Occidental Peak

"This was peak 5/5 and not officially part of the Sierra Club trip, as it was off-trail. We managed to hit the summit and make it back just before sunset. Note: the KCBS-TV station fence wraps around the entrance driveway, and you have to go a bit around it to find the "trailhead." Recent storms have also loosened the terrain a bit, so footing wasn't the most stable that day." — ctrain2018 • Dec 11, 2018

"I just went up an ugly mountaineers route from the direct north. Slogged loose dirt and rocks interspersed with occasional thorny brush. What a gross little bump to include in a peak list. " — JustinB • Sep 27, 2018

"I had a three hour window the entire weekend in which to snag a peak. I took advantage and even managed to complete an HPS summit. Mission accomplished! It's a rather easy climb that seemed to end abruptly. I found myself looking over the side on the summit to make sure I didn't have further to go. The use trail gets a little sketchy at times, but then again, it is only a use trail. Trees block a lot of the summit views, but surrounding peaks are visible through the open areas." — MikeTeeples • Feb 25, 2018

"It was raining and pretty foggy so that made it fun. This trail is pretty easy. You pass a couple of antennas and a concrete base of some sort. Once you reach the summit, the view is obstructed from the trees (and the fog on my particular hike)." — rickb • Jan 19, 2018

"This peak required more effort than I was expecting based on the stats of 2 mi /200 ft. The use trail involved some unpleasant side-hilling on soft forest duff and a meandering, slightly over-grown use-trail. On top of it all, views were pretty crappy from the summit due to brush. Walking around the communications site was probably the most notable feature of this trip. There wasn't a register at the top. Peak 5/6 on the day with Josephine, Lawlor, Strawberry, Barley Flats, and Deception. " — klotito • Jun 4, 2017

"Expected this to be an easy victory lap walk up. Trail from Mt Wilson side is overgrown and slippery. Miserable sidehilling for a mile or so through brush. The use trail is much further off the true ridge top and much closer to the road than I expected. Non-existent summit view. This one doesn't deserve HPS list status." — edg • Feb 6, 2016

"After a morning spent hiking near the Ventura/Kern borders with an HPS group, I wanted to get one more peak in, as I close in on my 200th HPS peak. So I headed to the San Gabriels to grab Occidental. I used HPS route 1, with a variation; the parking area described as "a large parking area, mostly barricaded by boulders" is, in fact, completely closed off by those boulders and inaccessible. I parked at the Wilson Observatory, which bumped up the mileage a bit. I didn't find any marker, cairn or register at the summit. Perhaps not many folks visit Occidental? The hike was super buggy; I was happy to pull out my bug net for only the second time ever. The trail isn't hard to spot or follow, but it's surprisingly slippy in places because of all the soft earth, pine needles and fallen leaves. I followed the chain link fence for the first part of the ascent; on the descent, I stuck to the use trail, which is generally 20 feet lower than the fence line. If you park at the observatory like I did, keep in mind that the gate closes at 5pm. I got back to my car around 6pm, but managed to slip in like a ninja to return to my car. (The gate has sensors on the inside to let you out.)" — HikerMark • Sep 19, 2015

"We climbed this bitch from Eaton Saddle following the ridge straight up. No real trail, just cross country route finding for 2 miles up and down with 850 feet gain. Stats according to Summitpost.com It was a bitch at times but really fun. took us a couple hours to reach the top. Shitty summit with no views thanks to the trees and shrubs up top. But its another mountain peak I conquered and this one was a lot of work. Peak #30 of my 100 in 2014 Goal. Also Just about every peak I climb in this range and other local ranges, I always find a swallowtail butterfly up top." — 1-with-Nature • Apr 28, 2014