When I did San Bernardino in 2020 I felt that it was the toughest of the Original Six Pack of Peaks. Doing it again this year and my opinion has not changed. There are longer hikes and there are hikes with more elevation gain but something about this one has me worn out at the end like no other. The hike to the peak wasn't that bad and the hike down to the Manzanita area was nice. But the last 4 miles just seemed to go on forever. While it never felt too hot and there was a nice breeze, this hike does feel a bit more exposed than most. Even more so after the 2020 El Dorado Fire. I think just being in the sun just wears me down a bit more at the end.

We got to the trailhead parking lot around 7:30-7:40 and it was almost full. It was early enough that we had a good amount of shade for the first 3 miles or so. There were lots of wildflower still blooming all along the trail, especially in the burn areas. When moving the bugs where not an issue but stopping in certain places (the peak being one of them) the flies and bees where somewhat annoying.

Took a break at Limber Pine Bench campground and ran into a hiker we used to hike with as part of a Meetup group. The spring is running great and was nice to fill up our water and cool off a bit. The last mile or so to the summit was devastated by the fire and virtually unrecognizable from the last time I did it. We had the summit to ourselves, and as we descended, we discovered we had the entire mountain to ourselves as we did not see another person on the trail the entire time. When we reached the parking lot our car was the only one in the lot. Last ones off the mountain.