| Peak | Cucamonga Peak |
|---|---|
| Group | N/A |
| Trailhead | Icehouse Canyon |
The weather reports looked ominous for the IE with temperatures in the 90s. However, the canyon trail in the morning and the summit later in the day were absolutely pleasant. It was ridiculously busy given it was a Saturday and the parking lot and surrounding street parking were completely full by 640am. I think I’m gonna look for more weekday opportunities because the hike was beautiful and the trail was in great shape, but the sheer number of hikers was out the door. There was even a single group of 90 people heading to the summit that day. This took away from the nature experience and it seemed like a group that size should have been broken up into smaller groups with staggered start times. This became evident when on the switchbacks up to the peak. Having to stop for about 5 minutes every 5 minutes to allow descending hikers in groups of 15 to 25 pass by made for nice little breaks but also made the hike noticeably longer than normal. Nonetheless, I had all day to kill and was determined to bag Cucamonga that day so I pressed onward. The view from the peak was excellent even if the air quality of the IE isn’t. No snow patches were observed. I did see a little up on Baldy and quite a bit still on Gorgonio, but that’s not getting hiked for a couple months yet. Overall the hike was enjoyable and the views fantastic. 2 down 4 to go.
