In the first week of October, I hiked to Mt. Lawlor with Sean. It was my first time there believe it or not! I had been to Strawberry Peak dozens of times but never bagged this one.
Anyways, I led my Wednesday hiking crew on this adventure not knowing what was ahead of me. It was also my first time going to Barley Flats from Mt. Lawlor. I had been to Barley Flats years ago with Sean but we started at the Barley Flats trail and just did an out-n-back hike.
This time we did a carpool shuttle. We started at Red Box then went up to Lawlor and descended the ridge to Barley Flats. Everyone in my group had never been to Mt. Lawlor so it was quite a treat. This was my second summit but going all the way to Barley was a first for me.This was one of my favorite ridges with lots of beautiful rock formations and 360-degree views of the San Gabes leading up to the summit.
To add, it was very interesting after descending Lawlor. The ridge had been bulldozed after the Bobcat fire. It was clear for the most part and not a lot of bushwhacking. However, it was like a rollercoaster with a few deep ruts along the way.
After descending the final firebreak down to the Barley Flats road, we checked out the water tanks and we could clearly see the Fire station that is located higher up the road. We were the only ones in sight so we just took are time checked out the scenery. We saw a couple of deer on the way back to our cars and tons of lizards.
This was a pretty nice loop. However, after Lawlor, it was very exposed.
Stats: 8 miles, 1400 ft of gain.
The descent from Mt. Lawlor to Barley Flats
Along the ridge to Mt. Lawlor
On the way to BF
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