This spring I was looking at Instagram and ran across a posting talking about the Six-Pack Peak Challenge. This looked interesting to me. There was a whole website that had a fair amount of information about the challenge. Interesting and challenge accepted! There was also a suggestion that it was good preparation for climbing Mount Whitney. I had secured a permit for the middle of September and I was not going to fail to summit the continental 48’s highest peak again. The site had prescribed a specific order, but I sort of did a variation.
This portion is a bit after the Devil’s Backbone but I think really shows the majesty of this mountain.
5/27/17 - The first of the six was Mount Baldy and it turned out to be a great mountain to start this challenge. From Manker Campground and the Mount Baldy Trailhead, I headed up the access road to the top where the Ski Resort is and the lodge at the top. From there you bang a left and go up the Devil’s Backbone and then on to the top. This portion, particularly right after the ski resort is some real work, but it is quite a nice tail.
I had people in front and back but they were at distances. This being Memorial Day weekend, I thought I would see a lot more people on the trail. There was a pretty healthy accumulation of people at the peak. There were some patches of snow still on the way up which caught a little by surprise. We had a pretty dry winter and it seemed pretty warm for a while and would have guessed it was all gone.
The top was nice and good views. I spent some time up there resting a little and soon headed down the Ice Hut Trail. With all the traffic this mountain gets including a fairly high ‘yahoo’ factor, the trail was all over the place and the conditions were a bit rough with lots of loose gravel. This was particularly challenging for going down. Despite that, I really liked this hike.
The official peak bagging picture.
7/22/17 - I decided I would try to get back on the recommended order of mountains (lowest to highest) and climbed Mt. Wilson. I let some time go between this hike and in late July decided I would start banging them out. With my Mt. Whitney hike in September, I wanted to wait a little so I would be in shape for this goal. There are a number of suggestions to make this climb when it is cool like Winter. Today was not cool.
There is a loop option for this hike and I opted for the counter-clockwise route. You start at Chantry Flats and head down a paved road. This situation did not work for me; I never like going down when you are supposed to be going up. To start the hike with this was less than ideal and the down was somewhat significant. I knew I would be cursing it as I was ending the hike.
At the bottom, I went right and headed up the Gabrielino Trail and then to the lower Gabrielino Trail. The area in here was very curious as there were cottages, campgrounds and dams. This area was heavily wooded and quite pleasant. You then head to the Sturtevant Trail. There is a fair amount of infrastructure in this area and it is clear that it gets a fair amount of traffic. The hike to the top is very pleasant, but it is not until you get to the very top that you start to see views.
There is no real obvious peak on Mount Wilson, but this was the most official thing I could find. It was at the end of a parking lot which does not really provide a rewarding peak bagging experience.
When you get to the top, it is a bit of a city. There are a number of large observatories and countless communication towers. There is a museum that I went through and that was kind of interesting. I checked out the observatories and then made my way to the Cosmic Cafe. You then discover that you apparently can drive to the top which makes sense with respect to getting all the infrastructure up there. I saw a few cars but it appears that most people were riding their bikes up there. I worked my way to the parking lot that had the best views of Los Angeles. From there the Mount Wilson Trail went down and it was a reasonably good trail. I finally got down to the access road where I had to walk up which was a slug. I finally got back to the car. It was pretty hot and I was very sweaty. This was just an okay hike. I am glad I did it, but I am not sure I would do it again.
7/29/17 - The following weekend I climbed Mt. Cucamonga. The best part of this trip is that my youngest, and Mt. Whitney climbing partner, came with me. I had to pressure him into it as preparation for the big hike ahead. We went up Icehouse Canyon Trail. This was just down the road from Mount Baldy. This was a very pleasant out and back with good scenery and views at the top. I would definitely do this one again.
My son Ben and I on the Peak of Cucamonga.
9/10/17 - I went on vacation and when I got back, it was time to get serious. I decided to climb San Jacinto next. I decided I would hike up from Idillwild. I went up Deer Spring Trail to the top and down the Wellman Divide Trail on the way down. San Jacinto has the best scenery at the top. The view of Palm Springs and San Gorgonio are spectacular. So far this was easily my favorite. Views on the way down were quite good as well. There was a stretch as well where you are on the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) which is a challenge I think about quite a bit.
I really liked this hike and mountain. The views East, North and South were amazing.
9/18/17 - The following weekend I climbed San Gorgonio in preparation for Mt. Whitney. San Gorgonio is the tallest in Southern California and is supposed to be the last hike of the Six-Pack Peak Challenge. This one is an out-and-back and definitely was a lot of work. I started at Mill Creek and then to Vivian Creek and to the top; this is the only way I know up the mountain. There is a very steep up early on after crossing the Mill Creek wash. This was not bad going up but on the way down, my legs were screaming. The last third of the trail on the way up was a slug and there were a few times I thought I was at the top and was not. The top of the mountain is exposed and an alpine environment. It was quite nice despite spending most this time gasping for air. This was a long hike and definitely worked me. San Gorgonio was good preparation for Whitney.
The top! This one took a while.
11/25/17 - I felt compelled to complete the challenge and so I climbed San Bernardino late in the season. This was a really nice hike and quite enjoyable.
This was a nice hike and in some ways the trail itself was better than the view at the top.