Iron Hiker: October 2019

Hiked: 10/27/2019
Distance: 11.2 miles round trip on trail and use trail
Summit Elevation: 6868' (Little Desert), 7035' (Pyramid), 7054' (Pine), 6868' (Lion)
Elevation Gain: 3087'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 2.5
Round trip time: 7 hours 20 minutes
Recommended water: 132 oz.
Parking/Fees: Adventure Pass
Difficulty: Moderate

I headed back to the desert divide south of Idyllwild for a 4-peak hike that had been on my radar a long time. It started at the Cedar Springs Trailhead with goals of:

Little Desert Peak
Pyramid Peak
Pine Mountain
Lion Peak

I parked in a small turnout just past the gated trail. It began as a dirt road and eventually turned into a single track. Trees along the lower trail are mainly oaks. After passing through a total of four gates, I worked my way up tight switchbacks to the ridge where it intersected the PCT. There was a Santa Ana wind event going on and the NW to SE winds built as I neared the ridge. The wind was a steady 35mph with 50mph gusts, enough to destabilize me on rough terrain. Just after the turn was Little Desert Peak, a questionable summit with 68' of prominence. It does have a cool view from a flat outcrop but no register or mark. I paused briefly for photos and to record a GPS waypoint. Next up was Pyramid Peak. There was a good use trail that branches up directly beneath it. The PCT ran along the east side of Pyramid and this completely blocked off the wind. Most of the day, I would alternate between cool and warm depending on my exposure to the wind. I found two reference marks on Pyramid stamped "Morris", possibly related to nearby Morris Ranch. A gust of wind blew my hat off (twice) and I had to take the register down the east side off the peak to sign it. I didn't take any photos on Pyramid due to the wind.

Sunrise over the divide

Cone Peak, not on the days agenda

Looking down on Vail Lake from Little Desert, Palomer in the distance

Pyramid right, Pine distant left, Lion distant right

Pyramid summit

Reference #2 on Pyramid (could not find benchmark)

From Pyramid, I headed for Pine Mountain. The giant boulder on the south end was visible miles away. The use trail for Pine was marked with a small cairn, but could be easily missed. It ascends the bump east of Pine first, then drops to the saddle. From there, it follows a narrow, cut path through dense manzanita that is overgrown in places. The use trail follows low along the ridge before climbing more diagonally. I had a GPS track, but didn't need it on the way. I was feeling kind of smug about my route finding abilities, but that was fleeting. The HPS summit is an outcrop near the middle of the plateau. It consists of class 2 boulders, then one slightly harder move for the upper summit boulder. The register was below the top of the summit in a plastic tube. I left my hat and pack below, then surmounted the HPS summit. Because of the wind, I crouched low for photos. The benchmark was stamped "Eve". Pine had fantastic 360 views on both sides of the divide. The monster 60' class 5 boulder rose above the HPS summit. I had carefully reviewed trip reports for Pine and noted most people do not attempt it. I generally try to reach the highest summit point but with the wind and lack of a partner and rope, I skipped it. The wind would have made even a roped attempt very dangerous. Of all the reports I read, only Bob Burd braved it for the glory. I did at least circle it to get a feel for it. The south face appeared most favorable. When I started down, I got stuck in a loop just below the summit. I couldn't find the sliver of trail that continued down and across. Eventually, I relied on my GPS and a 20' crawl under manzanita to right myself, killing every bit of route finding smugness. Pine was my favorite of the day.

At the saddle below Pine

HPS summit block

"Eve" benchmark on Pine Mountain summit

The south end monolith

Looking over at Lion Peak

Looking at Pyramid (left), Tahquitz and San Jacinto in the distance

South side of the monolith

The rockpile

HPS summit from the south

The trip over to Lion Peak was easy and mostly sheltered by the ridge. A clear use trail led up a class 2 path to the flat summit. Lion was the only summit not battered by wind, being protected by trees and vegetation. There were two register books with many names. Without the wind pushing me around, I rested on Lion to eat and empty debris from my shoes. On the return trip, I ran into a PCT through hiker. I hadn't considered this a possibility, but a small percentage of hikers go north to south, so he was just finishing up. He looked fresh and in good spirits, saying he expected to finish in about 7 days. I descended back to Cedar Springs without incident. This set of peaks was great fun. While the Pine monster block is far more difficult, Antsell Rock remains the king of the divide.

