Hike #3: Ontario Peak

I typically was doing my hikes on Sundays, but this week we had Tropical Storm Hilary coming our way which meant moving my hike up to Saturday. I already had the day scheduled off because it was the 2 year anniversary of my moms passing and I’ve learned that my grief tends to come in strong on memorable dates and holidays. Hiking has been such a therapeutic outlet for me so I took this sudden schedule change as things moving into place. I wore the horseshoe necklace that has some of her ashes and the ring that I found the day after she passed. As I headed out on my adventure, I said “Let’s go hiking, Ma!”

And what a hike it was.

I got to hike along a beautiful river on a steady push up Icehouse Canyon trail. I had to take this trail up to the saddle of this mountain to get to my connecting trail for Ontario Peak. I realized I will be hiking this same connecting trail for my next hike as well, and I’m quite curious to see how different things will look after such a big storm!
I love that each hike has been so different from one another so far. This hike lead me deep into the Cucamonga wilderness and I was soon surrounded by jagged rocks and big pine trees. There were already clouds rolling through which didn’t lead for many scenic views, so I hope for clear skies when I’m back this next weekend. But the views of the clouds rolling through were just as beautiful.
While there were many people taking Icehouse Canyon up, I had the Ontario Peak trail and the peak to myself. I was able to self reflect and think fondly of my mom, and even laugh at some of the things I thought she would say to me. It was exactly where I needed to be.

14 miles and about 4,000 ft of elevation gain. A big jump compared to my first two, but my body is getting stronger every week. 3 down, 3 to go!