Day 1

Ever since summiting Mt San Jacinto in 2022, I had wanted to stand atop the other 2 peaks above 10,000 ft in Southern California: San Antonio and San Gorgonio. Due to the availability of water and distance from the nearest trailhead, I determined the best strategy for San Antonio was a (strenuous) day hike. But San Gorgonio is nestled deep enough in its wilderness area that it seemed worth an overnight weekend mission. The abundant rain the previous winter had left a good amount of water in the area. In particular, Dry Lake was, despite its namesake, still quite full by the end of June, and the snow covering the last bit of trail near the peak had melted away.

We began our journey from home around 5 am in order to beat the heat at the lower elevations. We had 2200 vertical feet to climb over 5-6 miles, and the less we had to do in brutal heat, the better. David and Chris met up at my place, and we picked up Matt, who was about to embark on his first backpacking experience. Koga was going to meet us at the trailhead around 7 am. After the traditional McDonald’s breakfast of McMuffins, we ended up at the trailhead around 8 am, ready to rip.

To Poopout Hill (1-5)

The first mile or so presented us with a healthy fraction of the elevation gain for the day (1). Thankfully, it was still relatively cool in the morning; a few years ago, a wildfire had swept through the area and destroyed most of the evergreen trees that had shaded the trail. This section was a bit of a shock as the first leg of the season, but we were fresh and it went by relatively quickly. This area was surprisingly lush and green, choked with low-lying shrubs and bramble which had probably sprung up and thrived after the fire.

After the climb flattened out a bit, we encountered an empty cabin next to a picnic table that served as a great break spot (2).

Just past this, the trail intersected with a backcountry fire road (3) before plunging into an even more exposed section, weaving between the skeletons of burned pines (4).

A few miles in, we reached Poopout Hill, a short jaunt from the trail. From there we had a great view of our goal - San Gorgonio Peak. It looked impossibly lofty, poking well above 11,000 ft.

Dry Lake (6-8)

We pushed onwards through a long, monotonous section of trail that slowly climbed south along the valley containing the South Fork of the Santa Ana River. The Santa Ana River is formed by snowmelt from this creek and several others in the San Bernardino Mountains. It flows down through the valley via which we had reached the trailhead on CA 38, passes through San Bernardino, Riverside, and the Santa Ana Mountains, and eventually drains into the sea in Orange County. The headwaters of the South Fork originate at Dollar Lake and Dry Lake, the latter of which was to be our campsite for the night. Matt kept my spirits high on this leg with Nerds Gummy Clusters (berry flavor, which is decidedly better than original). Matt and I also tried playing wavelength, but we were pretty dogshit at it. I guess being bad at it helps pass more time though.

After a few miles, the trail dipped down to the bottom of the valley and crossed the South Fork creek (6). It then passed through the bottom reaches of a gorgeous, vibrant meadow leading up to Charlton Peak, to the right of which was nestled Dollar Lake. Gorgonio can be summited by either route - West past Dollar Lake or East past Dry Lake. I had chosen the latter so we could camp near a lake, which is generally a nice setup!

The final challenge of the day was a series of switchbacks that climbed up the eastern side of the valley (7). From here you could see the meadow and Dollar Lake’s basin from a different angle, which was neat. There were also plenty of wildflowers in bloom on the slope - yellow, lavender and red. The red were paintbrushes, but I am not sure what the other two species were.

We finally made it to (not so) Dry Lake in the early afternoon (8). We walked around the north side of the lake to search for a campsite on the eastern shore, which was flatter and held the best prospects. After passing several other campers, we found a nice glade of trees relatively near the lakeshore, but far enough to be following the rules. We were starving, so we immediately dropped our packs and broke out lunch. My lunch was a science experiment - I had picked up a Jersey Mikes sub the previous day and kept it in the fridge. The risky business was that I had gotten it “Mike’s way,” and I was a bit scared to see just how soggy it had become after sitting around for nearly 24 hours. It turned out to be a bit soggy, but not bad at all, and it hit the spot. Matt had some sick lunch tech - he had packed in two giant spam-musubi logs. He let me have a bite - very good. I want to try that next time.

After stuffing our faces, we set up camp. The glade of trees gave us some privacy, but there was one tree that had broken off and fallen halfway to the ground before being caught and supported by some neighbors. This was a bit sketchy, so we spread out our tents to avoid the hazard. Matt and Chris ended up pushing a bit closer to the lake than ideal. After camp was established, we ventured out to our lakeshore to explore. The shore was actually quite swampy and muddy, and there were huge clusters of thousands of tadpoles swimming around in the shallows. We had to pump water to replenish what we’d consumed on the way up, so we headed around to the southern shore where it was less muddy and we could more easily access deeper water. Matt had another good piece of tech here - a collapsible 4 quart water bottle. We’d fill it up and use it for meals and other camp needs. Very nice. What wasn’t nice was wading through the tadpoles to fill our bucket with water. I for sure squished a few of them in my flip-flops.