Lion summit

Other trip reports:
Desert Divide Peaks (Bob Burd)

Hiked: 10/11/2019
Distance: 18.2 miles round trip on trail
Summit Elevation: 10649' (San B), 10691' (San B East), 10290' (Washington)
Elevation Gain: 5298'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 4.2
Round trip time: 9 hours 45 minutes
Recommended water: 172 oz.
Parking/Fees: Adventure Pass
Difficulty: Strenuous

San Bernardino Peak (HPS #11) is a popular hike on the west end of the massive Gorgonio ridge. The trailhead is at Angelus Oaks and requires navigating a half mile of rough dirt road. It can be safely driven in most vehicles with care. I arrived at sunrise at the same time as another gentleman who got a few minutes head start on me as I got ready. It was about 40F, right on the edge of my discomfort zone. While the air would heat up during the day, that would be offset by cooler air as I gained elevation. I expected temps to hover around 40F all day, until I started my descent off the ridge. I had forgotten my handheld GPS at home, so fired up the one on my phone. The day would be a grind, so I began with a slow and steady cadence. The trail on this side of the mountains remained shaded in the morning. In a couple of miles, I caught up with the hiker that started before me. His name was Kevin and he said he was feeling some AMS effects. He might have started off too quickly. High mountains have to be approached in a measured way or they will punish you. We talked a little while and he followed me past the trail split to Columbine and John's Meadow, but I lost track of him after that and didn't see him the rest of the day.

Manzanita area

San B East (left) and San B (right)

The San Bernardino Peak trail was smooth and pleasant. I would rank it with Forsee as one of the nicest. Next came a flatter area covered in manzanita. At Limber Pine Springs, I caught a party of 5 who had started at 5:45 AM, accounting for one of the cars in the lot. They were young and doing fine, just moving at the pace of their slowest. I reached the Washington Monument with a large rock cairn topped with a rusted can. There was no register, but a plaque was placed along the trail. I didn't linger with San Bernardino Peak being close and 300' above. I reached the summit and found an ammo box with multiple registers. Very popular peak based on the number of signatures. Two peak signs were available for the gram. I hung out for about 15 minutes, reloading energy, then packed up for San Bernardino East (HPS #8).

Passing the party of 5

Lookout point below Washington Monument

Washington Monument cairn

San Bernardino Peak

The saddle between the Dinos is filled with rock formations, but the trail weaves cleanly through all of it. San Bernardino East is made of two mounds, a large one, and a smaller protrusion which is the official Sierra Club peak. The large mound looks slightly higher. I didn't see any use trails going to the top of the larger one and wasn't curious enough to make the effort. San Bernardino East has better views than it's western cousin, maybe the best in the range. Great views of Big Bear Lake, San Jacinto over Yucaipa Ridge, Gorgonio and the San Gabriels. The Santa Ana Mountains appeared as small, distant bumps. There was a lidless register box holding a single piece of paper with the numeral 1 on it. Odd. I took a shorter rest on SB East, then got ready for the return. The trail back climbed just below the summit of San Bernardino Peak, before starting the long down. I pushed myself going down to make up for the plodding ascent and to reach warmer air. Sections of the trail were conducive to jogging, but my feet were too sore to sustain a jog. Soon enough, I reached warmer air and shed my beanie and gloves. I met several backpackers and hikers coming up that had started in the afternoon. Two miles from the bottom, I caught the party of 5 from the morning, but only 3 remained. These three had reached San Bernardino Peak, while the other two tapped. I found them waiting for their buddies at the trailhead. It took me about 5.5 hours to reach SB East, and 4.25 hours down. With these two in the bag, I finished the 9-peak challenge list, though it was spread over several hikes. Doing all 9 in one go would be an epic 30-miler and probably beyond my ability. On the plus side, I set a personal best with 10 unique 10k+ ascents in one year.