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The Nine-Peak Challenge

July 23, 2015 By Jennifer Iarossi 17 Comments

nine-peak-challenge

The Nine-Peak Challenge is a really intense route that took two SoCal hikers up nine (yes, NINE) peaks including San Gorgonio — the highest in Southern California — in one really long day hike. Thanks to Jen and Dave for sharing their photos and this epic trip report.

img
Trail Details
Distance: ~27 miles
Time: 14-18 hours
Difficulty: Slightly crazy
Elevation gain:~8,300 ft
Dogs: Are you serious?
When to go: June-October
Dave and I met at the Starbucks in Mentone instead of the more traditional Mill Creek Ranger station meet up, and were the first customers when they opened at 5am on Sunday. Neither of us had ever hiked these trails before, and we knew we were attempting a route for the “fittest of the fit”, so we agreed we could use every extra sugared, caffeinated edge we could get. From there we headed to the Vivian Creek trailhead to drop a car at the finish, then shuttled back to the Angeles Oaks trailhead where we started our hike – which turned out to be great advice (from Jim in the SoCal Hikers group)!

We hit the trail at 5:50 AM and started climbing immediately. The sun was rising over the mountains , so we were treated to stunning views, and a shady, cool trail.

Entering the San Gorgonio Wilderness

The ground was mostly soft dirt, with flat open stretches interspersed between steeper climbs. We snapped a quick photo of Washington’s Monument and reached our first peak — the summit of San Bernardino Peak — in 3.5 hours, holding a steady, fast pace the entire way up.

Washington's Monument -- near the summit of San Bernardino Peak

From the summit, we had a 360 degree view for miles in every direction, with barely a cloud in the sky. San Gorgonio was only a distant ridge, mostly indistinguishable to our untrained eyes. I was able to point out San Jacinto, Mount Baldy, and Santiago Peak in the distance. We signed the register and headed to the next peak:

The trip from San Bernardino Peak to East San Bernardino Peak was a gradual sloping walk along a ridgeline trail all without losing too much elevation – maybe 200 feet or so over the course of about a mile, with a slightly steeper climb to the summit.

We were treated to similar views, including San Bernardino Peak where we had just been.  We stopped for a snack before continuing due east toward Anderson.  We crossed the Moymer Creek Trail junction and the Foresee Creek junction, and soon after encountered our first challenge – there was no trail on my topo map application, and no evidence of any cairns pointing the way.  Instead there was a steeply pitched hill, with a soft floor of pine needles shaded by big pine trees.  So… we just went up until we’d reached the top, or at least what we think was the top (we didn’t notice any USGS marker or register at the summit).

We sloped back down through the pine forest until we reconnected with the San Bernardino Peak Divide Trail and continued east toward Shields.

After crossing the second intersection of the Foresee Creek trail at Anderson Flats, we could clearly see Shields Peak in front of us.  It was a pile of large boulders ~100’ higher than the trail.  We opted to approach the summit straight on, which would be steepest but shortest.  I had a blast hopping from boulder to boulder, doing mostly Class 2 scrambling.

Boulder Scramble up Shields Peak

Dave on the Scramble up Shields Peak

Shields Peak was breezy and starting to get a little cloudy, a nice reprise from the heat of the day.  We headed down one slow step-hop at a time, angling northeast to save ourselves a few feet back on the trail.

Four Down, Five to Go

The fifth peak, Alto Diablo, would have gone unnoticed if I hadn’t put the waypoint in my phone app ahead of time, as it was unnamed on the map.  Being so close to the trail, it was such a quick win to summit after the last two ascents that it almost felt like cheating!

From Alto Diablo, we turned south for about 1.5 miles, passing through the Dollar Lake saddle – back down to 10,000 feet and “only” about 14 miles from where we’d started, after ~7.5 hours of hiking without stopping for a snack.  I began to realize I had mentally prepared for the ascent up San Bernardino Peak, and for the long descent down San Gorgonio, but I had underestimated the distance from SB to SG, and the challenge of the 7 peaks in the middle.  This was not going to be a 10-hour hike, or even a 12-hour hike.

