Green Valley Traverse

 back to home page

April 11, 2026
Green Valley is a small rural residential area located in the northern San Gabriel Mountains, surrounded on all sides by dense chaparral-covered hills. The most popular recreational activity in the area appeared to be OHV-related as opposed to hiking or running, but it was mountainous enough that I was able to design a link-up of eleven peaks surrounding Green Valley. While the resulting route was nothing to write home about, it provided a good day of conditioning and decent scenery, making it a perfect training route for bigger objectives. 

Peaks climbed

Peak	Elevation	Topographic Prominence	Summit Coordinates (lat/lon)
Juno Peak	4,438 ft	369 ft	34.60632, -118.41208
Jupiter Mountain	4,502 ft	1,077 ft	34.59971, -118.39804
"Spunky Peak"	4,478 ft	438 ft	34.61409, -118.33686
Burn Benchmark	4,544 ft	521 ft	34.62084, -118.36397
"Big Dowd Peak"	4,228 ft	366 ft	34.63339, -118.37759
"Little Dowd Peak"	4,097 ft	315 ft	34.62806, -118.38919
Grass Mountain	4,611 ft	1,002 ft	34.64112, -118.41361
"Hiatt Peak"	4,235 ft	330 ft	34.64992, -118.42971
"South Portal Peak"	4,494 ft	240 ft	34.64126, -118.45083
"South Portal Spur"	4,511 ft	615 ft	34.64228, -118.46429
Tule Ridge	4,427 ft	641 ft	34.61481, -118.46577

Total Stats

26 miles

9,000 ft gain/loss

I did the route in a counterclockwise direction starting and ending in San Francisquito Canyon. Most of the terrain involved walking on single track dirtbike tracks and some dirt roads, with only a few sections of light bushwhacking. Aside from the very start, the route crossed paved roads in two other places, both of which could be easily adorned with water caches. I chose to do one cache where the Pacific Crest Trail crossed San Francisquito Rd (34.63445, -118.39004), a spot that was just over halfway through the traverse and about a 10 minute drive from the start/finish. 

After setting up the water cache, I started hiking right around 9:30am, walking just under a mile south along a trail paralleling the road before heading east to cross a creek and up the steep west ridge of Juno Peak. Though the terrain around the creek was quite brushy, I was saved by a small dirbike track which resulted in almost no bushwhacking. As the track ascended Juno Peak, it widened and merged with an old roadbed. 

The terrain between Juno and Jupiter was very straightforward as I followed the same old road between the peaks. There was a wooden bench and a great view from Jupiter's summit. 

I descended a short and steep firebreak down Jupiter's east ridge to a pass where the paved Spunky Canyon Rd passed through. After crossing the road, I continued up the dirt Spunky Edison Rd on the other side for just over 2 miles to where it intersected a pass along the ridge west of Spunky Peak. An out-and-back along dirtbike tracks brought me to and back from Spunky Peak. 

A short jaunt along firebreaks led me up the southeast ridge of Burn Benchmark. The actual Benchmark was still intact, which was surprising given how accessible the place was. 

More firebreaks connected along the ridge between Burn BM and Big Dowd Peak with fast and easy travel. 

From Big Dowd Peak, I continued along the main ridge for about 0.1mi west. From there, the ridge forked, with the firebreak continuing along the northern fork. I continued along the western ridge fork, leaving the brush-free pleasantness of the firebreak and bushwhacking along the remnants of an old eroded trail. Within 10 minutes I crossed the Leona Divide Fire Rd, and left my pack there for the brief out-and-back from Small Dowd Peak, where an old trail ascended its east ridge. 

Back on the fire road, I turned left and continued north for just under a quarter mile, locating a single track trail heading steeply down west. A quarter mile down this trail I intersected the PCT, which was followed north for another quarter mile to its intersection with San Francisquito Canyon Rd. I grabbed my water cache and sat down briefly to eat. 

The next 2 miles was a gradual ascent along the PCT and a short section of fire roads to the summit of Grass Mountain which contained great summit views, being the highest point on the route. 

A short brushy trail and a steep firebreak led me down one of the northern ridges of Grass Mountain to re-intersect the Leona Divide Fire Rd, which I was only on briefly before veering off on another firebreak to summit Hiatt Peak. There was nothing particularly special about this peak, but it was conveniently there. 

After heading down the southwest ridge of Hiatt Peak, I crossed the fire road a third time before quickly leaving it again up another firebreak. This one would take me gradually up west, up and over South Portal Peak. 

I once again cached my pack for the quick out-and-back west to South Portal Spur.

A steep firebreak descent south led me to a fourth intersection with the fire road. This time I would continue south along the road for 2 miles before veering off south along a firebreak where the road headed off west. This firebreak would take me directly to the summit of Tule Ridge. 

The sun was filtering nicely through mid-level cumulus clouds as I crested the summit of Tule Ridge and spent some time up there enjoying the green scenery and taking pictures. 

From the summit of Tule, I headed east down a series of steep, overgrown, sometimes severely eroded firebreaks. There were a few faint dirtbike tracks on occasion, and I was impressed that people actually rode this terrain. The ridge conveniently ended right where I had parked, and I finished the route just before sunset around 7:30pm.