and wanders southeast. There are very few indicators of the route here, so the best advice I can give is to follow the base of the lumpy ridges, keeping high when possible. I needed to drop in and out of multiple arroyos along the way which run perpendicular to the route, and on a topo map it might look annoying and convoluted, but it wasn't bad at all. The alternative would be to head east away from the side-hilling and arroyos, but this would add a bunch of extra distance. After less time than I expected, I made it to the major wash running southeast away from the mountain. I followed this wash for a mile or so until a cairn marked an exit and led up to the very deteriorated road that I drove in on. Obviously this section of the road is in a wilderness area, so it has had no traffic in forever. I followed the road for a few miles back to my car outside of the wilderness boundary.