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Aftermath of the Bobcat Fire and the Fate of Mt. Wilson
Sooooo is Mt. Wilson now off the list for the 2021 hiking year?
For those of you who don’t know, Angeles Nat’l Forest has announced that all trails, backroads, and general access inside the Bobcat Fire burn scar are to be closed until April 1, 2022 “to protect natural resources and provide for public safety.” Here’s the official order:
https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd822448.pdf
The local online newspapers seem to have better maps than the forestry service themselves, by the way.
According to this order, the only route still open to the observatory is Mt. Wilson Road itself. Can anyone with more detailed information clarify how solid this effective date is?
Luckily, the closure does not (but is very close to) affect Strawberry Peak and Mount Baden-Powell.
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3 Replies
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Update:
The entire San Gorgonio Wilderness is also to be closed until October 8, 2021. Here’s the order:
https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/sbnf/home/?cid=fseprd822962
This blocks access to San Bernardino Peak and San Gorgonio Mountain. Are we losing half of the original six pack this upcoming year?
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Yes, Mount Wilson, San Bernardino Peak, and San Gorgonio are effectively “off the table” for the remainder of the 2020 challenge (and a good part of 2021).
Closures aren’t new to the challenge. We’ve faced this before and it’s why there are the alternate peaks. Challengers can still complete six peaks even if they haven’t started yet choosing from the peaks that are still open.
While these closures won’t prevent anyone from making the official finishers list, it may prevent people from joining the “All 18” finishers list (if they need one of those three peaks and didn’t hike them before the closures).
It’s good to remember that this is still the SIX-Pack of Peaks Challenge (not 12 or 18) and other than bragging rights, there is no additional prize or reward for those who have joined those lists.
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Always good to have alternatives!… although I will miss hiking in these areas. It would’ve been cool to hike through a charcoal forest under six feet of snow.
Mainly posted to spread the word of recent events to our fellow So Cal hikers. And to clarify, the Bobcat scar is closed until 2022, not 2021. I was just thinking of how much I miss poodle dog bush.
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