| Peak | San Bernardino |
|---|---|
| Group | I hike up with Mehmet Bilen who was completing his Six Pack of Peaks Challenge. We met Hike Beyond the Hills group at the peak and hike out Angelus Oaks with them. |
| Trailhead | Momyer Creek |
This was a challenging 17.25 mile hike with almost 5300′ in elevation gain. Most of that during miles 2, 3, 4, & 5. These ranged between 800′ gain per mile to just over a 1000′ gain per mile. We started off at 0500 and the temps were already above 70′. There were lots of mosquitos and flies at the trail head and along the trail. This hike starts off by crossing the creek and then following the signs. The first three miles of the hike well maintained and were easy to follow. At 2.9 miles we turned north onto the Momyer Creek Trace Trail. This 4.4 mile section was steep for the first few miles. It is an unmaintained trail, so there was a lot of over growth and the trail was very narrow in a lot of places. Several downed trees across sections of the trail added to the difficulty in traversing the trail. Although there was a spot about 5 miles in where someone had obviously done some work on the trail. That was short lived though! Just before the ridge line we missed a switchback. We were probably about 50 to 100 yards past before we realized we weren’t on the trail anymore.. Instead of going back to try and find the trail, we just headed straight up. I knew from my map recon that the San Bernardino Divide Trail was less than a 1/4 mile up, so all we had to was head north. Once we got back on the trail, we headed west to our original destination. We saw were our trail came out and connected with the San Bernardino Divide Trail. Then it was on the East San Bernardino Peak and San Bernardino Peak, were we met up with Hike Beyond the Hills group and hike out with them through Angelus Oaks as planned. The weather reports leading up to the hike were questionable. I had 60′ at 0500 at the trailhead, 70’s as we made our way up the south side, low 60’s at the peak and 84′ as we came out of Angelus Oaks. The actual temps were at least 70 to 75 at 0500, mid to upper 80’s as we headed up the trace trail and then along the ridge. The peak was easily in the mid 80’s and by the time we reached Angelus Oaks it was in the mid 90’s. I carried 6 1/2 liters of water so I was good for hydration. My partner carried 5 liters and needed to fill up at limber pine where there was ample water and lots of people filling up due to the heat. All in all, it was a great hike. This challenge got me one step closer to achieving my goal of completing the Six Pack of Peaks from alternate trailheads this year.
