| Peak | San Bernardino |
|---|---|
| Group | N/A |
| Trailhead | Angeles Oaks |
Toni, Susan, and I had no sleep leaving work and driving straight to Barton Flats to get some “SLEEP.” Just pitching a tent, taking a shower, packing things, catching up with friends are causes of no sleep. haha I had roughly 2 hours before we met up with our friends to begin the trail around 6:30 am.
This hike started off too steep, it was tough to climb that steep in the cold… my body was not warm enough for that intensity, but I kept pushing with the group. By the time we got to the flatter areas, lack of sleep begun to get to me and I got really slow to the point where I was going only 0.75 mph. I lost the group, but my sister hung around because she didn’t have any sleep at all either. The hike itself was beautiful, but I would have appreciate it more if I had slept. We reached an outlook that gave me a boost. I should have turned around, but the thought of coming back to do it again before this challenge was over changed my mind so we kept pushing very very slowly.
We reached the summit at 4pm and I am still shocked to see big bear lake from that high. I was surreal. We hung out for an hour before deciding to head back down. We were excited to be at the top, but knew it was going to be a long hike back and in the dark. It was Toni’s first time hiking in the dark and she was a bit nervous but my sister and I are so used hiking in the darkness, it helped calmed her nerves and she hiked down like a champ—- and was leading us! It was great to see someone conquer their fears. I will hike this peak again when I have enough sleep so I can take all of its beauty in.
