Holcomb Valley Campground via 3N43(edit)

Sights to See

• Wilbur Grave

Rate this Hike

★★★★★


Temecula_Dan 5 months, 3 weeks ago
Solo hiked Thurs 5/23/2024 – I’ve wanted to go up the Arctic Point and John Benchmark summits for several months but the drive in to Holcomb Valley has always been snowbound. Instead of a quicker out & back trek, I opted to hike the longer loop for the approach and exit as it was still early enough to avoid getting dusted over by any ORV’s (although it would have been worth seeing someone make the crawl up the John Bull Flat route). The great views of the San Gorgonio Mountains, Delamar Mountain and Holcomb Valley from the Arctic Point summit were definitely worth the trip up. I followed a faint use trail part way up before finding a more frequently used route that was sufficiently ducked/cairned. I chose a more westerly cross-country descent down a wash towards the base of John Benchmark which had some interesting, climbable boulder formations along the way. The west and northwest views of White Mountain and Lucerne Valley from the John BM summit were also worth the climb up which was cross-country but quite intuitive with a few faint use trail segments but no bushwhacking. The rest of the loop out was on extremely quiet 4x4 forest roads that wound up through the trees to John Bull Flat and then down Hepburn Mine Road before the final segment on Van Dusen Creek Road. Unexpected was the stick figure made from broken suspension parts standing on top of the John Bull crawling hill. Stopped by Wilbur’s Grave and the settling pond on the drive out on the rougher but mud free stretches of Holcomb Valley & Polique Canyon Roads. Never switched over to 4 wheel drive and could have done the route in a mid-clearance vehicle. A very nice hike through a historic and very scenic forest area best done early on a weekday to avoid eating copious amounts of fine Holcomb ORV dust! Logged 9.0 miles / 1994 vertical ft with Gaia
★ ★ ★ ★ ★

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