Sylmar Hang Gliding Association

Ken Andrews and I were talking about the Falcon League doing a low (respectively) glide to West Towers. My purpose in hiking to the “Y� was to survey the glide. Using Google Earth I picked out a possible trail heading out the north end of the catch basin behind Oliveview. However, it was a wet stream and quickly turned muddy, a false start. Next I followed a road along the east side of the catch basin. It led to a picnic area with tables, hitching rails, and a couple of Andy Gumps. Going out the back of that I found an open ridge trail that went all the way to the top. It was a little steep in a couple of places but I didn’t have to use my hands like you do on the Kagel climb. I met a couple of German mountain bikers coming down. We exchanged info on what lay ahead. I followed animal trails the last 100 meters to get out to the overlook. The trail itself took a right turn and continued up. Going slow it took about an hour to climb. Nice view. It was a little lower than the 15 hundred. Looking out it seemed a reasonable falcon glide over that bench that goes up to the red spot. . From there (I think) you can get to a landing area better than the hospital. Perhaps it is a hike for a different day to make sure. The hike down seemed steeper than the hike up. If you have knobby knees and knarly feet it might be easier to hike down from the top. Going down also took about an hour. I drove back to the LZ to find the usual suspects and told them that I hiked to the “Y�. Burgis, Bloom, and Kernohan came back with the chorus, “Why?