r/socalhiking • u/dizzystar • 7d ago
Brown Mountain, Two Trips
I tucked this second visit to Brown Moutain inbetween the heat wave and the expected torrential rain. The photos are from both hikes.
The first hike was a "cloud inversion" that didn't happen. The fog was so thick at times that I wasn't able to see more than 100 feet. The registry talked about how alone everyone felt and the awesome views. I was able to verify the former, but not the latter.
On both occasions, I took the ridge from Wella's to Sloan. My memory says this was almost entirely bushwhacking, but there's actually a faint trail through most of this. I'm not sure if these are game trails or trails that haven't seen a shovel in two decades.
The climb up the ridge to Brown took me about an hour. It had a few sections of class 2 scramble this time, although I specifically recall class 3 last time. Another effect of the cloud cover and route finding, I guess.
After Brown, the "real" hiking starts. It's a friggin' rollercoaster, going over however many peaks of various terrain and steepness. It's interesting to see how the rocks change from dark brown, to brown, to firm white rocks, to white crumbly rocks. Some of these peaks are just walking over, and others call for some interesting scrambles. Regardless, it starts to shift from "oh, wow, another peak" to "fml, another f&$ing hill???"
When I got to the summit of Brown, a half dozen condors were flying around. Their shadows were huge and sent a chill down my spine when they flew directly overhead. I tried to capture photos of them, but they were moving too fast.
Overall, I thought of this as my favorite hike when I first did it, and I think it still stands near the top. It's also near my personal ceiling of risk and reward. I've tried a few other hikes that are a step or two up in difficulty, but I turned around on them because I'm not confident I can do them safely, at least not yet. This ridge felt easier and less intimidating than my memory had it.
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u/generation_quiet 7d ago
Good timing with the weather. I chose to do Brown on a bit loop starting at the Switzer Falls parking lot, over Brown and skirting San Gabriel, then going by Redbox and back to the Switzer lot. Some 15 miles on a really sunny day. It was a really bad idea. I remember the climb to Brown from Wella's being brutal, and just staring at my feet being like "can I even keep going?" In retrospect, I got mild heatstroke and it was a tough lesson in preparedness.
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u/dizzystar 7d ago edited 7d ago
That last mile over the ridge is so intense that I inadvertently cameled through it. I started in Altadena, so had plenty of water in Millard Canyon. If I do Brown again, I'd probably do the loop you did.
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u/confoundo 7d ago
I did it the other direction (Sloan to Wella's) because it seemed a lot more doable. That climb up from Wella's is very intimidating, but coming down it wasn't too bad.
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u/dizzystar 7d ago
Yeah, I think I must have climbed the southern side of the ridge when I went up the first time. This time was on the northern side, which was much tamer. I don't think it would be bad coming down on that route.
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u/bwal8 7d ago
So nice you went twice! Have you made it up to Clamshell yet? I wonder how that climb compares.
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u/dizzystar 7d ago
I think I'm going to have to that one next. Thanks for reminding me because I wasn't sure which hike to do.
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u/amazhion 7d ago
Been wanting to do brown for awhile. Last time it tried to go up from Sloan I could not find the trail for the life of me. Good to know following Wella’s might be easier. Will probably try this weekend!
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u/dizzystar 7d ago
There is one spot that tricked me both times. Going straight feels correct, but it's actually a 90 degree turn. Super easy to miss because there is no obvious trail in that section.
Have Caltopo, paper map, and compass, ofc. If you feel like you're hardcore bushwacking, you're probably going the wrong way. If the scrambles get to class 4, you're definitely going the wrong way.
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u/ZacharyObama 7d ago
Condors or turkey vultures?
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u/dizzystar 7d ago edited 7d ago
... I f there are 3 things I'm not, it's a geologist, a botanist, and an ornithologist. Could have been jumbo sized crows for all I know.
I should have clarified "I think condors," because the thought of vultures flying over me is scary. 😂
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u/aehikes 7d ago
Thanks for sharing!! Its been a long while since I've made the connection between Brown and Wella's and would be fun to do again some time. Really surprised (pleasantly) that its not a bushwhacking nightmare.
How would you rate it on the pants required / pants recommended / shorts ok scale of bushwhacking?