What an epic adventure this hike was!

We headed up to Warner Springs Sunday morning knowing we might encounter some snow due to the light storm the night before. Our original plan was to hike Hot Springs Mountain. As we drew closer, the light dusting of snow filled the upcoming mountains and our excitement grew. We arrived at the gate at 8:40 am. The guard informed us that due to the weather, the trail was closed and may open at 10. Losing valuable hike time by the minute, we decided to head on over to High Point via Oak Grove trail. It was about a 20 minute drive between trailheads. This was a longer hike than expected, as we were following the list of peaks per distance and elevation increase. To top it off, there was very thick fog as the elevation grew. We were up for the challenge.

The first two miles were a steep climb filled with rocks. The pathway is narrow enough for only one person at times. The valley views becoming more beautiful as we climbed. Somewhere between the first and second mile, the shrubs became taller trees and shrubs. Their tops covered in fresh snow. Sections were the sun was peaking through led to us to walking under a snow melting rain drizzle. That's were the magic began.

As we reached the end of Oak Grove trail, we hung a right onto a wide dirt road (possibly a fire road). That was the easiest section of the trail. Then the winding around the mountain began in addition to incline. We took a 10 break at about mile 3. Snow began to appear on the ground and very large trees. At this point, it was a winter wonderland. The fog was so thick, we couldn't see past it. As the wind picked up a bit, we got a brief peek of the fire lookout tower. Encouraged by this sight, we pressed on. By the time we reached the Julian section, snow was everywhere. Yup, more magic. This was my favorite part of the hike. It was literally a scene from Disney's Frozen. As we got closer to the finish, the tower was well in sight. We spent abut 30 minutes recharging at the peak. Just as we were heading out, a strong wind gust moved the clouds and gave us the most dramatic first looks at the scenery this trail offers. The observatory was in clear view, as well as the valley below. Magic moment 3.

We headed back down the mountain at 3 pm. About an hour in, we realized we would be finishing after sunset, To top it off, the storm clouds were literally at our heels. Panic set in and we decided to haul it back down as fast as we could. It took us 4 hours to hike back down, making our total hike day a little over 9 hours. We even almost cleared the rain, ended up in light showers for about the last 20 minutes of our hike.

The difficulty of this hike matches its beauty. Hands down my favorite hike.