We wrapped east around Charlton looking for a path up through the brush, which meant hiking past it a bit almost to the saddle with Little Charlton.  From the summit, we could see our final peak in the distance, clearly for the first time.  We celebrated summit number six with a “packs off” break, and enjoyed apples.

San Gorgonio in the Distance from Charlton

From the summit of Charlton, with map in hand, it was pretty easy to see the path to Little Charlton, peak number seven.  We enjoyed apples along the way – which were extra juicy and delicious as we’d been rationing our water.

Three liters of water each turned out to be enough, but just barely given the heat and the duration of the hike.  We continued nearly due south to reconnect to the San Bernardino Peak Divide Trail, instead of backtracking to the saddle to catch it where we’d headed up Charlton.

Jepson was another challenging ascent, because the only clear break in the brush to get up was about ¾ of a mile past the summit.  The path would have been easy to see if we’d done the peaks in reverse, starting with San Gorgonio, but at this point in the day, after walking around this mountain with Gorgonio easily in sight, the thought of backtracking even 0.10 miles was disheartening.  We took a moment to mentally regroup.

I was ready to simply call our adventure an “8-peak challenge”, but Dave (while he was fully ready to support my decision either way) said “well… we’ve come this far…”.  I agreed, and up we went, dropping our packs along the way to gain some speed.  The register was especially rewarding to sign after almost skipping it!  As an added benefit, I realized that we would only lose about 150’ of elevation, which was cause for added celebration as we headed back across the ridge.

Snow on San Gorgonio in June

After summiting eight other mountains, San Gorgonio seemed almost easy!  It was ~1.5 miles away, with only ~450’ gain from the saddle with Jepson.  Pretty much a walk in the park!  We passed the Vivian Creek trail intersection and again dropped our packs, grabbing just a bottle of water in the final summit push.  I was giddy to see snow (what tiny patches there were left), and a full 7 hours after we had been standing on San Bernardino Peak (10.5 hours after we’d started at daybreak), we thoroughly took in the 360 degree views from the highest point in southern California, noting each peak we’d climbed in the distance.

Great views of San Jacinto from peak nine - San Gorgonio

Dave and Jen on San Gorgonio

The way back down Vivian Creek Trail was as easy to follow as it was long – about 10 miles and 5500’ left to descend.  We were quickly losing light, and while we both were prepared with headlamps, we jogged a little along the not-too-rocky portions to gain as much distance as quickly as we could, since we knew the steepest switchbacks were near the trailhead.  Vivian Creek, at the High Creek campground, still had water flowing, but we opted to just keep going rather than to stop and replenish our dwindling supply.

We made it back down in about 4 hours, reaching the car at 8:20pm just as the last essence of daylight was fading – we had hiked from sun up to sundown.

Twilight at the Vivian Creek trailhead

Final figures? 14.5 hours total, over ~27 miles, gaining ~8300’ across 9 peaks.  What a great day!

But the challenge wasn’t quite done!  Driving back to Angelus Oaks in total darkness proved to be more difficult than we had expected, and it took us about 20 minutes to find the trailhead parking lot among a sea of bumpy dirt roads that seemed a LOT longer than they were in the morning.

Nine Peak Challenge Trail Map

© OpenStreetMap contributors
Download file: nine-peak-challenge.gpx

Photo Gallery

Click on any photo to view a larger version. You can also leave comments on any photo.

Entering the San Gorgonio Wilderness
Making Track to San Bernardino Peak
Washington's Monument -- near the summit of San Bernardino Peak
San Bernardino Summit Register
Summit Register on Charlton
San Jacinto in the Distance
San Gorgonio in the Distance from Charlton
Four Down, Five to Go
Dave on the Scramble up Shields Peak
Boulder Scramble up Shields Peak
Dave on Little Charlton - Peak Seven
Snow on San Gorgonio in June
Dave and Jen on San Gorgonio
Great views of San Jacinto from peak nine - San Gorgonio
Twilight at the Vivian Creek trailhead
San Gorgonio Wilderness Trail Closures as of 7-16-2015

Nine Peak Challenge Tips

  • Take plenty of water. There is sometimes water available from the Columbine Spring (short detour en route to San Berardino) and sometimes at High Creek or Vivian Creek on your way down from San Gorgonio, but must of this trail is pretty dry. Don’t rely on refilling.
  • Carry the Ten Essentials, and know how to use them. That includes a map, compass and the knowledge to navigate out of there.
  • Have a bail-out plan. This is a long hike. Set a “turn-back” goal. If you don’t reach that point by the specified time, you turn back to where you started and try this again another time–good advice for any long hike.

More Nine Peak Challenge Resources

  • GPS user? Download the GPX file
  • View the trail in Google Earth
  • Being a shuttle hike, you’ll need to drive two cars, leaving one at each trailhead. Here’s the Vivian Creek trailhead on Google Maps, where we exited, and here is the Angeles Oaks trailhead. A National Forest Adventure Pass is required for parking.
  • Permits are required for overnight treks, and recommended even for day hikes, and group size is limited to a maximum of 12. They checked us near the summit, so they mean business.
  • San Gorgonio Wilderness Association
  • Map of current trail closures in the San Gorgonio Wilderness (PDF)

Nine Peak Challenge Weather Forecast

Note that the conditions at the summit can be considerably colder!

The location could not be found.

Thanks to Dave and Jen for taking on this crazy challenge — and completing it successfully! 

Filed Under: Trail Guides Tagged With: 11+ miles, hiking, peak, peakbagging, San Gorgonio Wilderness, strenuous, Valley Fire, wilderness

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Comments

  1. NateKat says

    July 23, 2015 at 1:05 pm

    What a hike! More than I’d ever want to do in a day, that’s for sure.
    Several years ago while backpacking in the Icehouse Canyon area, we ran into a young guy doing a similar type of hike in the Angeles Forest – I forget exactly how many peaks, but I think his route hit Sugarloaf, Bighorn, Ontario, Cucamonga, Etiwanda, Timber, Telegraph, Thunder, Harwood, Baldy, and West Baldy. It made our hike to the 3 T’s from Kelly Camp seem pretty weak in comparison 🙂

    Reply
  2. Hikin' Jim says

    July 23, 2015 at 1:30 pm

    Nice job, guys

    Reply
  3. Marissa AMarissa A says

    July 28, 2016 at 11:22 pm

    Nice write up that will help me. Thanks!

    Reply
  4. Kyle Flatten says

    August 15, 2016 at 4:58 pm

    Hi! I really want to do this hike, i see it says 27 miles but when i put the info in google maps from angelus oaks trailhead to vivian creek trailhead it only said 16 miles and 7.5 hours. And the route it showed stayed along the san bernardino divide trail. Where am i going wrong? Want to make sure i do the full thing

    Reply
  5. Jeff HJeff Hester says

    August 16, 2016 at 11:12 am

    Kyle, this route cannot be hiked currently, due to the trail being closed after San Bernardino Peak (from last year’s wildfire). It is currently closed until July 2017.

    The route from Angelus Oaks to San Bernardino Peak remains open, as does the route from either Moymer or Vivian Creek to San Gorgonio, but the connector is off limits.

    As for the mileage, this is based off the GPS data collected by Jennifer, not what Google calculates. I suspect that the Google Maps mileage smooths out the trail, and maybe doesn’t even account for the vertical mileage?

    Reply
  6. Megan says

    August 1, 2017 at 5:27 am

    Hi Jeff! I’ve been eyeing this hike ever since I read your description here. Any updates on the trail reopening? Thanks! Megan

    Reply
    • Jeff HJeff Hester says

      August 2, 2017 at 1:51 pm

      Good news, Megan! It IS reopened!

      Reply
  7. Erin Long says

    September 13, 2017 at 2:56 pm

    Hey Jeff! My friend and I are doing the traverse on Sat. Can you share the advice you received to start with San B instead of San G? We were going to do the opposite to avoid the steep San G descent.

