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