W6/CT-269 Verdugo Mountains High Point

I had a few hours to kill between checking out of my hotel and my flight leaving, so of course I decided to do some SOTA. This peak is pretty close to the airport, so I decided to do it. I parked at the small lot where La Tuna Canyon Road crosses the freeway.

Is this the least scenic trailhead in the world? Its possible.

The first park is up the closed, paved road. The pavement ends and the trail becomes a fire road, called the Hostetter Fire Road on my map. There are some trails that go straight up the ridges. I took one on the way up, and quickly regretted my decision. These use paths are steep class 2, and I would not recommend, especially since there is the fire road.

Summit on the left.

This is another noisy hike until you get a distance above the freeway. There were still some flowers blooming, which made the hike more pretty. However it was very smoggy in the basin. No good views today.

Looks like there's a fire burning somewhere.

I found the road that went right up to the summit, and walked around the fenced enclosure. On one side I found a small bench and decided to set up there. I used the fence to hold up the pole, and got on the air. A lizard watched me until I got too close, when it scampered off.

The lizard helping call CQ on 40.

Since I had to get back to the airport in time, I didn't spend too much time on top. It was also hot with no shade, so I didn't mind. I took the fire road all the way down. It is very nicely graded, and I saw a number of biker on their way up. There is a giant gully in the trail near the bottom. Hopefully the riders know about it when they're going down!

Some serious maintenance is needed before a vehicle could drive up.

Back at the car I changed into some clean clothes and headed over to catch my flight home.

Trailhead: Where La Tuna Canyon Road crosses the freeway.
Website: SOTA Site.
Maps: AA6XA SOTA Hikes map.
Route: Take the Hostetter Fire Road up. There appear to be many other trailheads and routes possible.
Red Tape: None.

The mountain dominates the skyline from the Burbank airport.