| Peak | San Gorgonio |
|---|---|
| Group | N/A |
| Trailhead | Vivian Creek |
San Gorgonio! Our last peak from the pack!
By far the most challenging, awesome and incredible hike ever!
Gathering from all we’ve learned so far from every peak we’ve summited, we gathered up weather info, trail maps, trail info, food, water and our hiking gear and got up early to start our hike on a very foggy morning. Parked and headed up the Vivian Creek trail (checked the weather, gotta keep an eye on forecasts especially in monsoon season! learned this after my first attempt to summit San Bernardino peak) at 5:00 AM with headlamps.
Heading up to the Vivian Creek trailhead thru Mill Creek road in darkness before dawn definitely got our adrenaline up early. We could hear Mill Creek which was running lightly and crossed thru the dry creek bed to the Vivian Creek trailhead. From this point the switchbacks leading up to Vivian Creek campgrounds are steep. Once we reached the campgrounds at around 6:00 AM dawn started to begin and crossed the Vivian Creek which was also flowing lightly. This part of the trail is densely forested and beautiful.
We then arrived to the switch backs that headed up after passing halfway camp (which is not half way to the peak..lol). These are long switch backs leading up to High Creek camp. Right before getting to High Creek camp you’ll notice a waterfall of to the right. There were lots of people camped up in High Creek as it was the Labor Day weekend. We passed High Creek and got to some steep switch backs leading up to a small ridge top. These switchbacks is where we started feeling the altitude which was above 9000 feet. We took a break up at the ridge where the switchbacks end before heading back into the trail.
This part of the trail was tough as you get near the treeline section. There’s less and less trees, it gets steeper and the effects of being above 10000 feet kick in as the air gets thinner and it gets really windy and colder. We arrived at the section above the treeline and with the air thin and the ground rocky with heavy gusts coming in from the east side was really tough. The views of San Jacinto and Palm Springs however really catch the eye.
We got to the junction between the sky high trail and up to the summit which really got our adrenaline up as we knew we were almost near the summit. This was about 30 minutes of huffing and puffing until finally we reached the summit! We could really feel the effects of being up at 11,500 feet but were happy that we accomplished something we hadn’t thought we would ever do. The 360 views are incredible. Desert, city, mountains, lakes, it’s just a lot to take in! Took pictures, had our lunch, and played with the summit chipmunks! After an hour there, we started our trek down which was much more harder.
The trek down we could feel how steep the trail was as the body resists while going down. Definitely having trekking poles helped out a lot! Took picture breaks, had snacks and had lots of water as it got hotter on our way down. The last mile to the bottom of Mill Creek was brutal and my feet were killing me. We celebrated once we got to the Mill Creek parking lot at our truck! It took us 11 hours total but so worth it that I would do it again.
This an experience I will never forget and a perfect way to spend our labor day weekend and was such an accomplishment. This was our last peak of our six peak challenge! Awesome! Can’t wait for next year and the next six peak challenge! We are planning our Mt. Whitney trip soon! Never thought that would cross my head either. I’m also training for our Spartan Beast race coming up soon!!
