Looking for advice for climbing San gorgonio with a small child

[Stephanie K]

My 5 year old son and I have taken on the 6 pack peak challenge together and we have currently completed Wilson and baldy. I’m trying to plan the rest of our hikes throughout the summer and I’m a little concerned about doing San Gorgonio in one day. He is not a normal 5 year old, he has amazing endurance and seeks adventure constantly. He’s no stranger to long treks either. We did The long trail to mount Wilson in one day and he has also climbed half dome while hiking in with a 10 pound pack. My concern is that the San Gorgonio hike is long and super tough on the Vivian trail and I’m wondering if there are places to camp along that trail so that we can do the hike to the summit in 2 days. And if there are camp sites along that trail, how do I get an overnight permit to camp? I’ve attempted to secure a permit for Vivian trail but all I see are Day hike permits available. Can anyone please help us?

[Paul]

There are three official campsites along the way to San Gorgonio. The first is at the top of the hill, about 1.5 miles from the trailhead, where the first set of switch backs go up the hill from the trailhead. It is called Vivian Creek camp and has an abundance of water. The 2nd is halfway camp, about 3.1 miles from the trailhead, which probably has water, due to the recent rains, before you get to the camp and is well posted with a sign. The campsite is very large. The 3rd is High creek camp, about 6.5 miles from the trailhead. Again this should have water due to the rains last year. It is probably the best for camping and then summiting the following day. You will need to get a Wilderness camping permit from the Millcreek Ranger station for camping and summiting. You can do this online or by calling the Millcreek ranger station and faxing your permit application. Alltrails.com has great maps, but there is a yearly fee 🙁

[Paul]

P.S. Please keep in mind that this is a very tough trail, and would be a big challenge for an adult and an enormous challenge for a 5 year old, but only you know your child’s ability. These three camps do give you the ability to stop and camp and turn around along the way if the going gets to tough.

[Philip Y]

If I may add, I just watched a youtube video of a group that hiked last week. They overnighted at High Creek. There was an abundance of water at all three camp sites. I hiking this from the Momyer Creek Trail on Sunday and I’m trying to find out if there is water at Saxton Camp on the Falls Creek Trail. I’m assuming there is water, but I’m not 100% sure. I’m tryi0ng to decide how much water I should carry.

[Philip Y]

I like Alltrails too. Great information on literally thousands of hikes. The only problem I run into with their maps are the distance accuracy. For example, Alltrails shows that it is 2.7 miles from the Momyer Creek Trailhead to the intersection of the Momyer Creek Trace Trail and the Momyer-Alger Creek Trail. My San Gorgonio Wilderness Map says the same route is 2.9 miles. I hiked this a few weeks ago on my way to Dobb’s Camp and my tracker was at 2.9 miles, same as my map.

[Daniel Oliver]

To get permit:
sgwa.org
click on Wilderness permit
Click on availability to see what’s available
Return to Wilderness
Go to bottom of page
click on permit-Overnight

[Stephanie K]

Thanks so much Daniel.

[Author]

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