Change of Plans

Met up with my friend Mary at the Icehouse Canyon Trailhead right around 5am. The lot was already filling up fast. Our goal today was to hike up to Icehouse Saddle and then on to Cucamonga Peak. We were unsure if we would have significant patches of snow/ice along the way, so we brought our micro spikes just in case.

The climb up to Icehouse Saddle was pretty smooth. Not snow on trail and not a lot of hikers. We took a short break at the saddle and then decided to do Ontario and Bighorn Peaks before heading up to Cucamonga Peak. Turning our planned 11.7 mile day with about 4,100 feet in elevation gain into a 17.1 mile day with just over 5,700 feet in elevation gain.

The hike from the saddle to Ontario Peak wasn’t too difficult. There was no one headed up this direction from the saddle. Once we made it to Kelly Camp we saw about a half dozen or more hikers that had camped out there. We continued and before we knew it we were at Ontario Peak. We ran into a few hikers coming down from the summit along the way and another five or so hikers at the summit. The was no snow on trail to this point. Only a few patches just off the trail.

After a little break at the summit of Ontario Peak, we headed off along the Ontario Peak Trail to follow the ridgeline for about 2-miles to Bighorn Peak. Again, there were no other hikers headed off in this direction and now snow to contend with. We took another short break at the summit before heading down the steep ½-mile slope that descends about 600 or more feet to Cucamonga Saddle (not to be mistaken for Icehouse Saddle).

From the saddle we continued along the Cucamonga Peak Trail for about 1.8 miles to our final summit of Cucamonga Peak. There were several hikers coming down as we made our way up and still another half-dozen or more at the summit. Again, there was no snow on trail. Just patches off to the side so spikes were not necessary today.

We spent some time at the summit taking photos, refueling, and relaxing. There were a few additional hikers that made their way up to the summit after us. As we headed down, we ran into another dozen or so hikers/backpackers making their way up. The temps (all day) were fairly moderate. Around 40 to 60 degrees throughout the day. I wore one layer while hiking and only added a mid-layer while sitting at the summits where the temps were at the coolest and the winds were between 10 to 15 mph. Not the 25 mph that was predicted on the Mountain Weather Forecast.

All in all, we had a great day. We summitted 3-peaks, hiked 17.1 miles, and gained over 5,700 feet in elevation.