Mount Russell

Perris Lake to the southwest of this fine summit

12 OCTOBER 2024 W6/CT-188

Elevation:	2,703′
Route:	Good Trail
Hike Distance:	4 miles round trip
Elevation Gain:	950′ via route 2
Navigation:	Easy
Steepness:	Moderate
Vehicle:	Passenger car
Road:	Paved
Cell Coverage:	Excellent Verizon

Hike basics

This summit turned out to be a very pleasant surprise. The only Mount Russell I’d ever heard of was the spectacular 14,000 footer near Mount Whitney. I’d done this magnificent summit in July of 1986 and it remains one of my favorite all-time summits, so I wasn’t expecting much on this little Mount Russell. KG6LI had warned that Perris Lake State Recreation area can be quite crowded on weekend, so I was also expecting a lot of hikers.

I left Topanga Canyon right at 5AM and got to the Hunter’s Trailhead parking lot at 7AM and was not surprised to find a dozen or so cars already parked there. I figured I’d see a lot of hikers. Wrong. Not only did I not see a single hiker all day, strangely there were no cars in the lot when I got back at about 1pm! This is contrary to my usual experience.

KG6LI mentioned that there are a variety of ways up this mountain, so I followed his track up the ridge. There is a considerable of elevation loss after the last false summit. I did find a slightly more direct route on the way down that is a little shorter and avoids this loss. The trail was very well maintained by the state but, surprisingly not on any map!

This is my descent route track that I suggest is an easier route up avoiding that elevation loss. You can make a fun loop of this mountain by taking KG6LI’s route as an alternate. Here is the track I took on that way up

The summit looks like it is going to be a cramped summit block on the way up, but once on the top a wide set-up area appears within the activation zone. On a clear day like this one the view is spectacular. All the bigs: San Antonio, San Gorgonio San Jacinto and Santiago dominate the horizon. Lake Perris and the very cool named Mystic Lake surround.

I loved this summit!

Radio conditions were okay and I did manage to pull F5PYI out on 15m as well as three s2s contacts. A lot of photos to follow – more than I usually post because this was a very photogenic activation.