San Gorgonio Wilderness

Southern California and far-away places. Hiking, wildlife, cycling etc.

San Gorgonio Wilderness

Postby Ellen » Mon Apr 30, 2007 5:31 pm

This post is for Zippetydude and anyone else who desires shade and cooler temperatures 8)

I decided to protect my Alaska tan and hike in the San Gorgonio range on Sunday. I went up the San Bernardino Peak trail out of Angelus Oaks and summited both east and west SB peaks. It was beautiful -- shorts and tee-shirt were adequate the entire day.

The trail almost seems groomed up to the stone bench at 10, 200 ft. This would be a great trail to run. There were some patches of snow that were easy to traverse. From the stone bench to the east peak, there are two downed trees and more snow, but nothing problematic. From the east to west peak on the ridge, I hiked around "snow bergs."

Vivian Creek is so popular now that the rangers aren't putting out any permits -- you have to obtain them in advance or hope one is available when the ranger station opens at 6:30 AM.

I hope to get at least one more Skyline hike to the tram in before the heat really kicks in.

Miles of smiles,
Ellen
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Postby Perry » Mon Apr 30, 2007 5:52 pm

Ellen, are you referring to weekends? Hopefully on weekdays (mon-thu) the permits are not filling in advance.

Maybe it would be good to have a non-Mt. San Jacinto section dedicated to other mountains and hiking areas. In the last couple weeks there have been posts about the AT, a 7-year-old hiker in the UK, Mt. Baldy, and now SG. Thoughts?
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Postby Ellen » Mon Apr 30, 2007 6:11 pm

Howdy Perry (AKA the big kahuna)

Sorry that I didn't clarify. You're right -- I was referring to the difficulty obtaining Vivian creek permits on the weekends. The permits are probably available outside the ranger station on weekdays.

Having a non-San Jacinto section sounds like a good idea. I know there are other sites for San G but I love your site.

Thanks for providing the opportunity to connect with other Skylies as well as the education/information on San Jacinto.

Miles of smiles,
Ellen
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San Gorgonio Wilderness

Postby Cy Kaicener » Mon Apr 30, 2007 6:17 pm

Ellen - The San Bernadinos have thirteen summits over 10,000 ft while the San Jacintos have five. Here is the list.
http://contact20.ics.uci.edu/hundredpea ... ntains.cfm
Expanding sounds like a good idea.
. Please visit my website at www.hiking4health.com for more information especially the Links.
http://cys-hiking-adventures.blogspot.com
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Postby Ellen » Mon Apr 30, 2007 6:48 pm

Howdy Cy :D

The 100 peak site arranged by elevation is too cool -- thanks so much!

There is much of the San Jacinto wilderness I have yet to explore.

Miles of smiles,
Ellen
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Postby Perry » Mon Apr 30, 2007 7:42 pm

I'm glad this site has provided "miles of smiles" to many hikers. :D

The neat thing about this board (and SGWA I presume) is that you actually meet people in real life.
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Postby zippetydude » Mon Apr 30, 2007 8:28 pm

Hi everyone!

Ellen: I appreciate your thoughtfulness. Yes, I love the San G wilderness, (I live in Yucaipa just at the base of the mountains.) I especially like the fact that there are very few snakes there! Incidentally, I remember you saying, "If I'm not bleeding, I haven't been hiking." Given that, I'd save the Momyer trail for last as you explore the trails. Maybe do it on a cool autumn day when you have on warm, thick clothing. It has lots of buckthorn, and is hard to get through in shorts once you get up past Alger Creek. The lower part is in an oak wood that reminds me of the Blair Witch Project, so it's not my favorite trail anyway. Forsee is very nice, and South Fork is beautiful going up by way of either Dollar Lake or Dry Lake. You really can't go wrong. If you don't mind the miles, you could retrace your San B climb, then cross the ridge to San G and back. It's about 36 miles round trip, but the route is very pretty, with very little incline once you're on the ridge. Shields Flat is amazing - this huge open flat area right in the middle of the ridge. I could go on . . .

Unfortunately, I've run out of new trails to run there! That's okay though; I just have to drive a little further to find new places to explore and new adventures to enjoy. That's why I started exploring the San J wilderness and came to learn of Skyline. That's also how I came to meet the good people on this forum. (Well, some of them. Perry and I have almost met, but not quite.)

Cy: That site is cool. It reminds me that I've still got Galena and the Yucaipa Ridge to explore! That's good news - my favorite trail runs are when I'm exploring places I have never seen before. I'll have to go up the Mill Creek Jump Off, I believe, but it should be fun later this spring. I'll probably be out on Skyline this weekend, so perhaps I'll see some of you out there.

Perry: I don't know about the separate section, but it wouldn't hurt anything to try it out. The reason I'm not sure it would matter - it seems like, in an informal setting like this, topics wander regardless of the posted subject. In fact, I already find myself trying to remember which thread had the heart monitor discussion, etc. It's all fun, though, so I'm happy either way.

z
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Postby Perry » Mon Apr 30, 2007 8:40 pm

So THAT's why it's easy to get a permit for Momyer!

I'll probably see you one of these days. It's bound to happen. Two runners on the tramcar talking....

The board is very informal, so there are very few rules. People new to this area may not realize that somebody is talking about a completely different place, so it made sense. Also, let's say Baldy has great weather in August but Mt. San Jacinto gets incredible thunderstorms that drop hail that really hurts. It helps a newcomer to understand that the "nice weather" is on a completely different mountain.
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Momyer trail and cut-off

Postby Ellen » Tue May 01, 2007 10:22 am

Howdy Zippetydude :D

I've done the Momyer cut off and have the scars to prove it :lol: I last did it (up and down) in February when it was cool enough to wear pants and a long sleeved shirt. My preferred way to do that hike is to go up the cut-off to the ridge, take the ridge trail to Dollar Saddle, come down Momyer, and take the old Dobbs cabin trail back down to Mill creek and the Momyer trailhead.

I absolutely love the ridge trail on San Gorgonio. This summer, I'd like to do a car stagger and hike up Vivian to San G and down the ridge to Angelus Oaks. I'm thinking of doing this sometime in June. The snow on the ridge should be melted by then and there will lots of daylight. I'm afraid the wilderness will be closed early this year due to the fire danger. I would start quite early to spend most of my daylight hours on the ridge at 10,000 plus feet.

Perry -- your comment about why it's so easy to get a Momyer permit had me :lol: After most of our San G wilderness hikes, we head to El Mexican for Mexican food and (of course) beer. We always feel sorry for the poor people parked at the Momyer trail head, especially on a hot summer day.

Miles of smiles,
Ellen
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