Hiking Trail Guide: Spitler Peak Trail

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Spitler Peak Trail

Distance
12 miles

Elevation
2800 feet gain

Difficulty
7/10

City
Mountain Center ,CA (92561) Weather Map

Trailhead
Take the 74 or the 243 to Mountain Center, then travel East on the 74 for about 3 miles. You will see the turn for Apple Canyon Road and Hurkey Creek Park. Turn left and follow the road for 2-3 miles. You will see a turnout and a sign for the trail on your right. Park in the large area on your right just south of the trailhead.

The trail is well maintained for the first couple of miles, but later on it is a little overgrown - wear pants.

To get to Spitler Peak, you must take a side peak trail, just look for the cairn in the middle of the PCT when you get close and head up the mountain.

Description

The topo and elevation profile for this trip are inaccurate. For some reason the trail does not appear on the topo map, I had to use an educated guess for most of it.

This is an interesting trail, you begin amongst desert chapparal and even cactus, then you gradually enter an oak and maple forest, and eventually reach a pine forest near the top. However, the neat thing is that the whole area is transitional, and you'll see parts of each climate system everywhere you go.

The trail is a steady cardio workout for the first 3 1/2 miles, then the real workout starts. You come into a series of steep switchbacks for the last mile and a half, but it evens out near the PCT whcih is 5 miles from the start.

The last mile to the top is normal peak mounting dificulty, but well worth the effort. You get a far reaching 360' view, desert to ocean.

Map / Directions: