| Peak | San Bernardino |
|---|---|
| Group | Scoot and Brando Hiking Fools |
| Trailhead | San Bernadino Peak Trail (1W07) |
How to you get from Angeles Oaks to Forest Falls? Naturally you hike up and over both San Bernadino and San Gorgonio peaks! We left our car at the Vivian Creek trail head early Saturday morning and hitched a ride to Angeles Oaks from helpful Forest Falls native. We were hiking by 9 a.m. in forty or so degree weather and we never gained a degree of warmth as we climbed continuously throughout the morning. By the time we were approaching the summit of San Bernadino, we had donned long underwear, hats and gloves. After pausing only long enough for photos, hydration and calorie loading, we continued hiking East towards San Gorgonio.
The cool day make for fantastic hiking. There were no bugs, no sweating, and once we left the summit of San Bernadino, there were no people! Who could ask for more? Our next destination was the high meadow spring where we’d fill up on water before heading to our overnight camp at Dollar Lake Saddle. Getting to the spring only took an hour or so and the hiking along the 10,000 foot ridge top was incredible. Cold, dark clouds wafted in and out all day. We’d enter silent forests of burned trees and hike along soft trails that were so silent, it was like being in, well, nothing. Upon reaching the spring, which was right at a fork in the trail, we had a bit of a scare when no water was found. After a few seconds of panic we found the small, one foot wide puddle, being feed by a small continuous dropping, and proceeded to fill our our water bottles and bladders. Replenished and rehydrated, we marched off towards camp at the saddle. Exhaustion started to set in by mile twelve or so and in our stupor we spooked a heard/flock/whatever of big horn sheep. The sudden pounding of forty or more hooves scared the *hit out of us and we were then on pins and needles looking for other critters as we hiked the last couple of miles to camp. See San Gorgonio for part 2 of this awesome, two day hike.
