Mt. San Gorgonio is the highest mountain in all of Southern California, straddling the deserts to the east and the smoggy Los Angeles/Inland Empire basin to the west. To summit requires nothing more than a lot of energetic hiking, as its gain is over a vertical mile from the trailhead. With this peak I would have all 10 Southern California county highpoints, but I'd always put this one off because of its daunting length and gain. I finally decided to tackle it since the weather was behaving very nicely, I wanted to get out of the never-ending heat of Phoenix, and I wanted to visit my awesome niece Emma, now a 16-month old charmer. I left Phoenix on Friday the 28th and spent the night in Banning, in Gorgonio's shadow, arriving well after dark.

From Banning there are some back roads to the trailhead- I bypassed Redlands altogether and went through Yucaipa, trying to find an all-night supermarket (no luck). I blissfully ignored the signs requiring a Forest Adventure Pass and arrived at the trailhead at 6:15 or so. A couple two cars away were gearing up for their 130th ascent, while two older guys nearby were going up for their 70th ascent. Me, I was a San Gorgonio virgin. This is a very popular hike: the lot was filled with about 20 cars already. A lot of people backpack and camp in the mountains as well. I started in at 6:30. The trailhead elevation was 6,060 feet.

The initial portion of the trail is an old dirt road paralleling Mill Creek. After about a quarter-mile, the trail crosses Mill Creek and enters the steep slopes on the other side. Mill Creek was running just a trickle but it has been known to flood- the creek is about 150 feet wide. On the other side, I hiked up some very steep switchbacks well hidden in the forest cover. Soon, I topped out at the San Gorgonio Wilderness Area sign at 7,000 feet elevation, gaining almost 1,000 feet in less than a mile. Fortunately, this would be the steepest part of the entire hike.

From the sign, the trail drops a bit then levels off before coming around to Vivian Creek. This area has some designated camping sites available, and I came upon some campers just waking up. The trail crosses the stream via an old log. For the next two miles or so, the trail gains at a moderate but pleasant grade, mainly paralleling Vivian Creek, and sometimes hemmed in by steep canyon walls. Periodically the trail wandered through some brush away from the creek. "Halfway" Camp is passed herein, but the name certainly does not imply one is half way to the summit. Here, I met a fellow named Peter, and we hiked together a short ways before he took off on his own pace. He'd hiked the peak before and had good knowledge of the trails. Nice guy. This segment of the hike ends at the base of a series of long switchbacks at 8,200 feet elevation.

The switchbacks gain at a slightly steeper grade out of Vivian Canyon and allow views above the foothill peaks. I could finally see peaks miles in the distance instead of the canyon walls just a hundred feet away. The grade isn't too bad, with nice level portions, and it eventually leads to High Creek Camp at elevation 9,400 feet. It was 9:30 a.m.. I'd covered 4.8 miles and 3,400 feet of gain from the start. Normally this would be about average for most peaks I've done just to get to the summit. But here, I still had 3 miles and 2,100 feet up to go. I met a nice couple, Chris and Jennifer (and Otis, their Golden Retriever), camped at High Creek. I took an extended break here to eat, hydrate, rest and chat. They allowed me to cache some of my stuff at their site to lighten my pack for the final push to the top. The weather was magnificent: not one cloud pocked the sky. A slight breeze and temps in the 60s. Very nice.

I left Chris and Jennifer and started up a series of switchbacks that would eventually gain the main ridge below San Gorgonio's summit. Up to this point the peak was out of view, and it still was until I could gain the ridge. The switchbacks were long and numerous, but it kept the grade nice and I made good time. I gained the ridge at elevation 10,100 feet. The trail stays high on the ridge and starts another series of littler switchbacks, gaining a small knob at elevation 10,500 feet. The forest was thinning and San Gorgonio's massive white summit mass loomed in full view, tantalizingly close! Peter, the guy I hiked with down below, was about 20 minutes ahead of me and I could periodically spot him on the trail high above me, giving me an idea of my progress. From the knob, the trail traverses a scree slope below peak 11,171, and comes to a junction with another trail at elevation 11,240 feet. By now, I was getting pretty beat, but the summit was just a few hundred yards away. Actually, the last 260 feet up was very easy. Interestingly, San Gorgonio's summit is broad and wide, with about 5 or 6 little bumps vying for the highpoint; the true highpoint and the summit of the mountain was not visible until the final 1/4 mile. Two large American flags waved in the breeze and I arrived at the top at 12:30 sharp, 6 hours from my start with almost 5,500 feet of gain: over a vertical mile! A new single-day record for me. Chris and Jennifer arrived about 10 minutes after I did. Otis, the four-legged type, seemingly was not affected by the climb!

At the top there were a few others enjoying the views, eating lunch and chatting with two Forest Service guys. The Mojave desert can be seen to the northeast, while the Palm Springs-Salton Sea area spreads out to the east (obscured by some lower peaks). Mt. San Jacinto, the Riverside county highpoint, is readily visible just south, about 15 airmiles away. Mt. San Antonio, Los Angeles county's highpoint, could be seen to the west. The tell-tale haze, smog and marine layer from the Pacific Ocean obscured most of the views to the far west. I stayed for about 45 minutes, finally starting down at 1:15 p.m. Hiking down went quick but the sun high in the sky heated up things a bit. There was not much shade, but once back in the forest cover I had more shade. I arrived back at High Creek Camp to rest again. I waited until Chris and Jennifer came back, grabbed my stuff and thanked them, then went on my way. Peter was sound asleep on a log. At about 3:30, I left High Creek Camp. Aside from stopping about every 15 minutes to relax, I made good time, hiking with Peter down the final steep switchbacks, which really were miserable after all that hiking. Very slippery, loose rock and crud. But it went quickly and I was back to my truck at 5:30, eleven hours after setting out. Victory! Also, I had no ticket on my truck for not having an Adventure Pass. I got lucky. Boy was I beat! After changing into some drier clothes I made the 40-mile drive to Rancho Cucamonga to visit my brother and his family, and to entertain (and be entertained by) my niece Emma, who is just starting to talk. Next day: the boring drive back to Phoenix.