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Jon Grogan jongrogan110 · CC0

Pope's Crack & Chongo Boulder via Old Lost Horse Road Trail is a 13-mile out-and-back near Panorama Heights, CA. The route passes Chongo Boulder before reaching Pope's Crack at the turnaround, 6.5 miles in. It climbs 324 ft. It scores 86/100 on the Ambleway Wildness scale: genuinely wild.

Elevation

0 mi4,062 – 4,252 ft13.7 mi

Getting there

Trailhead: connector 33.99086, -116.16444
Nearest town Panorama Heights, CA

Directions

AMBLEWAYwww.ambleway.com

Pope's Crack & Chongo Boulder via Old Lost Horse Road Trail

13 mi · ▲ 324 ft · 4 hr 30 min

Elevation 4,062–4,252 ft

Out & Back

Trailhead: connector · 33.99086, -116.16444

Weather Aug 4: Clear, high 98°F / low 77° · precip 0% · wind 8 mph · sunrise 5:59 AM · sunset 7:44 PM

Toilets at the trailhead · Parking lot at the trailhead

  1. Start at the trailhead, heading W.
  2. 1.2 miTurn right, heading NW.
  3. 1.3 miTurn left, heading NE.
  4. 0.5 miSharp right onto Old Lost Horse Road Trail, heading E.
  5. 0.1 miTurn left, heading NE.
  6. 0.3 miBear left, heading N.
  7. 0.5 miBear right, heading N.
  8. 0.3 miBear left, heading N.
  9. 300 ftBear left, heading N.
  10. 0.6 miTurn left, heading E.
  11. 0.1 miBear left, heading SE.
  12. 50 ftTurn left, heading E.
  13. 50 ftTurn right, heading E.
  14. 0.5 miTurn right onto Keys Ranch Road, heading NE.
  15. 0.8 miPass Chongo Boulder.
  16. 0.1 miTurn left, heading SE.
  17. 50 ftTurn right, heading SE.
  18. 200 ftBear left, heading SE.
  19. 300 ftBear left onto Barker Dam Trail, heading SE.
  20. 450 ftSharp left, heading S.
  21. 150 ftReach Pope's Crack, then turn around and head back the way you came.
  22. 0.1 miBear right, heading E.
  23. 300 ftBear right, heading NE.
  24. 200 ftTurn left, heading NE.
  25. 50 ftTurn right onto Keys Ranch Road, heading NE.
  26. 0.9 miTurn left, heading W.
  27. 0.4 miTurn left, heading W.
  28. 50 ftTurn right, heading W.
  29. 50 ftBear right, heading W.
  30. 0.1 miTurn right, heading SW.
  31. 0.6 miBear right, heading NW.
  32. 300 ftBear right, heading W.
  33. 0.3 miBear left, heading S.
  34. 0.5 miBear right, heading S.
  35. 0.3 miTurn right onto Old Lost Horse Road Trail, heading S.
  36. 0.1 miSharp left, heading S.
  37. 0.5 miTurn right, heading SW.
  38. 1.3 miTurn left, heading S.
  39. 1.2 miArrive back at the trailhead.

Each distance is the walk from the previous step. Tap a step for a map of its junction.

Trail surface

23% dirt2% sand75% unspecified

Weather

ClearTemperature 98°F77°
Feels like80°Precip0%Wind8 mphUV9Humidity13%
Hourly temperature
100°75°
Sunrise 5:59 AM12 AM3 AM9 AM12 PM3 PMSunset 7:44 PM
Tue 97°75°
Wed 94°69°
Thu 97°76°
Fri 98°80°
Sat 99°81°
Sun 95°78°

Sunset

The best sunset spot on this hike is 4.6 mi in (~114 min). Leave by 5:30 PM for the 7:44 PM sunset. Back at your car by 9:58 PM, after dark — bring a headlamp.

More sunset hikes nearby

Good to know

  • Toilets at the trailhead
  • Parking lot at the trailhead

Other ways to reach this destination

More from connector Trailhead