After the chores were done, we had a couple hours to chill. I set up my hammock and chris made some tea, which was a new thing he was trying out.

I had brought a paperback copy of Into Thin Air, and I read a couple chapters in my hammock. The weather was great - 70s with a bit of a breeze. I let Koga take the hammock for a spin after a while, and only a few minutes later…

RIP hammock. I had owned it for maybe 5 years or more by that point, and I had left it out in the sun at home for a long time, which I think weakened the material. It’s an awesome hammock, so I immediately bought another one when I got home. The brand is Hummingbird Hammocks.

As the sun lowered, bugs started showing up, but it was mostly various species of flies. There were a few mosquitoes (more than I thought at the time, judging by the bites I discovered after getting home), but not a ton. The flies were annoying, but nowhere near as annoying as mosquitoes, so I counted our blessings.

We made dinner around sunset. Chris and I happened to bring the same 2 freeze-dried desserts - Creme Brulee and Mango Sticky Rice. We tried Creme Brulee and it was…interesting but not terrible. It was a bit too cheesy like cream cheese IMO. It kind of tasted like cake batter. There was a crunchy sugar topping for it to emulate the brulee. Chris loved it.

After dinner we played Monopoly Deal on our tiny kitchen stump, but the boys were not stoked on it. We finished one game and turned in. I read a bit more Into Thin Air in the tent before passing out.

Day 2

The main activity for Saturday was the 12 mile round-trip to the peak and back. We had to climb 2,500 ft and then back down; it would be a tough day. We got up, pumped water, ate breakfast (coffee, oatmeal) and got on the trail by 9 am. Dave decided to stay behind because the trek up to camp had been more difficult than he anticipated and he was worried about his knees on the way down from the peak.

Ascent

The trail departed Dry Lake along a small gully leading southwest. It eventually opened up to a valley spotted with low scrub (1) with nice views of Jepsen Peak and what we thought was San Gorgonio, though it turned out that the true peak was hiding behind the wooded ridge on the left.

The trail then turned left and began to climb the ridge directly South of Dry Lake. It eventually poked out and offered a view of the lake through the wooded slope (2). After a flat section of trail, we arrived at Mine Shaft Saddle (3) where the trail forked. Heading left here leads to an old mine shaft and nearby camps, and to the Fish Creek trailhead to the East. After a quick break, we continued right toward the peak.

Next, the trail cut across the northeast face of San Gorgonio, offering views down the valley containing the North Fork Whitewater River. The ridge across the valley is known as Ten Thousand Foot Ridge; indeed the tops of those peaks poke just above 10,000 ft. In the hazy distance, Morongo Valley and Desert Hot Springs began to creep into view.

Also, to the North, a huge peak poked out of the haze in the far, far distance. I guessed it was something in Death Valley at the time, and it turns out I was right. I’m pretty sure it was Telecope Peak, the highest point in Death Valley at over 11,000 ft, nearly 150 miles North of us.

After a considerable traverse, the trail reaches an intimidating, extensive set of switchbacks. About halfway through them is a curious site - a C-47 military aircraft that crashed into the side of the mountain in 1952 (4). There is plenty of metal debris directly adjacent to the trail - only the pieces too large to carry off as a souvenir remain.

After conquering the switchbacks and taking many breaks, we began traversing the South face of the mountain (5). At this point we were well above 10,000 ft and the foliage was growing sparse. The moderately dense pine forest gave way to sparse, stunted pines and shrubs poking out from a field of granite boulders. After passing the long, low bulk of Bighorn Mountain, a sub-peak of San Gorgonio itself, Mount San Jacinto came into view to the South, across the desert valley below. It was a great view, and you could see the full bulk of that massive peak stretch all the way from the valley floor at around 2000 ft up to the peak at nearly 11,000 ft. This was not surprising considering the excellent view we had of San Gorgonio from the top of San Jacinto in 2022. We could also see some of the lower peaks in the southern San Gorgonio Wilderness, backcountry roads that wound among them, and Palm Springs in the distance.

Continuing West, eventually Mount San Antonio and the San Gabriels poked out from the ridge ahead.

The view up here was pretty cool. Standing on the tallest mountain in Southern California, you could see the other two tallest peaks over 10,000 ft in the same panorama. Even the distant Santiago Peak in the Santa Ana mountains was visible poking through the smog, with Laguna Beach sitting beyond.

After crossing a single short snow patch stained with red bacteria (“watermelon snow”), the final stretch of trail led a quarter mile across barren stone to the summit.

The Peak

There were quite a few people on the summit, as it is a popular day hike destination. We found the box and signed, paying proper respect to our lost comrade.

