Terrain Boulders

Anyone approaching the Terrain Boulders is urged to now do so via The Slab, avoiding the social trail that comes in from the Mesa Trail to the East.

The new beta: follow N. Shanahan Ridge Trail to the base of The Slab at the mouth of Fern Canyon. Head left (south) on a faint track along the base of The Slab, then once in the forested area (lots of deadfall) head south and slightly east to reach the boulders.

[Ed. Note - this is from an email from Matt regarding access to the terrain boulders].

From reading the frontrangebouldering.com message board I saw that a few people were confused about the new recommended approach to the Terrain Boulders (aka Droegerland) and I had a few suggestions. I took a hike up there Friday with Burton Stone, one of the OSMP rangers, to look at the best way in and this is what we came up with: A. Don't approach from the Mesa Trail despite the well-pounded in social trail that takes off 5 minutes north of the Mesa Trail's junction w/ North Shanahan Ridge. Try to spread the word about this so that people stop using it. B. Approach via the Slab, the enormous ummm...slab...at the base of and just south of the mouth of Fern Canyon. So, continue up the N. Shanahan Ridge Trail past its junction w/ the Mesa Trail to the base of the slab. Cut left on a small footpath that winds its way south along the base of the slab about 20ft. from the Slab itself. Just shy of the Go-Go (east-facing, maroon and brown huecoed traverse wall on a nice bench maybe 100 yds off the trail) contour slightly left (keep going south) through a little meadow into the deadfall area. Keep contouring along the face of the deadfall, heading south (you'll pass just above the Death Arete Grotto) until you break free on a ridge. The Millenium Falcon, a large, east-facing jutting overhang, is just south of here. Head uphill and west at the Millenium Falcon (don't cut south along the base of it into the gully -- it's already sliding in here!) toward the Evil Knievel boulder, intersecting a well-defined old trail bed that crosses the steep gully in a shallow spot, which is much less erosion-prone than further down. This trail leads straight over the the Fairview and Animal Chin Boulders.

Over the past two days I went up to Terrain twice, first by going via the Slab route and returning east to the Mesa Trail, next by doing the reverse. I'm a little befuddled as to why the OSMP ranger would prefer the Slab route as I found it to be pretty nonexistant as a trail and the route seemed to go through some sensitive areas such as the thick stand of five foot ferns and the deadfall area. Is it better to bushwhack through those areas (I wish I had a machete) or use the well worn trail up the ridge from the Mesa Trail? I did note that there are no trail markings adjacent to the Mesa Trail for at least a hundred yards to the west, so it's not likely that much of the general public would find their way up there. Also, I noted a large proliferation of flag markers in the area of the Mesa-to-Terrain route, what kind of work is going on up there and why the hundreds of flags?

I don't know anything about the flags or the work being done, but I, too, have just this summer abused myself by bushwhacking through the stand of five foot tall ferns. My conclusion: we're the only people near nuts enough to go up there in the heat of the summer and it's usually a winter destination when the ferns die off. I think I'll definitely be heading up there a bunch this winter and I am sure that the slab approach will be far less severe. I've also done the east ridge approach as I knew nothing of the access angst regarding this area at first, and found it to be much more amiable. I think the reason it gets the flak it does is because it's an Open Space park and the trail that would surely be created by the boulderers is not a sanctioned open space trail (i.e. it is an obviou ssign of RULE BREAKING!). I bet if we could get it passed, the OMSP would have no problem with letting us build a quality trail up there. They probably just think the ones there are already good enough. Anyone wanna start a petition?

I was at the Terrain Boulders yesterday with my partner and a bear was strolling about, just 20-30 yards away. So if anyone is going up there, just be careful and don't bring any food, as we didn't either.