    Thank you!
    E

    Reply
  8. Francisco says

    December 6, 2017 at 11:47 pm

    Hi Jeff, thanks for the detailed description! I love the idea of the 9 peak challenge but hate the notion of shuttling between trailheads. I found in google maps that Momyer trailhead is relatively close to Vivian Creek trailhead, close enough to be walking distance. I though about making a 27 mile loop starting at Momyer trail going up to San Bernardino Peak, then taking the SB ridge trail all the way to Gorgonio peak, and coming back down on the vivian creek trail. I have a couple of questions for you:
    1. Have you ever used Momyer trail to go up to San Bernardino Peak?
    2. If you wanted to do this loop, would you recommend to do it clockwise (starting at Momyer trailhead going up to SB peak, then the ridge to Gorg, and coming down vivian trail) or counterclockwise (going first up Gorg via vivian creek, then taking the ridge to SB, and coming down via Momyer)?

    Reply
    • Jeff HJeff Hester says

      December 11, 2017 at 11:04 am

      Francisco,

      I haven’t hiked the Momyer Trail personally, but I know others who have, taking it as a route to San G. Making a loop like that definitely works and helps avoid the need to shuttle, but it also means more total vertical gain (Momyer TH is at a lower elevation than the San Bernardino TH).

      If I were to hike the challenge as a loop, I would start at Vivian Creek TH, hit San Gorgonio first, then the other 8 peaks, finishing with San Bernardino. You’ll have to backtrack a bit from San Bernardino Peak back to the Momyer Trail, but that’s unavoidable if you want to do that loop.

      Starting with the highest peak first gets the toughest part out of the way. Note that the only water you’ll pass on that loop would be at High Creek en route to San G, so plan to carry what you’ll need from there on.

      Reply
  9. John Kang says

    March 21, 2018 at 6:05 pm

    Thanks for the detailed description of your 9-leak hike. I am planning to do it soon. It will help me a lot to prepare for my hike.

    Reply
  10. Scott says

    April 24, 2018 at 6:53 am

    Awesome write up! I have been looking at this route on All Trails for a while now, and I’m so glad I found this!! Although I was thinking of doing San Gorgonio first and then spending a night camping out. Thanks for sharing and I will definitely be using this as I plan.

    Reply
  11. jordan says

    May 22, 2018 at 1:51 pm

    Great write up, I am planning to do this out/back over three days/ two nights this weekend, would you give any advice for someone attampting this solo, or just bring lots of water, calories, warm/cool clothes and all the supplies I will need? thanks!

    -Jordan

    Reply
    • Jeff HJeff Hester says

      May 25, 2018 at 4:51 pm

      Hey Jordan! You could do this as an out and back, though it’s probably better as a shuttle (although I realize this complicated logistics). As an out-and-back, you can start at Angelus Oaks and load up on water at Limber Pine Spring. Personally, I would carry enough water to get me to San Gorgonio and back to Limber Pine Spring — probably 4-5 liters. If you run short, there are some other springs but they would require detours down the mountain (and then back up to the divide… no fun!). And naturally, gear up for cold and the possibility of wet weather.

      Apart from that, you’ll see other people along the trail, especially up to San Bernardino and as you near San Gorgonio. Along the divide there will be people, but in much smaller numbers.

      Have you done any solo backpack trips before? Have you been up in the San Gorgonio Wilderness before?

      Reply
  12. Caesar says

    July 2, 2019 at 7:33 am

    Hi Jeff,

    I want to attempt the SB 9 peak challenge in the next few weeks, any advice?

    Caesar

    Reply
    • Jeff HJeff Hester says

      July 3, 2019 at 1:59 pm

      Hi Caesar! There is still some snow up there, but in a few weeks that should be down to just patches. Start as early as possible, and bring plenty of water, and a filter so you can refill at Limber Pine and High Creek. Study the maps, and know your alternate exit points in case you need to bail early. And of course, let people know your plans, and when you’ll be back.

      Good luck!

      Reply
  13. Rick says

    December 25, 2021 at 8:37 pm

    Thanks for the great information. BTW, the posted Gpx and google earth file does not match the described route. It rather seems to be a Gorgonio in and out trip. Cheers Rick

    Reply

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