Some friendly boy scouts took our photo at the very top. This is the highest point in Southern California, at over 11,500 ft! It is basically a rule that I meet and chat with some boy scouts on every backpacking trip. They talked about their eagle projects and going to Philmont. Nice. We also took a sick selfie looking back towards Dry Lake, which was just visible from the summit!

It was early afternoon, so we found a nice set of rocks to sit on and ate lunch while enjoying the view. Matt had packed in two loaves of bread for us, and I broke out my salami stick and extremely oversized block of cheese that had at this point become quite warm and oily. Still tasted good. Matt also brought some gabagool.

Looking North, we could see Dry Lake, the nearby low peaks, Poopout Hill, and even a slice of Bear Lake. We could also see the backside of Snow Summit and the Mojave stretching out beyond the northern reaches of the San Bernardino mountains.

To the East was another vista. Climbing the last few hundred feet had now exposed the whole Coachella Valley, including Palm Springs, Desert Hot Springs, and beyond. The Salton Sea was out there, but we couldn’t quite see it. To the left, Morongo Valley was visible, and past it the desert towns of Yucca Valley and Joshua Tree. In between lay Joshua Tree National Park.

I scuttled around and took photos of the views while the boys rested. Later we would all agree that this was a very strenuous hike for a middling view (at least compared to what you can get in the Sierras). Though it was cool to see all these local Southern California landmarks from the same spot.

As we packed up and started on the long slog home, I noticed that the layer of smog smothered over San Bernardino had become much thicker, and looked almost like an ocean lapping at the base of the San Gabriels.

Descent

The trip down was, as it always is, much quicker. We didn’t talk as much, and we all just wanted to get back to camp ASAP. The light on the way down was pretty nice, and I got some good golden hour shots.

We sprinted home and got back to camp in the late afternoon. After a hard day, I decided it was time for a swim after I had chickened out on Day 1. Of course nobody wanted to join me, so I scampered over to our water pumping zone and dove in. The lake was shallow and muddy, and I was worried about leeches, so I tried to float near the surface. But shallow water is also warm, so it was a really comfortable temperature. While I was out there I saw a dragonfly nymph catch a large tadpole and drag it down to the bottom.

We pumped water and chilled for a bit before dinner. Dave told us about his peaceful day. He saw a deer, and the ranger popped by. Surprisingly the ranger did not check our permit (Dave even started getting it out before he said not to worry about it). But he did give us a little trouble for Matt and Chris’s tent being a bit close to the water. Oh well.

Dave had also spent his alone time developing some new entertainment tech - a game called “throw a stick hit a stick.” To play, you bury two sticks a few inches in the dirt, standing straight up, separated by about 15 ft. Each player then selects a stick about the length of their forearm. Players take turns throwing their chosen stick from one of the buried sticks, attempting to knock the other buried stick over. If nobody succeeds, you switch sides and try again. We played a few rounds. I think Matt and Koga were cracked at this. This is peak wilderness entertainment, here. holds up finger

We made dinner around sunset again. Chris treated us to his patented fried salami appetizer, roasting my leftover slices in his titanium cup over the stove. We broke out the mango sticky rice, but it was a real stinker. It was kind of savory, and contained turmeric, which is just whack. I forced myself to finish it rather than pack it out.

After sunset we played a bit of a game Matt suggested. One player has to guess a random number between 1-10 based on selections made by all the other players, who know the number. The guesser picks a category for each other player, and that player picks something in that category that they think the guesser would rate with the secret number, from 1-10. It was a pretty good campfire game (despite the fact there was no campfire).

Day 3

I was using the same tarp tent that I had used on our 2023 JMT Section, and I encountered a familiar problem when the wind started picking up in the night. My tent site was sandy, and the wind ended up pulling a stake up and collapsing my tent onto my face in the middle of the night. Not fun. I had to drag myself out and go find some big rocks to plant firmly on top of all the stakes. The rest of the night I was extremely paranoid and awoke at the smallest sound expecting the tent to fall right on my face again. Good times.

Everybody was ready to skedaddle early. We had breakfast, pumped water and headed out before 9 am. Goodbye Dry Lake!

The wind continued into the morning, and was blasting us pretty good as we trekked through the wildflower patch.

As is usually the case, taking the trail in reverse at a different time of day is very disorienting, and I felt like I had never seen most of the terrain we passed through on the second half of the descent. It was much more lush and green than I remember on the way up. Maybe it was just that positive downhill mood…

We made it down about 6 miles in just over 3 hours - an absolute ripper. All knees survived, thankfully. We hopped in the car and drove straight to In-n-Out, which really hit the spot after our wilderness weekend.

Epilogue

While looking through old photos, I found this snap of San Gorgonio I took from the top of Big Bear in January 2023. It’s a pretty cool contrast to the foliage above, and you can see a lot of our route clearly laid out.