Ord Mountain Trip Report

6,309 ft

Edward Earl and I made this a day hike out of San Diego even though it is in the upper high desert near Barstow. Ord Mountain is number 36 on the California Fifty Finest list of prominent mountains.

I awoke at 4 AM and picked EE up in my green Tacoma at 5. We arrived in Barstow by 7:45 AM and it was another 20 miles on paved highway (I-40) and then good dirt (10 miles) followed by about 2 miles of rough going to our starting point (8:30 AM). I used 4WD just to give the mechanics it's 10 miles of recommended "exercise" for the month.

Unexpectedly we found "no trespassing" signs throughout and decided to go cross-country for about the first 1,200 feet of elevation gain in order to lower the risk. I even covered my bright red daypack with my blue polypro jacket.

After the first hour we intersected the service road we would have gone up from the start had we not been intimidated by the signs, and, higher up still, we were gingerly approaching a summit electronics-laden facility while passing a few cows who were eating tiny snow patches from a storm days earlier. No vehicle on top so we relaxed a bit since that meant nobody would be there.

Views were grand - especially to the south and southwest since we were only 20-30 miles from the San Bernadinos in a fresh coat of the white stuff.

Total elevation gain was 2,200 feet and we were back to my truck by about 12:15 PM. Edward drove back from Barstow and was home around 4:15 PM. I was home before five and took a welcome nap.

Good way to start off the 2003 calendar year.