Wanting to do a relatively chill half-day hike, we settled on a few peaks just west of Sequoia National Park. The route we chose wound through a patchwork of NPS, BLM, and a few parcels of private land.
Peaks climbed
| Peak | Elevation | Topographic Prominence | Summit Coordinates (lat/lon) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shepherd Peak | 3,573 ft | 555 ft | 36.49126, -118.87814 |
| Ash Peaks Ridge West | 3,048 ft | 331 ft | 36.48380, -118.89743 |
| Comb Rocks | 2,968 ft | 70 ft | 36.48211, -118.89840 |
| "False Comb Rocks" | 2,940 ft | 200 ft | 36.47730, -118.90108 |
| "Advance Hill" | 2,322 ft | 273 ft | 36.51226, -118.89245 |
Total Stats
12.5 miles
3,800 ft gain/loss
Even though it wasn't really needed, we set up a very short car shuttle because we had two cars. At dawn we started hiking up a fire road for 4 miles which would bring us up to Shepherd Saddle which was reached in just over an hour's time. There was an old picnic table there which we used to grab a quick bite to eat at before turning south up the ridge to Shepherd Peak.
The ridge started out as a grassy firebreak which eventually turned into a light-to-moderate chaparral bushwhack which had looked way worse on satellite imagery than it was in person. We utilized a series of game trails which took most of the bite out of the brush. Great views were had from Shepard Peak looking into the Kaweah River Valley.
Continuing west down the ridge on the other side, we encountered only another brief section of bushwhacking before the chaparral was replaced with grass and then some lightly used ranch roads thereafter. These were followed to the summit of Ash Peaks Ridge where we were treated with more lush green views.
Just south of Ash Peaks Ridge were a series of limestone towers. Further south of that was a lower chaparral-covered bump which was labeled as "Comb Rocks" on the topo. I surmised that the limestone towers were the actual Comb Rocks and the southern bump was mislabeled. Maybe from the surveyor's point of view lower down, the limestone towers were poking above the southern bump, making them seem connected as a single peak. In any case, we visited both points.
It was a short jaunt to Comb Rocks. We ascended its western side on class 3 terrain. The rock quality was surprisingly good, and it was a shame that they weren't taller which would make it a good rock climbing spot.
summit views from Comb Rocks
Getting from Comb Rocks to the further south bump (which I had dubbed "False Comb Rocks") was a little more involved. We dropped west from Comb Rocks and contoured south back to the ridge, bypassing the remaining towers. Once back on the ridge, a short bushwhack brought us to the rounded summit of False Comb Rocks.
We retraced our steps north back to the lowpoint between Ash Peaks Ridge West and Shepherd Peak, then took an old ranch road north for 3.5 miles to the south side of Advance Hill. A short uneventful slog up grass slopes brought us to its brush-covered summit.
We descended the northwest side of Advance Hill to a bend in the road just east of a corral. This was a short and steep descent with many rocks hidden by tall grass which we would periodically trip over. The last 30 ft before the road was down a steep embankment that was cut into the mountain to create the road.
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