Although its good to think these things through first, because my dad also flew in to climb San Gorgonio. We were supposed to leave on Friday to get a campsite to get used to the altitude a little bit, but my car was breaking. So we worked on the car instead. Dad wanted to do the hike on Sunday, but I didn't because I wanted a rest day between the hike and work (I tend to end up at work on Mondays too often too tired to really be very effective at what I should be doing). Saturday morning we found ourselves driving toward San Gorgonio in the still mostly broken car, more or less prepared to hike the mountain. We brought ice axes and crampons, although we weren't convinced they'd be necessary, but we didn't want to have to turn around because we didn't have them. By the time we got to the trailhead, made lunch, and were on our way, it was 10:53am. This was way past our absolute latest leaving time of 7am. And I had just figured out the mountain was 11,500ft high, not 10,000. Good to know. Regardless, we decided to give it a try even though it was pretty late.
The beginning of the hike (Vivian Creek Trail - the shortest and steepest route) is pretty steep but has awesome views of the nearby mountains.
We saw a bunch of trail worker people who were trying to clear the trail of fallen trees, so Dad talked to them for awhile about hiking in five fingers and trail work as we hiked up. Our starting out pace was really fast (as usual) which meant I was pretty tired, especially after the last couple of runs I did. And the fact Dad just hikes fast. We wore shorts and t-shirts for the first bunch of miles (probably like 4 miles ish). Up until High Creek the trail was clear of snow and easy to follow. We saw a couple of people coming down but nobody going up (Dad pointed out were we probably the last ones for the day). We did pass a couple of backpackers who were trying to go over the summit to the next campground, but no day hikers. We were enjoying the awesomeness of hiking a mountain even with the limited amount of time. It was hard hiking for sure and a good challenge, but mostly just really really cool. I felt like I was nowhere near southern california. Once we reached High Creek Camp (9,200ft), Dad switched from five fingers to hiking boots because parts of the trail were covered in snow. The ranger checked our wilderness permit and we continued to the snowy part of the hike. For awhile, we could go on the trail, using ice axes over the snowy parts, but eventually it was too hard to keep track of the trail. It would switchback under the snow, and there were no footprints to guide us. We saw some people coming down who said everyone else was just going straight up, and a little while later we more or less started doing that too. We started going a little slower because the altitude was getting higher, we were hiking fast, and Dad came from near sea level aerobic activities. It would have been nice to camp the night before, but broken car prevented that, and we going to make the most of it and enjoy the adventure anyway! After awhile, we were above the tree line and hiking along snow. The snow patterns were pretty incredible.
We saw a few other people going down, and caught up to some other backpackers who were going to camp at the summit. Meanwhile, Dad was pointing out it was getting pretty late (3:30ish) and we still had about 2.5 miles to go. So we kept going. The end section of the Vivian Creek Trail is all above treeline and was definitely snowy. We never ended up using crampons because it was soft snow, and didn't really need ice axes, but it was nice to have them just in case. We switched into real mountain clothes because the wind was strong, although not super cold. At the end of the Vivian Creek Trail, there was another 0.6 miles to the summit, but it was getting really late at that point (4:15pm, with our absolute turn around time at 5:00pm) and Dad was trying not to get altitude sickness. The altitude sickness thing causes a lot of people to turn around on this trail. We didn't talk very much because we were too absorbed in hiking. The next trail junction was 0.2 miles away so I suggested we see how long that takes us, thinking that we weren't going to turn around 0.4mi away. It went super fast, and the last section was more or less flat, so before we knew it we were at the top of the highest peak in southern california (11,502ft). More importantly, it was awesome up there.
We actually ran over to another area where some camping spots were set up, and just enjoyed making it to the top and seeing the clouds from up high. The summit camping backpackers took some photos of us and we took off to try to get back down before it got too dark. It was exhilerating to be able to see clouds below, the trail snaking across toward the summit, the snow, and nothing else around.
Our pace down was a lot faster than up, but I was definitely starting to feel the effects of eating a cookie here and there and an apple and NOT eating the sandwiches we packed because there wasn't enough time. If nothing else, we definitely had to get down the snowy part above High Creek Camp before it got dark, since it was hard to find the trail under the snow.
We got off trail for a little bit but found it again pretty quickly thanks to the topo map. Once we got into less exposed terrain we started glissading, which made carrying the ice axes up there more than worth it. Dad started picking out long patches of snow that we would link together in order to glissade more or less the rest of the way back to High Creek Camp. It was nice to not have to deal with impact on my legs for awhile. Or breathing hard. Unfortunately, the snow ended right about at the camp, so it was back to walking the rest of the way down. At the camp we saw the two backpackers we had passed on the way up. They decided to camp there instead of on the other side of the summit. We were envious of their ability to just stop and camp when they felt like it. San Gorgonio is long and steep enough that camping really has an appeal, especially if you are there to enjoy the hike at an easier pace, not race down to get to easier trail before dark without eating lunch. The backpackers made sure we had more warm clothes and headlamps (which we did), before we started moving along attempting to get down with some light left. However, it became pretty obvious that wasn't going to happen unless we ran down, and this wasn't the day for that. The hike down was awesome though and we enjoyed looking at the views in every different direction.
The trail is always interesting because it varies in steepness and terrain, and goes from rivers and waterfalls to above treeline snow. Anyway, I eventually realized we hadn't even made it to halfway camp, and sunset was soon. Finally we did make it there and took out the headlamps for the rest of the hike.
It was actually really nice to be walking along in the dark down the mountain. If we didn't have a 10pm deadline of getting the car out of the parking lot before the gate shut, we probably would have taken more time (well maybe not, unless we stopped to eat first!). At the very end of the trail, we managed to cross the river without losing the trail, and walked the last section on the dirt road. Right before we got to the cars, it was kind of confusing because now its dark and we weren't 100% sure where we left the car. Of course, we made it all the way up and down and then we had to find the car?! We made it to the car right around 9pm, threw our stuff in the back, and after the car luckily started (complete with icky engine noise), drove out past the gate before they closed it. Success! Just after that we pulled over and ate our "lunch" sandwiches which was JUST enough food for me to be able to drive back to the house. So much for camping, but it was a great end to an awesome adventure.In the end, the trail was really, really good even though for awhile I was starting to think it wasn't (I 've been spending a lot of time recently breathing really hard going up mountains), the summit in early June is pretty unbelievable and doesn't look like southern california at all, and it was definitely worth doing. I would not recommend a late start though, unless of course you plan on hiking in the dark, which was also super fun (that tired at the end of the day version of fun). San Gorgonio Peak is quite the place and I'm glad we got to the top, mostly because the trail and the atmosphere were completely different up there.
Sunday was a rest day, but we got to eat at the best mole restaurant (mole as in mexican sauce, not animal) I've ever been to with Josh and his mom. Good food is even better after exhausting adventures.
Afterwards, we even explored the San Gabriel Mission with stories from Josh's mom.Monday I had to work after Dad and I dropped my car off to get it repaired. Josh went running with us out of Chantry, which was interesting for me who needed to start out very slowly by that point (4.5 mountains in the previous 8 days while working full time!). Its a luscious, beautiful trail along a mountainside and then along a river with a bunch of waterfalls and past a group of cabins (last time we were there a guy was playing bagpipes and you could hear it throughout the whole canyon). By the end of that run, I was ready for a break. Dad flew home the next day, after enjoying yet another southern california adventure!
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