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April 26, 2026
Much like the Green Valley Traverse I had done a few weeks earlier, I mapped another impromptu training route nearby in the western San Gabriels, this time as a point-to-point route connecting Dillon Divide to Mill Creek Summit, necessitating a car shuttle. A weak storm was passing through the day we did it, so most of the day was spent hiking through clouds with no views. Perhaps a future party could do it and show us the great views we missed out on.
Peaks climbed
| Peak | Elevation | Topographic Prominence | Summit Coordinates (lat/lon) |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Pinnacle | 3,837 ft | 305 ft | 34.34902, -118.34431 |
| "Burma Peak" | 3,877 ft | 253 ft | 34.35091, -118.33477 |
| Throne Point | 4,403 ft | 141 ft | 34.34798, -118.32198 |
| Mendenhall Peak | 4,649 ft | 321 ft | 34.34933, -118.31294 |
| Mendenhall Ridge | 4,842 ft | 352 ft | 34.35012, -118.29358 |
| "Slaughter Peak" | 5,241 ft | 260 ft | 34.34852, -118.27137 |
| Junction Peak | 5,230 ft | 136 ft | 34.34616, -118.26561 |
| Mt. McKinley | 4,930 ft | 260 ft | 34.33938, -118.26467 |
| Tin Peak | 5,453 ft | 219 ft | 34.35205, -118.24626 |
| Iron Mountain | 5,638 ft | 578 ft | 34.34870, -118.22916 |
| Rocky Benchmark | 6,207 ft | 87 ft | 34.36315, -118.18184 |
| Sold Benchmark | 5,423 ft | 112 ft | 34.37991, -118.23731 |
| "Moody Hill" | 5,674 ft | 273 ft | 34.37958, -118.22664 |
| "Rollover Peak" | 5,702 ft | 272 ft | 34.37633, -118.21401 |
| Messenger Peak | 6,019 ft | 191 ft | 34.38101, -118.19875 |
| Mt. Gleason | 6,530 ft | 1,616 ft | 34.37652, -118.17730 |
Total Stats
34.5 miles
9,800 ft gain/loss
We did the route from west to east, setting up the 1-hour car shuttle the previous night and camping on the west side just above Dillon Divide.
In the morning, we started at a respectable time of 5:50am, heading steeply up the southwest side of The Pinnacle before intersecting the west ridge and veering east to its summit.
The next several peaks were done via a variety of slightly overgrown firebreaks and fire roads, as we gradually grew more soaked from brushing against all the dew-covered plants.
A short steep nasty bit of scree up Slaughter Peak's east side brought us up to the summit. This section of 400 ft elevation gain was probably the worst terrain on the route.
A short and brushy jaunt down the south ridge of Junction Peak brought us to a saddle between Junction Peak and Mt. McKinley. A short use-trail brought us out and back from McKinley.
The clouds opened up briefly as we crested up and over Tin Peak and Iron Mountain, revealing the green rugged terrain of the San Gabriels.
A long stretch of fire roads brought us to the west side of Mt. Gleason, where we veered west onto a large spur by hiking west on the PCT for about 4 miles before veering back east along the ridge up and over 4 additional peaks. Although this large spur may look silly on a map, I included it in order to get the elevation gain for this training hike closer to 10,000 ft.
After finishing the spur, we tagged the flat foggy summit of Mt. Gleason before continuing east along a combination of PCT and Mt. Gleason Rd for about 10 miles to Mill Creek Summit.
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