Distance: 13.1 miles round trip on dirt road, use trail and cross country
Summit Elevation: 8100' (Three Sisters), 8986' (Wysup)
Elevation Gain: 3026'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 2.4
Round trip time: 6 hours 15 minutes
Recommended water: 94 oz.
Parking/Fees: Free on Forest Road 1N02
Difficulty: Moderate
Three Sisters (HPS #66) and Wysup Peak (HPS #31) are peaks south of Big Bear, accessible from Forest Road 1N02. The road was paved at the start, but quickly turned to dirt. It passed Heart Bar campground, equestrian camps, and ended near Coon Creek cabins. I drove past a couple of partial wash outs (one on the paved road, one on the dirt road). The road grew steadily worse with large rocks and deep sand. I parked about 1.3 miles from the cabins where the road went around a downed tree, expecting the road to continue to degrade. About 500' into the hike, I realized I could have driven further and turned around to head back to the truck. However, I changed my mind again before reaching it since my tire tread was getting a little thin.
Wysup was the closest peak, about a mile up the PCT that intersects the road by the cabin. I left it for the return since Three Sisters was more involved. Just before the second cabin, a huge washout marked the end of vehicular traffic. I continued along the road, taking a split right toward Three Sisters. I followed the abandoned road a few more miles before being able to see the ridge with Three Sisters. Despite being on a dirt road, it felt remote and offered solitude. After the road ended, I picked up a faint use trail and random cairns. The Sierra Club moved the official summit a couple of times due to private property issues. To reach it, I had to hike over a couple of intervening bumps, the highest being Peak 8350. I went over the top on the way out. The next bump was smaller. I wasn't paying much attention to the use trail and did a combo bushwhack/scramble down the second bump. A brush free route was available and I took advantage of it coming back. The summit rocks on Three Sisters were class 2. I looked around in vain for a benchmark or register. A small cairn was the only monument I found on the summit. There were great views of San Jacinto. After pinging my wife with the Garmin mini, I headed back.
Once I started getting close to the PCT, I had to decide if I was going to attempt Wysup. My issue was getting back in time for a physical therapy appointment. I had to account for the extra distance back to the truck. The timing was going to be close, but I decided to commit. The PCT was a dream to hike along, though there was a large tree over the trail I had to crawl under. A use trail runs from the PCT to Wysup, though I never saw an obvious start to it. I just started up the ridge line, then found both a path and some cairns. There were many jumbles of rocks competing for the high point. I followed the trail to the fun class 3 summit. Again, I found no benchmark and no register. Not my lucky day. I got some quick photos, then started down. I checked my time and was behind schedule. I could see the road below and didn't want to hit all the switchbacks that would ultimately drop me further away. I hatched a plan to take a steep gully down. It looked at least partially open, though I didn't know if it cliffed out later. It was wide open at the top, but got more clogged with trees and rocks the lower I got. It never got bad, though. While steep and loose, it spit me out on the road at least half a mile closer to the truck. I finished 15 minutes ahead of my goal time and easily made my appointment. Despite the long dirt road sections, both of these peaks were more interesting than I expected and quite enjoyable.
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