Devils Heart Peak via new route: Coronary Couloir, Class III, 03/23/13

The Longest Day.

22 miles in 21 hours.

12 miles navigating the Sespe.

Summit Devil's Heart.

First Ascent Coronary Couloir.

Still haven't found the Breaking Point.

No longer wish to.

Detail of entire route. Click any image to enlarge.

Detail of Devil's Heart Peak, Coronary Couloir, Class III

The urge to climb Devil's Heart goes back to my excursions on Topatopa Peak and Sulfer Peak. From Sulfer Peak I first saw the huge gash on the eastern side of DHeart that presented a possible route to the summit. From atop Topatopa's rusty tower I had been able to see straight down to DHeart's rocky crown and I understood then that just this little distance between the two peaks nudged Devil's Heart into an even more select handful of uniquely remote SLP peaks. Peaks that nobody does. 

I still consider myself a mountaineer and climber first. If an alpinist wants to go somewhere, he finds a route that'll get him there. Alpinists don't think like hikers and therefore they are not constrained by need for trails. They have the keys to their own freedom. They will generally pick the cleanest, most direct, and most aesthetic ways to reach their goals. This is how the idea for Coronary Couloir was born.

My window of opportunity for accomplishing this goal was narrowing. The further we moved into spring and summer, the less likely I was going to be able to pull this off. I'd tried to get others to line up with me for this weekend's effort but to no avail. This last weekend was simply the best time that I could make this work. I'd have most of a full moon, low water levels, and perfect temperatures. I couldn't put this off any longer in the hopes that conditions would be as favorable sometime later. Time to go.

I started from the Tar Creek trailhead a 05:00 on Saturday morning. Scorpio hung low in the southern sky, arcing above the ambient light of Los Angeles. The morning was cool, the scent of chaparral and glint of starlight my only company. That, and the crunch of my footsteps. I felt good, like I could do this thing I'd laid out for myself. I descended into Tar Creek and turned downstream, following that canyon down to it's terminus on the Sespe, where the real work would begin. 

First light on the Sespe Rock Garden.

Those of you who've travelled down the Sespe probably recall that it felt long and arduous, a combination of swimming, wading, rock hopping and creek bed slogging. That it didn't seem to end. That you probably didn't want to see another rock for a while. Now take all those recollections and apply them to going upstream. Against the current, scrambling up rocks instead of down them. I knew this next 6 miles were probably going to be the most tiring work of the day. And it was. Late in the morning, still wandering up the Sespe, I got my first look at Devil's Heart.

Tevas and Seal Skinz. A good combo for this creek stuff.

Water levels in the Sespe were okay, which worked out well for me.

The first glimpse of Devil's Heart, high and left.

Done with the creek for a while. Next, the summit.

 I had finally passed through the aquatic boulder garden known as Sespe Creek, reaching the bottom of the drainage I'd be ascending at around noon. I was feeling pretty battered by this time, "beat to shit" might be a better way to put it. Under the blessed shade of a tall maple I recharged myself with a massive infusion of carbs, protein and water. After filling my water bag I rose on trembling legs, swayed into my pack and got going.

The entry to the Coulior.

I started up a broad gully that soon became bunched up with brush and trees. The first of the three stages that this route can be broken down into was somewhat frustrating. I found out the hard way that this lowest section of the drainage is where multiple smaller drainages converge before pouring down a brief set of slabby chutes. The chutes were easy, but above them I wasted time and energy mucking around in the runoff branches before identifying the right way into the endless open booked chute above. Eventually I scrambled out of the brush and up a loose face, cracking a smile as I looked up to see more than a mile of gentle skyway arcing to the summit.

Slabby chutes, lower section.

Looking back down the brushy and confusing lower section.

I had cleared the first obstacle and gained access to a really beautiful and unique slice of the Los Padres. All of a sudden the day had been worth it. I climbed a V-shaped chute, the left side of which sloped into the drainage at a friendly angle, an open sheet of sandstone graced with patches of green and golden grasses. Rugged bands of sedimentary rock hugged the right hand side of the massive "V" all the way up. Moving a bit higher I climbed out of the gully's scattered brush and entered the giant chute  For the first time this day I was really having fun.

