Castle Rocks and Black Mountain July 2020

The trail started with the warning sign. I didn’t quite know what to expect. The first 2 miles were uneventful along the PCT. From that point I scrambled up the very steep and slippery mountain side to Castle Rock. I inched myself up the summit block but had a very sketchy descent from the block. I found the register below the block, so I really didn’t need to climb it. Rats.

I wanted to traverse the ridge over to Fuller Ridge Peak, but the manzanita had overgrown the path so badly, it was best to descend and hike the PCT back to a ridge where I could summit Fuller Ridge Peak. After another tough slippery assent, the ridge was very overgrown as well. Not many people do this hike.
Soon I was back to the truck and drove to the Black Mountain trailhead. This was a very easy climb to the fire tower. Because of covid, climbing to the fire tower platform was prohibited. The volunteer ranger was very nice, and it would have been informative to go up into the tower.
I got great views of Castle Rocks and Fuller Ridge which I had just summited. I also saw the impressive back side to San Jacinto. The hike was hot, maybe mid-80’s but the combined effort was only ~2,200 ft elevation and ~7 miles. I never found the reason for the warning sign. The drive back home registered 109⁰ in Hemet! (click on any picture to view slide show)

 

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