Kern Peak
Ascent of Kern Peak (East Face, class 2), with Robert Zeithammer, November 15, 2021.
Timeline:
November 14, 2021. We left LA at 18:15, stopped in Mojave for gas and fast food, and reached the Blackrock trailhead parking area at 22:30. Robert bivied on a horse trailer loading platform and I settled down in my 4Runner for a few hours of restless sleep.
November 15, 2021. The alarm went off at 5:30. We had coffee and breakfast and set out from the Blackrock trailhead as the day was breaking, at 6:16. The initial portion of the hike went at a steady 3.5 mph pace through forest, then a bit slower over rolling terrain. The ground was frozen and occasionally snow or ice-covered. It was 9:30 when we reached Redrocks Meadows, where we took a break. We decided to continue north up the trail to minimize the amount of elevation gain to be done off trail. That took us to a shallow saddle at about 10,200 feet. We turned west toward the East Face of Kern Peak, through a sparse and snow-covered forest, along a broad ridge. At that point we got separated. Robert chose a path south of mine. I headed for some talus in the center of the East Face, which took me to the South Ridge of Kern Peak, a short distance from the summit. I reached the top at 12:25, Robert having arrived about ten minutes earlier. We took in the nice views in all directions and had lunch. We left the summit at 13:00 and headed down the South Ridge to make a loop. We were back at Redrocks Meadows at 15:30 and took another break. Then onward for the relatively flat nine miles back to the trailhead, via River Spring, Beer Keg Meadow and Casa Vieja Meadows. We took out our headlamps for the last hour of hiking. We were back at the car at 18:15, and quickly took off for the long drive back to LA. Driving along Little Lake Canyon, I almost hit a deer. We stopped in Mojave for more fast food, and were back in LA at 22:30. (An 11:58 hour day, 10:59 moving time, 26.5 miles, 5,700 feet of elevation gain).
Postscript: The area around the Kern Plateau, where Kern Peak is located, used to be accessible by aircraft up to the late 1980s. Here is a fascinating account of these early days in the area, along with a story of how airplanes came to be banned and many vintage pictures (including of the Kern Peak summit area).