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| Hiking | 17.00 Miles |
4,800 AEG |
| | Hiking | 17.00 Miles | 8 Hrs 35 Mns | | 2.13 mph |
| 4,800 ft AEG | 37 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | This mountain has been on my to-do list since I was a kid. The monstrosity that is San Bernardino Peak towers over Yucaipa and is visible from practically anywhere in town. I spent the majority of my childhood there and would gaze up at the peak in awe every day. This was back before I knew hiking trails were a thing- I assumed the only way to get up there was to go directly up the massive, treacherous, western slope. Needless to say, today brought younger me some long overdue closure.
I hit the trail at 4:30am with only one other car in parked at the trailhead. Evidently San Gorgonio is far more popular as all of its permits were already spoken for, meanwhile SB Peak had plenty of availability on this Labor Day weekend. I would say that the views on this one are waaay better, the only difference is SG is higher.
By the time the sun rose, I was making my way through the beginning of Manzanita Flats, about 3 miles in. I could see the slopes of San Bernardino ahead of me and a killer display of alpenglow hitting the Inland Empire to my right. I did my best to maintain a subdued but steady pace to try and avoid any knee problems later on. Spotted a pack of deer crossing the trail, looked like they were taking off from Manzanita/Columbine Springs.
After the mild mile through Manzanita Flats, the trail begins the second portion of climbing up to Limber Pine Bench and Washington Monument. I threw on some old AFI to help push through the elevation gain. The views of the San Bernardino Mountains were extraordinary during golden hour. I took my primary lunch break at an overlook just before the monument, taking in the views of Mill Creek Canyon, Yucaipa, and beyond.
From the overlook to San Bernardino Peak is roughly 8/10ths of a mile. The peak is a little underwhelming with trees on all sides. However, I was able to catch some sweet views of San Gorgonio and San Jacinto on the eastern side of the summit.
Passed only 10 or 11 parties on the way down - still impressive for Labor Day weekend. The clouds were moving in which helped keep the sun at bay during most of the descent. Still super warm (90 degrees) at the car.
My knee started barking with about 5 miles to go and taking it slow didn't help too much. Gonna have to take some time off to let it heal up, which means my Big Sur hike this weekend is postponed. This hike was super rewarding and unbelievably scenic, though, so I'm cool with that. |
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Limber Pine Springs |
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| | | Good flow after the recent rain - not sure how long it will last | | _____________________
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