Lesson learned: don’t ever be without a camera, especially when hiking. You never know what you’re going to see, and that specific moment will be gone forever. Such was the case on my hike to Cucamonga Peak yesterday. I was admittedly underprepared – the bare minimum to ensure a fairly safe hike: proper boots, water, enough food. But I was lacking some of the 10 essentials and definitely a camera. You don’t know what will happen.
But fortunately, flickr comes to the rescue, and a search yielded some great pics by simonov that are representative of my experience. I’ll deviate from my usual guidelines and employ pictures not of my own taking. All photos on this post are attributed to him.
The day began in Los Angeles with the typical May Gray weather. But when I exited the 210 in Claremont and started heading north to Baldy Village, the transition was dramatic. Gray skies gave way to blue, and I was struck by the brilliant yellow flowers lining the road. The air seemed to take on a new freshness and I suddenly remembered why it’s important to get away from the city and recharge the spirit. It’s easy to forget that all this is within an hour of most of us.
After a bit of miscommunication, I rendezvoused with D at the parking lot just off Icehouse Canyon Road, and we set out. The stated goal was to make it to Cucamonga Peak, 6 miles into the Cucamonga Wilderness, but we agreed that we could play it by ear. It made it easier knowing that neither of us had firm plans for the rest of the day.
Looking back, one thing I loved about this hike was the diversity of sights, sounds, smells and feelings en route. The predominant feature as we started out was a large creek, whose waters were still full and running strong alongside the trail. Trees formed a thick green canopy, and had the day been much warmer, the pools and falls would have been an alluring stop.
But we continued onward and came into the canyon. The sides of the canyon sloped up steeply, and were largely bare except for widely-separated pine trees growing on them. So the effect was of a fairly open space. The whole trail had a lot of scree on it, but it was easy to follow and pretty well maintained. The part up to Icehouse Saddle was definitely popular. I wouldn’t call it crowded, but we saw plenty of folk along the way, and the parking lot was full by 7:30.
It’s a continuous uphill climb to the saddle, at 3 1/2 miles in. Along the way, I was impressed by the unexpected color I saw. There were flowers in shades of pink and yellow, and a sort of wild lilac that not only provided a white to light purple color but a wonderful fragrance. The melody of the birds was everywhere, but aside from that, there was a quiet stillness that was wonderfully comforting.
Icehouse Saddle in itself makes a great destination. There were a number of fallen logs to provide sitting space, and a nice view of the high desert on the other side of the mountains. Trees kept it cool and green. Its location at the junction of 5 trails definitely made it a good rest stop and meeting point.
Feeling pretty good, we elected to continue on to Cucamonga Peak. The crown thinned out, though we still saw enough people along the way to allow me to feel comfortable when we wanted to hike at different paces. The trail was narrow and rocky at times – definitely one you need to keep your eyes on, but not so bad that I ever felt in danger. D noticed that it started to descend a bit and we’d pay for it coming back. I didn’t believe her, but she proved to be right.
The remainder of the trail was fairly unremarkable – all I remember is going up through a variety of switchbacks. Some of the trail was shaded; other parts were exposed. While most of the metro area was still covered by clouds, we had nice sun, and the temperature was ideal.
This hike as a whole was one of the more difficult ones I’ve done, largely for the length and the continuous uphill climb. The gain over the 6 miles was more than 4000 feet. But it was really the last quarter mile that was the worst – I was grateful that it was so short! A pretty steep uphill scramble that would have been fun at the outset of the trip, it instead only served to taunt me. But the knowledge that the goal was waiting at the ridgeline (and the fact that I wasn’t about to waste my 5 1/2 mile investment) encouraged me on to the finish line.
It was worth it. An open summit, and an incredible vista awaited us. This day, much of the suburban sprawl was hidden by a sea of clouds, but that was pretty cool as it added to the sense of isolation. We had great views of nearby mountains and open sky. Were it not for some threatening clouds, I would have liked to hang out more. Next time I’ll have to remember to bring a book and enjoy some rest time.
The descent was mundane – one downside of this hike is that you pretty much take the same route both ways, although there are some alternate routes to the car if you have extra time. We took about 4 hours going up and 3 hours coming down.
Modern Hiker and Dan both provide much better descriptions of the hike itself. But I agree with both that this is one of the best ones I’ve done in the area. D pointed out that it’s the longest one we’ve done together. And as I pondered that, I realized it may even be the longest hike I’ve done period, certainly in a long while. And while my sore muscles may not agree, that made me feel pretty darn good 
Tags: hike
May 31st, 2009 at 7:06 pm
Another great post. I’ve always wanted to do this trail but the elevation gain seemed a bit daunting. Very impressive!
May 31st, 2009 at 7:43 pm
I felt like I was cheating on you! I should have coordinated this one better. But you were there in spirit. We passed a hollow tree with bees in it, but they left us alone. And the temperature was perfect, but I said it wouldn’t be long before it got hot – so I described the “bridge to nowhere” hike along – and in – the river.
We need to set up a hike soon – I want to hear what’s up with you.