Tales from the trails: Quartzite Mountain

Lonely backcountry roads were abandoned due to high winds in the High Desert on Friday, April 26.

Lupe the Chihuahua was riding shotgun as we bounced over the off-road rocks. The window cracked for fresh air, and desert grit coated my Subaru interior as we followed directions to Quartzite Mountain.

This can't be it , I thought as the navigation ended at a random spot in the road. There was no parking lot and no signage, nothing to mark what I thought would be a popular hike.

If you have questioned whether you've been lost at least once, you're on the right track to Quartzite Mountain.

Located in Oro Grande at 34.61777, -117.2999 according to All Trails, Quartzite Mountain is in the heart of the hills, bounded by the Mojave River and Interstate 15. The trail is three miles round-trip and 1,000 feet of elevation gain, making it one of the steepest trails in the High Desert.

I'm not sure what I was expecting from Quartzite Mountain, but it sure wasn't following an old fire road to a summit of cell phone towers.

Online photos of the mountain show a remote desert peak with no hint of civilization in scope. I was bracing for a rendezvous with a rattler or crossing paths with a coyote. I was prepared to lift Lupe up to let a resident tarantula pass or to continuously consult with my offline GPS if we got off the trail, desperately lost while scaling the mountainside alone.

I guess my experience backpacking hundreds of miles through the waterless Arizona desert over-prepared me for a cruise up the abandoned fire road of Quartzite Mountain.

Put into perspective, a trail is typically considered challenging when it has 1,000 feet or more of elevation gain per mile. Using this mountain metrics model, I expected the 1,000 feet of gain on Quartzite Mountain to kick my out-of-shape behind. I did struggle a bit, but not because of the steadily increasing gain, but because of the wind.

We followed the switchbacking fire road using our downward-facing heads as war helmets against the wind gusts. When I wasn't holding onto my hat, I chased it down a wash. I'm not sure how Lupe could even sustain an upright position. Ears greased back from the wind. She looked back at me every few steps as if I was the one who might blow away.

Distracted by the wind, we didn't notice an abandoned washer and wildflower blooms along the trail. Our sights were set on the summit and whether or not there was something we could hide behind at the top for a taste of calm amid the desert hurricane.

Instead of a pinnacled peak of rock and debris, the Quartzite Mountain summit is marked by gated-off cell reception towers. While this view isn't exactly ideal for an Instagram- or Snapchat-able photo, the panoramic views beyond the electric pines make the trail more rewarding.

With dirt flying sideways under my glasses and into my eyes, I whistled for Lupe to follow as we descended only a few seconds after summiting Quartzite Mountain. The steep downgrade didn't hurt my overworked knees as we ran to a wind-proof switchback.

Quartzite Mountain is the best local option for mountain hiking without having to drive far to Mount Baden-Powell in Wrightwood or the Eastern Sierra Mountains up Highway 395. It's remote but close enough to town to make it home on time for lunch and can accommodate most fitness levels.

Quartzite Mountain may not have been what I was expecting, but Lupe and I agree that we'd tackle the mountain again, most likely on a less windy day next time.

Want a specific High Desert trail review? Keep McKenna and Lupe in shape by suggesting what trail they should hit next. McKenna can be found at mmobley@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Tales from the trails: Quartzite Mountain