Hike to Mt. Wilson

We started off late at 1:30 PM from Chantry Flat and were lucky to find a parking spot open as soon as we got there. This hike was beautiful with lots of trees, streams, dams, cliff views and waterfalls. The weather was perfect in the mid 70s. We took the Gabrielino Trail as we went past the beautiful bridge. The first half of the hike was not as challenging. As we got past the picnic area, it got pretty steep. This is where the bugs started to annoy us. It was so annoying that we didn’t even take any breaks and kept moving up. Once we got past Sturtevant Camp, the hike got a  little challenging with all the switchbacks. The last mile never ended and finally, we got the view of antennas. We had great views of the valley only after we got close to the top. It took us 3.5 hours to get to the top. The cafe just closed. Luckily, there was a private event at the museum and so they had a grill set up for the guests. We were able to buy some much-needed cheeseburgers and they were delicious. We spent an hour there as one of the guys had cramps. Our original plan was to hike down the Winter Creek Trail down to the Chantry Flat. However, we lost some time at the peak and we decided to take the known route so we don’t get stuck in the dark by missing any turns. We started our descent at 6 PM with 2 hours of sunlight left. We reached Sturtevant Camp in less than an hour. This time we took the Upper Gabrielino Trail and got some great views. It got dark by the time we got to the bridge but it was a full moon day and we had no problems walking up the paved road to the parking lot. Overall, it was a great hike and a different landscape compared to the Cucamonga or the Cactus to Clouds. I definitely underestimated the hike from all the online reviews. It was definitely a challenging hike with some steep switchbacks. The worst part of the hike was the annoying bugs. They chased us for a good mile or more. Overall, a great hike and awesome landscape.