Met up with fellow SoCal Hiker, Cathy, at the Maple Springs Visitor Center at about 0600. From here we carpooled up the long Maple Springs Truck Trail to the North Main Divide Road. We stepped off right around 0700 and hiked 3.8 miles to the summit. We opted to take the shorter “trail” route versus following the North Main Divide Road up. Otherwise, it would have been closer to 4.9 miles to the summit.

With the exception of a few motorcycles coming up, we had the summit all to ourselves. Today was Cathy's 1st SoCal Peak of the year and first summit of Santiago Peak. We walked around the summit and enjoyed the views for a while, then took a quick snack break before heading down. It was a little chilly and windy today, but weather wise a very pleasant day.

We took the road all the way back, adding the mile plus back into our descent. There were lots of trucks, bikers and cyclist along the road as we descended. Two or three hikers. We finished this hike with 8.87 miles and about 1,500 feet in total elevation gain.

Great day and great company. 🙂