Grand Scale. Still some brush in this lower part of the Couloir.

A wide open path almost all the way to the summit.

This thing just keeps going...

...and going...

...and going.

After the long and gentle, open and carefree ascension of that pleasant drainage I was unenthusiastic about what I was certain would be a final, brutal brush fight to the summit. But I had it to do. I peered upward through salt crusted sunglasses and suffered the days first real moment of self doubt. Brush. Overhead brush. Fuuuuck. I continued upward as the drainage narrowed to a rocky, brush choked gully. This went on for a while before I was able to find a steep exit which might take me to through the brush to the summit. I off-routed myself by exiting too soon, climbed a couple hundred feet through some brush before realizing that I'd left the the drainage too soon. Cursing myself I reversed that elevation and put myself under the summit. I nearly quit then. After a check of the gps, I rallyed for the last brush haul to the summit.

After the second moment of despair, the gps told me to keep going.

Pinpointing when is the right time to leave the gully and push for the summit can be difficult. 

Finally, the last bit to the summit.

Looking toward Filmore. Sulfer Peak in the foreground.

Left: Cobblestone Pk. Right: Whiteacre Pk.

Like, Yay! It's like, 3pm and I'm like already halfway thru my day!

The summit of Devil's Heart is small, rocky, encrusted with condor piss. There is no benchmark or register. I stayed less than 10 minutes, taking time only for a few pictures and to leave my calling cards. I cannot speculate on what date this nob might have last been visited. I can't find one shred of evidence that anyone has ever been here. Upon summiting my priorities shifted. My new goal was to get back to Tar Creek as quickly as possible before I found myself thrashing about on the Sespe at night. Time to go.

Descending the couloir.

I turned tail and fled back down the peak. My new mantra, "Gotta get out, get the fuck outa here." I found my stash of extras I'd left on the Sespe, switched back into my water shoes and resumed travel. Going downstream was a big plus. I was probably taking half the time to descend what I struggled to get up this morning, oh so long ago. I kept moving, replaying the mantra. Somewhere in the early evening I got "Invisible Sun" by The Police stuck on an endless loop in my head. It could have been worse (it can always be worse). I was using the headlamp and moonlight an hour before reaching the old Tar Creek Trail, relying on the gps to help me find it. Nightfall on the Sespe was truly a beautiful and unique experience, one I took pains to notice and appreciate despite my own pain and fatigue. I won't forget that night walk down the Sespe.

What I would like to forget is the hike out on that old Tar Creek Trail. I got all jacked up on that stupid trail and lost the route several times, costing an extra hour of effort and misery. A sea of brush in the moonlight looks exactly like that, a rolling sea of brush. And if the trail isn't obvious, it's easy to wander off.

I'm not going to attempt to give you a complete rundown of the aches, miseries, agues, and trauma incurred during this effort. Most of you who've been in that neighborhood can look at the map, put two and two together, and figure out that this wasn't easy. But the route is good, or, parts of it are great and the rest of it goes.

A special thanks, to Davi Rivas and Darren Ogden who were awake and concerned when I was finally able to contact them at 02:30 on Sunday morning to say I was fine. They'd actually thrown packs together to come looking for me if I hadn't been heard from by first light (which was the deal). Also, thanks to Nico for being my third back-up man.

Sulfer Peak [SVS], 11/28/12



Alright, now here's a peak that I hadn't done. I'd looked at it a million or so times but hadn't gotten around to ticking it off the list. Sulfer Peak sits squarely above Tar Creek and is accessed via the old Tar Creek Trail which continues down to the Sespe. This was a really cool peak. A great climb culminating in one of the best "view summits" in our neighborhood. This is an adventurous climb, not too big on mileage, but mean enough to make up for that. This peak is, in hiker parlance, a "Seldom Visited Site", or in this case "Seldom Visited Summit" (SVS). The most recent signature in the summit register was dated 05/2009.

