Hell for Sure Loop

Hiked: 7/20/2022
Distance: 10.8 miles round trip on trail and cross country
Summit Elevation: 9920' (Hell for Sure Peak), others in report
Elevation Gain: 3588'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 2.5
Round trip time: 8 hours 20 minutes
Recommended water: 148 oz.
Parking/Fees: Adventure Pass at Fish Creek Trailhead
Difficulty: Strenuous

There are many Peakbagger peaks along Ten Thousand Foot Ridge in the San Bernardino Mountains. Hell for Sure is the peak at the end of the ridge. I dusted off plans made last year to complete a clockwise loop to traverse the ridge. A nice way to pad my stats. Here were all the peaks in the order of the loop:

1. Peak 9580
2. Hell for Sure Peak (9920')
3. Tea Bag Can Peak (9884')
4. Peak 9971
5. Peak 10055
6. Carmen Peak (10075')
7. Ten Thousand Foot Ridge (10094')
8. Fish Creek Peak (9942')

I parked at the Fish Creek Trailhead. The dirt road was in good shape but has a few large rocks. High clearance recommended. I was the only vehicle at the trailhead. Not far down the trail, I veered off cross country to climb toward Peak 9580, not visible from the start. The slope was steep and covered in knee high buckthorn. I had to wade through some of it, but it became less of an issue higher up. There were two long slopes to climb to reach 9580, where I found a register in a ziplock baggie. Every peak on this hike had a register, while none had official benchmarks. Most of the peaks had new registers placed in August, 2021. Many needed replacement baggies. After catching my breath, I continued down a jagged slope connecting to a saddle below Hell For Sure Peak. A final slope of open forest led to Hell For Sure. There were four deer on the slope, but too far away to photograph. I found the register under a downed tree at the high point. There were great views of San Jacinto and Gorgonio just below the summit. Picked up one mylar balloon on the way.

First slope toward 9580

Second slope toward 9580

Connecting ridge to Hell For Sure

Bighorn and San Gorgonio

San Jacinto from Hell For Sure

Next along the ridge was Tea Bag Can Peak. After a 400' drop to the saddle and a 400' climb, I landed at the summit. The register was easy to find. Views at each peak along the ridge were mostly the same with a slight change of angle on the surrounding sights. The next drop was 500' to a saddle with a 600' climb to Peak 9971. This was the highest inter-peak gain. The register was in a metal can with the words Boston Tea Party on it, making me wonder if it didn't below on the prior summit. Obstacles along the way were mostly downed and burned trees with minor brush to walk around. I took a longer break on 9971 and got a better look back at Hell For Sure.

Tea Bag Can Peak

Peak 9971

Looking back at Hell For Sure from 9971
The next three peaks were all over 10K, starting with Peak 10055. This peak had the most obstacles, and I scrambled up some class 2 boulders that could have been avoided by going around. The summit was farther than I thought, and I had to search for the register, finding it below a downed tree near the top. I think some people missed this register because it had fewer entries than the others. Carmen Peak was only a quarter mile away with a short drop to the saddle. The register was in an ammo box with the wrong elevation painted on it (10,900 instead of 10075). Many people mentioned this in their comments. After that was a very short walk over to Ten Thousand Foot Ridge Peak. In fact, the distance and elevation change from Carmen was so minimal, I question it being a separate peak. 10K Peak had a large ammo box with a single register book. This was my second summit of 10K Peak. It still had the Eispiraten sticker I added in 2019, but some of the older registers were gone. The views remained awesome from the high point on the ridge.

Hard to find register for Peak 10055

Carmen ammo box with wrong elevation

Lake Peak ahead, Fish Creek Peak on the right
Having been to Lake Peak in 2019, the last summit on my itinerary was Fish Creek Peak. I dropped off 10K and followed a good use trail toward Fish Creek Peak, leaving the trail at the closest point for a walk up. There was a fallen wooden pole marker with support wires that I restored to glory. The register was just a baggie next to the high point. The last challenge was to get back to the trail. I started angling side hill toward Fish Creek Saddle. Boulders and trees were more of a problem in this area. I drifted lower than intended and had to climb up a shallow drainage to intersect the trail below the saddle. Having reached the trail, I took a longer break to prepare for the descent. The trail runs down the side of Grinnell Mountain and I enjoyed the familiar views on the way down. Got back to the truck without seeing another person. I had all of the mountains to myself. The loop could be done in either direction.

Ten Thousand Foot Ridge from Grinnell, Peak 9580 on left, Hell for Sure last peak at end of the ridge

Mount San Antonio via Bear Canyon

HPS Star Emblem Peak
Hiked: 7/9/2022
Distance: 12.7 miles round trip on trail
Summit Elevation: 10064' (3067m)
Prominence: 6224'
Elevation Gain: 5882'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 4.7
Round trip time: 9 hours
Recommended water: 148 oz.
Parking/Fees: Adventure Pass at Visitor Center
Difficulty: Strenuous

With limited parking at the Visitor Center, Leisa and I arrived at sunrise searching for one of the six parking spots. There were two available spaces, but they were too small and my truck bed stuck out into the road. We had to drive up the road another 500' to find a turnout with legal parking. We were there to hike the Bear Canyon Trail. It was the most difficult official trail to Mount San Antonio, and the only trail I hadn't hiked. Bear Canyon was our first training hike for a Whitney attempt later in the summer.

We followed the paved Bear Canyon Road to the end where the trail starts. About 1.6 miles up, we reached Bear Flat, a shaded rest area. Much of the trail had shade, except the ridge after Bear Flat and the upper mountain. The well-maintained trail got steeper past Bear Flat and began climbing the main south ridge. The crux of the hike was the 3500' of gain between Bear Flat and the tree line at 9000'. There was not much of a break in the mid-section. Buckthorn was abundant at first, then gave way to more open pine forest. Views improved with each step, first back down San Antonio Canyon, then over to Ontario, Timber, and Telegraph.

At 9000', it was an open moonscape toward West Baldy and the summit. Clumps of shrubbery and ancient pines clung to the gray slopes. It was my favorite section on the route. The final 1000' had an easier gradient. We reached the busy summit with blue skies and clear views in every direction. We grabbed some quick photos, then had lunch just below the summit. After burning our calves on the way up, we burned our quads on the way down. The sun heated the lower section of the ridge, and it was very hot just before we reached Bear Flat again. We took refuge there to cool down before completing the descent back to Baldy Village. I rarely nail food and water needs precisely, but this time, I brought the exact amount of provisions, out of both at the trailhead. In addition to great training, this completed my Baldy Trail Superfecta, reaching the summit from all four official trails (Devil's Backbone, Ski Hut, North Backbone, and Bear Canyon). Bear Canyon lived up to it's reputation as the most difficult. This was my 6th Baldy summit.

Moonscape

Iron Mountain below West Baldy, Baden-Powell on the right

Ontario and Cucamonga