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Peak Cucamonga Peak
Group A Group of Hikers
Trailhead Icehouse Canyon

Like all the peaks in the Six-Pack, except for Mount Wilson and Mount Baldy, each one will be my first visit to the summit. The hike up to Cucamonga Peak was incredible! The first part up to Icehouse Saddle had a nice, gradual gain to it. After leaving the saddle it was fairly level for a while, then some elevation loss came about which put extra work on some already tired legs on the return trip. Then came the last segment to the summit which was pretty challenging. I’m becoming more acclimated to hiking in higher elevations, but I wouldn’t say I’m 100% comfortable with it yet. Do you ever get 100% comfortable breathing thinner air under strenous conditions? So, like with Mount Baldy, I took my time, and tackled a section at a time until I reached the top. The breaks are nice because you get to pause for a bit and really appreciate all the beauty that surrounds you. And with me being an amateur photographer, the breaks also made for capturing some nice moments. The Icehouse Canyon and Cucamonga Peak trails definitely put some beautiful San Gabriel Mountains back country on display.

I consider this hike to actually be two hikes. You have the hike through Icehouse Canyon up to Icehouse Saddle, then you have the Cucamonga Peak Trail. There’s some beautiful backcountry in Icehouse Canyon. In the future I plan to visit Icehouse Canyon quite often. Its got those National Park qualities to it, that we Southern Californians are very lucky to have right in our own backyard.

June 24th was one of the hottest days that month. We started just before 6:30 am and I summited at 11:20 am. Nice temperatures and shade all the way up. Going back down was a scorcher in a lot of areas. I loaded up on electrolytes at Icehouse Saddle, and splashed my face with some cool Icehouse Canyon water that was flowing from a small spring. I was also really glad to have some nice shade in Icehouse Canyon on the way back. Below are the hiking stats:

Total Length: 12.6 Miles
Elevation Gain: 3,757 ft
Start Time: 6:24am
Hiking Time: 6 hours, 44 minutes
Total Time: 9 hours
Ascent Time: 5 hours
Descent Time: 4 hours
Temperatures: Begin – 75 degrees, Summit – 87 degrees, End – 98 degrees

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