That peak in the background doesn't look too challenging, does it? Yeah, I didn't think so, either. I was mistaken.
So, yesterday, I had two different doctor's appointments in the West Hills area, with a space of four hours between. Rather than drive all the way home and then all the way back again, I decided to find something to do in the area. I looked at movie theatres, but nothing I wanted to see was showing at the right time. There were malls, but... meh.
Nearby, though, there were trails and hiking opportunities! One such opportunity was El Scorpion Canyon. According to my hasty bit of research, there was a cave on one of the hillsides there. Sold! The only problem with my plan was that it was going to be in excess of 100 degrees. Not the best for hiking. I remembered, though, that I had hiked in 118 degree temps in Death Valley and been okay. Just had to take it slow and watch the water intake. No problem.
So, after my first appointment was over, I made my way to the trailhead, parked, put on some sunscreen, and grabbed my camera gear.
The first part of the trail was only a mild incline. Heat wasn't too bad. Shortly, the trail dipped into a small creekbed, and then rose up on the hill. Here, there was the choice to take the long part of the loop that circled around and crossed over the entire ridge, or attack the main peak directly. I decided for the frontal assault, and began to make my way up the hillside.
At first, it wasn't too bad. The heat started draining me a bit, and there was absolutely NO shade on the hill. As the trail went on, it became steeper and steeper, and I found myself stopping more often. I was good about water, and thought I was making progress.
Closer to the peak, the trail became very steep and rocky, and at a couple points, I was literally climbing boulders. The exertion became quite difficult, and I was really getting winded. Every rest break, I seemed to feel worse. A slight bit of nausea set in. There was no relief from the heat when I would stop to catch my breath. Slow as I made my way, it was definitely taking a toll.
After climbing over what I thought was the last set of boulders, I could finally see the summit. It was so close that I could have thrown a rock and hit it. However, the rest of the short distance up was almost vertical. I was feeling pretty poor, and could feel the first symptoms of heat exhaustion coming on. Rather than press on and risk a heat stroke, I decided I had better turn back and try another day when the heat index was lower.
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| The turnaround point |
Unfortunately, my plan had been to take the less severe trail down after the summit. I couldn't do that now, so I would have to climb back down this steep, loose trail in this overheated state. Water started to run low.
Climbing back down one set of boulders, I reached out for a good handhold and immediately regretted my choice. I had stuck my hand into a thriving bee colony.
Eventually, I made it down, of course, and my energy was spent. As I dropped into the creekbed again, I thought "This will be where the mountain lion attacks me." Luckily, they mostly come out at night.
Back at the Jeep, air conditioning blasting, I was kinda bummed. I had never turned back on a summit before. This wasn't at ALL a tall peak. The steep ascent combined with the very high heat was just too much to overcome. I'll have a better plan next time, and I still need to see that cave.
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