Stockton Flats!!

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As memorial day was approaching I wanted to get in a last minute camping trip up at San Sevaine flats since that's when the road up there, the Cucamonga truck trail 1n34, is supposed to close for the season. So I got my stuff all packed up and ready and I headed out. But when I got to the start of the road I was disappointed to see that the road was already closed despite it being still over a week before memorial day. But not being one to let a setback like that ruin my camping plans I quickly came up with the backup idea to head up to Stockton flats instead. I hadn't been up there in years and I remembered it being really nice. And although I knew there had been some wildfires up in that area I figured I go check it out. So I drove up Lytle creek road passed the south and middle forks and then up the north fork passed the shooting range and onto the dirt road 3n06. The road was quite rocky making it bumpy, but nothing to difficult or challenging for my 4runner. As I got close to the flats I was greeted by some deer just off the north side of the road and upon arriving at the campsites I saw yet another deer at the first campsite. Before picking a site I decided to drive up the road all the way to the locked gate at the upper end of the flats just to kinda check out the whole area. While there was quite a bit of burned area it was actually a lot less than I expected and much of it still looked as untouched and pristine as ever. At the end of the road I turned around and headed back down to the campsites. They were all completely empty so I had my choice and I ended up picking the first site which seemed to me to be the nicest and was the only one with two properly distanced trees for hanging my hammock so that sealed the deal. I got my stuff unpacked and got my hammock up and then decided to take a little walk around the area. I headed up through campsites 2 and 3 which were both nice, but not as nice as mine. From there I left the trail and headed up a small wash into one of the burned areas. I got over to the base of a gully that lead to a saddle in the ridge. And from there I scoped it out for a potential hike the next day and decided it could make a fun and challenging shortcut up to the upper part of the 3n06 road above the locked gate. By this time the sun was setting so I headed back to camp, unloaded the firewood, got the campfire going, and enjoyed a beautiful peaceful night in the mountains.

Driving up the north fork

Getting close to Stockton flats

Stockton flats

Sunset

Campfire time

I woke up pretty early, but still laid in my hammock for awhile. It was a bit chilly, but not too cold. I got up and got my daypack ready and headed out for my morning hike. I hiked back to the gully I had scoped out the day before and started climbing up it. It was steeper and looser than I expected, but I handled it fine and I enjoyed seeing lots of blooming Lupin as well as lots of wild onions. Eventually I made it up to the saddle and the views really started to open up. From the saddle I headed south straight up the ridge line which was also steeper than I expected, but I was honestly enjoying the challenge. As I was climbing I was thinking about how probably almost nobody had ever taken this shortcut before, but then I ran into a walkie talkie that someone must have dropped at some point, making me realize that although I'm sure it's rare, the shortcut is probably used more than I originally thought. Eventually I made it up to the road which was a relief to be off the steep slopes and from there the views were even better. Originally I had planned to just head down the road from there, but I was feeling good and wasn't quite ready to turn around yet. So I decided to head further up the road where I got great views overlooking Coldwater canyon as well as up at Telegraph peak. I hiked about another mile or so up the road to a spot where there is an old wrecked car just down off the side of the road. I remembered seeing it years ago and it was still pretty much exactly the same. So I checked that out and then found a nice rock to sit on for a snack break. After my snack I continued up the road just a short ways to the next bend where I got one more awesome view before turning around and making my way down the road. This time skipping the shortcut and taking the road all the way back to the flats making the total hike around 4 miles or so. It was an absolutely beautiful day and once back at camp I relaxed for awhile just enjoying being out there. Eventually I had to pack up and head home. But now I'm inspired to try to plan another couple of trips up there. One in the summer where I'll backpack up Coldwater canyon and explore the upper parts of the canyon, and another in winter/early spring where I'll car camp at Stockton flats again this time for two nights giving me a full day for hiking the upper road all the way up to the Baldy Notch!

Morning at camp