Taking off a day from work in the middle of the week to hit the trail, could it get any better than this? Maybe, but only if I was to stumble across a pot of gold while making my way to the top of San Bernardino Peak. What a gorgeous day!

Arriving at the trailhead at just after 6 pm, I was pleased to see only two other cars in the lot meaning I was going to have the trail to myself for most of the day. The trails would be bare of people and hopefully bare of ice for most of the way.

95% of the trail was clear of ice, but those remaining 5% that were covered were easily traversed without spikes or avoided all together. I did lose the trail at the top with probably with about 100 ft in elevation left, but at that point I was able to just work myself straight to the top by avoiding sections of ice along the way.

The peak was bare just a little after 12 pm when I arrived. I was able to enjoy this peaceful seclusion for 20 minutes while eating my trail lunch and relaxing in the sunlight. There was little to no breeze and the temperature was probably 70 degrees. What a perfect day. However, no pot of gold located along the way.

The first hiker to arrive after me, was also working on completing this year’s 6 Pack of Peaks. Now that he’d completed San Bernardino, all that was left for him to conquer was Gorgonio. A short time later, another 2 hikers arrived and all of us spent time congratulating each other, swapping trail accomplishments and taking pictures. It’s always fun meeting people on the trail, but it was time to get moving as I had a bunch of miles to clear and probably a 2-hour drive back to the Valley.

The trek down a trail is always a mixture of feelings. The pain and fatigue of slowly trudging up miles of elevation are now behind you, so you’re elated, but now you’re faced with miles of punishment on your knees, hips and feet. You accept this consequence because it’s part of the journey and with lightning speed you are now tearing through miles of trail. You begin to enjoy the rhythmic thumping and clicking made by boots and poles hitting the trail.

After settling in to this rhythm a half mile down the trail I kicked a rock partially buried in the trail. This instantly stopped my lower half, while sending my upper half flying through the air. The landing could have been worse, even though I ended up with a nice road rash on my left forearm and some minor scrapes on both palms and one knee. However, it was the initial kick with my left foot that had me going to urgent care the next morning just to make sure there wasn’t anything broken. There isn’t, just bruises and sprains.
It makes me smile every time I think of that little nurse in Orthopedics asking me with a hopeful smile, “Where were you hiking?” I told her where and her smile grew as she held up her hand to give me a high 5. She was able to complete 5 trails for last year’s 6POP’s, including San Bernardino.

So, I’ll need a few weeks for that foot to recover, but I’ll be back at it as soon as I can. In the meantime, there’s some projects that I’ve been neglecting at home that I’m sure will keep me busy on the weekends.

Chalk-up San Bernardino Peak as another wonderful memory filled hike that ended with a bang.