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HIKE 1

COUNTY ROAD N2 VIA HORSE TRAIL TO LIEBRE MOUNTAIN

HIKE LENGTH: 6 miles round-trip; 1,700' elevation gain

DIFFICULTY: Moderate

SEASON: All year

TOPO MAP: Liebre Mountain

Features

The long whaleback of Liebre Mountain sprawls at the northwest corner of Angeles National Forest, where the Coast Ranges, the Tehachapis, and the San Gabriels all meld together in a wrinkled jumble. From Liebre’s broad summit, you look north across golden-brown Antelope Valley to the Tehachapis, curving from west to northeast in a great arc; and if the day is clear, the southern ramparts of the Sierra Nevada are visible on the distant skyline. Southward, you peer into the gentle ridge-and-canyon country of the Cienaga and Fish Canyon watersheds.

This is delightful mountain country, especially in spring, when snow patches linger on north slopes, the California black oak is clothing itself with reddish leaves, and aromatic white sage is blooming in the foothills. This is the home of the gray pine, a hardy dweller on semiarid slopes, easily identifiable by its gray-green needles, large cones (second in size only to the Coulter pine), and multiforked trunk. Also on the mountainside are big-cone Douglas-firs and some rather large scrub oaks. Occasional junipers and piñon pines bear testimony to the blending of mountain and desert here.

This trip follows the historic old Horse Trail, now part of the Pacific Crest Trail but once used to drive horses from the Tejon Ranch to Los Angeles, steeply up the forested north slope of Liebre Mountain from Horse Trail Flat to the summit. Do it in leisurely fashion to fully appreciate the desert view and the unique combination of forest trees and chaparral. It’s a long drive from Los Angeles, but the mountainside is remote, peaceful, and beautiful—well worth the effort.

Description

From I-5, 4 miles south of Gorman, turn east onto CA 138. After 4.5 miles, turn right (southeast) onto the Old Ridge Route. Follow the latter 2.5 miles, and then turn left (east) onto County Road N2. Drive this road 4.2 miles, to a high point just before the road begins to descend. Turn right (south) and drive on dirt tracks about 100 feet to the oak-shaded parking area. Be sure to display your Adventure Pass on your vehicle’s dashboard.

At the upper edge of the parking area is the Pacific Crest Trail, the southbound section climbing west, the northbound dropping southeast. Take the southbound PCT, which ascends the mountainside. (If you start descending, you’re on the wrong trail segment.) You switchback up through live oaks and gray pines, with far-ranging views over Antelope Valley to the Tehachapis. After 2 miles you pass Wilderness Camp to your right. A table and fire ring are here, but there’s no water. (Water can usually be found in Horse Camp Canyon just behind and steeply down from the camp; the easiest way to get water is to continue up the trail 0.25 mile, where the descent into the canyon is less steep.) You continue switchbacking upward, under a cool canopy of pines and oaks. Near the top your trail becomes an old jeep track. About 60 yards before you reach the crest and a junction with Forest Road 7N23, turn right and scramble to the small rock cairn that marks the 5,791-foot summit of Liebre Mountain.

Return the way you came. Or, with a car shuttle, meet your transportation on FR 7N23 on the crest of the long Liebre hogback. To drive to the crest, follow the Old Ridge Route to its crossing of the west end of Liebre Mountain, 5 miles up from CA 138, and then turn left (east) onto FR 7N23. Follow the latter, a narrow dirt road, steep in places, to the crest.