The weather forcast had improved a bit and the latest rainy system wasn't scheduled to hit SoCal until the afternoon. I figured I could get in and out before the rain hit. I got an uncharacteristically late start, began walking from the Tar Creek TH at 0645. I jogged down to the creek and continued across to pick up the trail on the other side. This portion of the route climbs out of the creek and heads roughly north before heading west across the foot of Sulfer Peak. This trail is in pretty good shape, though some portions are a bit brushy and there are a few washed out parts. If you find this part of the day to be brushy and unpleasant then maybe Sulfer Peak isn't your cup of tea.

Left to Right: Bear Haven, sun on Topatopa Peak and Devil's Heart, and Sulfer Peak on the far right.



Bear Haven and the West Fork Sespe.

I banged out a quick couple miles under Sulfer and I was soon beneath the largest and longest ridge descending from the summit. I jumped off the trail and started heading up. Here's where the day gets interesting. There is no trail up this peak. I can say this with authority. On my ascent I found several trail ducks but these didn't correlate to anything I'd call trail, historic or otherwise, so how about a nice big serving of brush, rocks, and charred manzanita? The ridge climbs for roughly 2 miles, gaining around 2,200ft of elevation. It's not a nice climb, but it is entertaining. 

I hung a right and started uphill shortly after passing this culvert and that rock.



Looking back down the "Brush Buffet" toward Tar Creek.



Ridge to the summit, which is visible way in the distance.

The first mile or so ascending from the old Tar Creek Trail is 100% brush busting. No bueno. Fortunately I have experienced the absolute worst the the SLP can dish up so I wasn't unduly impressed by the brush. It's brush. It's in my way. Figure it out. As I climbed this ridge it became rockier in areas and I was able to connect a series of rock slabs together. Ascending these slabs is easy and direct, sure there's stands of brush to bust through but on the whole I'd say that the middle third is the easiest portion of the summit run (if you can get onto the rocks). These slabs are on the eastern side of the main ridge to the summit and are clearly visible on Google Earth imagry.  

Find the rock slabs through the middle of the summit slog. It'll help considerably.



Easy street. Find the slabs.

Eventually the rocky slabs of purple sandstone terminate and it's back to brush munching. The last several hundred yards to the summit are pretty tough, very brushy and extra unpleasant. In fact, I'd say the whole thing, starting from the trail below, is pretty burly. Those of you who have a good sense of what I define as "burly" will understand. Nothing for free. It was a good fight.



Summit.



I achieved the summit in 2hours:58minutes from the truck. This is an open and rocky summit, perfect for taking in grand views of Topa, Hines, Cobblestone and Whiteacre peaks. I was a bit surprised to find a small cairn at the high point. Inside the cairn was a summit register with a handfull of scribblings dating to 2004. Like I said, not many folks have come this way. I really enjoyed this summit, the whole day really. Tough Peak. Good stuff. After a 40minute summit sojourn it was time to turn it around, especially if I didn't want to get rained on. 

The summit cairn with Whiteacre Peak immediately behind it.



Topatopa Peak from the west, if you enlarge the picture you can see a hint of the old fire tower on the summit.

I started down, reversing the path that took me here. My recomendation for those who might want to do this peak is to bring a GPS and keep the track open all the way up and down. Getting off route on the descent can put you on the wrong arm of the mountain or even worse, in a drainage. Use care on the descent and it will save you from ending up in a true briar patch. If all else fails, below is a white sandstone slab that drains into Tar Creek. This feature is visible from almost anywhere with a view on the south side of Sulfer Peak. Before getting there the trail back to Tar will be visible. It's all about how much abuse you incur in the process of getting down, a little or a lot.

When descending, aim for this prominent drainage which flows into Tar. The route back to Tar Creek can be seen on the left.

This peak is a great hike, probably not everybody's idea of fun but I certainly thought so. If you're looking for an amazing perspective of the Sespe backcountry I have to say that this summit should scratch that itch. I had a really good time up there. And I felt the first sprinkles and eventual rain as I crossed Tar Creek and headed back up to the truck. I got real dirty, ate some brush, garnered a new collection of scratches, and had a stellar day.



Sulfer Peak boasts some of the most dramatic views of our local backcountry.