Started around 7:15 on a Saturday morning along with a lot of others. The weekend day was pretty crowded from the start and it felt like a sprint at the beginning of the hike to either avoid getting passed or getting stuck behind a slower group. After the crowd thinned out a bit, we settled in and began to really enjoy the beautiful scenery. Really beautiful! At mile 2, my hubby began feeling a blister in his “new-ish”, worn once, boots. We pulled off to the side to examine the situation and he already had a fluid-filled blister on the back of one heel. We were only 1/6 of the way done at this point and had a lot of climbing to do! I told him we could abort the mission and come back another day, but he insisted on pushing forward. We made it to the Icehouse Saddle, where everyone seemed to be taking a break and enjoying some views- here the trails split off where you could head to the Baldy notch, Ontario Peak or Cucamonga Peak. We headed on our way, crossing some patches of ice along the last few miles of our steep climb to the peak. Steep is no joke- this was a legit climb, all the way to the top, 4,300 ft elevation gain with no flat areas! We finally reached the summit and we’re met with rewarding views all around! Beautiful day! We took some pics with the landmark sign and took some time to enjoy the scenery while having some snacks. We patched up the blister before heading back down ???? The way down is a whole different experience…you see things you didn’t even realize were there on the way up- including views of Mt Baldy. We had an amazing day, such a gorgeous hike. We spent a little over 7 hours here, 13.3 miles with 4,300 ft elevation gain
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Responses
Great hike! And, yes Icehouse Saddle (on the weekends) feels like a race. If you want to avoid that and the parking issue, I highly recommend approaching Icehouse Saddle from Lytle Creek. It is a great route and far less people on the trail.