After nearly three weeks of no hikes since our last outings in Hawaii, we were eager to get back in the saddle, so we planned to drive to Quaking Aspen and tackle the 10-mile roundtrip up and down Slate Mountain early this Saturday morning. However, after Jane got very little sleep Friday night and our morning got a very late start, we decided to execute Plan B, a 6-mile hike up Tecuya Mountain near Frazier Park. At 7,155′, Tecuya Mountain is the highest point along the ridge bearing the same name – having explored the west end of the ridge at Antimony Peak a few weeks back, this moderate hike near the eastern end seemed like a nice bookend for our exploits in the region. By the time we picked up some lunch and an Adventure Pass, it was after 11:00am when we reached the trailhead at the west end of the community of Frazier Park – we drove the CRV since we expected to cruise north up a 4WD road about a mile, but a locked gate blocked our way near where the pavement ended, meaning that our planned six miles would now be 8+. We left the car by 11:15 and began heading up a gentle but steady grade, rounding a spur of Tecuya’s south ridge and entering a box canyon. We would have expected to make good time up this easy section, but Jane’s belly hurt something fierce – something she ate must have not sat well, and we stopped several times in the first mile, contemplating whether or not we should head back. In a testament to her own determined spirit, Jane insisted on pushing ahead in stages – she trooped her way on up the trail, but her aches and pains were to bother her significantly all day. At the end of the box canyon, we began to switchback our way up the canyon’s west slope, getting our first views southeast over Tejon Pass in the process, and dropped into a shallow, narrow draw that ran further northwest uphill before reaching a prominent saddle on Tecuya’s south ridge. A use trail leaves the main path here, heading straight up the ridgeline – given Jane’s ailing tummy, we decided to keep on our original plan and follow the easier main trail northwest up Cold Springs Canyon, which we promptly dropped into from the saddle. This canyon was gently sloped and carpeted with an open forest of pines, as compared to the desert scrub we had come up through in the first canyon, part of which had been burned in a fire some years back. We made reasonable progress up the canyon at about 2.6 mph, somewhat off our normal pace, following the wide path – this entire trail is open to motorcycles and ATVs, so the typical rounded, banked curves and loose surface were much in evidence throughout its length. At one point, Jane spied a mule deer in the trees ahead, but it scampered out of view before we could get its picture. Eventually, the trail steepened as we reached its north end where it tees into the main 4WD road that runs the length of Tecuya Ridge – we turned east, following the road as it contoured around a hill before reaching a very steep section northwest of Tecuya Mountain’s summit. Jane was still hurting, and the sight of having to climb up this seemingly-vertical slope was pretty discouraging – we took a break for a few minutes, reasoning that she had done steeper roads than this (e.g., Antimony Peak), and that short little spurts followed by short rest periods would get her to the top – that was exactly the approach we used, and before long we were at a final saddle below the summit, which we quickly ascended in a similar fashion. Chris had kept assuring Jane that the view would be worth it, and we were not disappointed in this respect – a few trees partially blocked views northward, but the other 270 degrees were wide open to the Mt Pinos and San Emigdio ridges in the west, Frazier Mountain and the Sespe Range to the south, and the Tehachapis and Antelope Valley to the north and east. Jane went and found some restful shade while Chris found the summit register and signed in – dating back to 2004, the peak does not see much traffic, although most of the entries appeared to come from the 4WD crowd (all the way up the trail, we found busted motorcycle parts, and along the road, there were lots of broken bottles and other trash – not the way to maintain positive PR or indicate responsible enjoyment of the great outdoors). We stayed on the summit for maybe 15 minutes before heading out – we talked about descending via the use trail, but again its steepness deterred us and we chose to retrace our steps on the longer route, despite Jane’s desire to get off the trail ASAP. We made better time on our way back, even though we found a shady spot along the ridge road to hurriedly eat our sandwiches, covering the 4+ miles in about 90 minutes. Throughout the descent, we heard periodic gunfire – as we dropped back into the intial box canyon, we heard multiple pistol shots in rapid succession, but they had stopped by the time we got to the final stretch downhill to the car. Suddenly, we heard the very loud crack of a rifle close by to our right, as we then spotted a young couple who were apparently the source of all the noise – she was holding an assault rifle, having fired it at some target on the slope in front of her. We kept walking while she kept shooting, passing in a few minutes a prominent sign at the locked gate stating that target practice is not allowed in the area – well, maybe they were hunting. As we drove away from the trailhead, we reflected that this was not the best of days, for many reasons – however, since the Frazier Park area is so close to home, we’ll probably be back at some point, perhaps in a different season, to see if Tecuya Mountain yields a better experience.