Wow, what a day! This was #10 on my list of completing all 18 SoCal Peaks. I chose to do the Sturtevant-Winter Creek Trail Loop, I'd read lots of reports about how challenging the final 3 miles of switchbacks were, but you can't realize it until you do it! LOL. Before I got to that point I would have rated the route a medium hike, that section of trail climbing over 2,000 feet was a butt-buster!

I arrived at the trailhead at 0545 heeding advice to get there early to get parking, about 10 miles away from the parking lot it started raining hard. I planned to hike off at 0600 and had brought rain gear, cold-weather gear for the summit, a hot lunch, and lights. After reading the ‘bear' protocol and considering the rain, I opted to wait until daybreak to set out. By the time I reached the Falls the rain had ended and the Falls were very cool. It was annoying to see that someone had tagged the rocks at the top of the Falls 🙁  All-in-all I felt the signage along the way was pretty good, but that initial turn off to go back up over the falls was a bit confusing since the trail was not real obvious, the horse trail goes to the left, the people trail goes to the right. I relied a lot on my downloaded AllTrails Map and my GAIA GPS app to make sure I was taking the correct turns.

Sturtevant camp was pretty awesome and the lodge house was open for coffee and hot chocolate courtesy of the trail hosts. At that point, the trail really started to go up, and the 3 miles to the top were a good challenge. It was super foggy at the top as you can see from the panoramic picture I took at the lookout point, on that side of the observatory it was warmer and less windy, making my way over to the main observatory site it got cold FAST and it was much windier, the mountain weather site I use had windchills in the mid to upper 20s. I went into the viewing gallery of the 100-inch telescope to get out of the wind, put a fleece on and eat lunch. I don't mind carrying the weight in the pack, and my thermos' of hot soup and coffee were a great addition to my sandwiches and fruit. I knocked around the observatory area reading signs and checkout out the museums before heading over to the parking lot to find the trail down.

The lower parking lot was zero visibility most of the time, whether it was the cloud deck being low or just fog, it was thicker than the pea soup I had for lunch LOL, I walked around the perimeter of the lot looking for the Reference Marker and the way down. The reference marker is located in the far corner of the lot next to the Memorial plaque for Benjamin Wilson for whom the mountain is named. The trail is direct across the parking lot from the marker/memorial. There are a series of concrete barriers to prevent people from parking too close to the mountain edge as you look at the parking lot from the cafe and restroom area, the marker is on the left side and the trail is on the right side of those barriers. I'm sure on a clear day, it'd be a no brainer to locate, but it was a real challenge yesterday!

The hike down started out pretty easy, it was kind of surreal with the fog and there was a small rockslide to traverse. Pay attention to the signage and check your map/GPS to stay on the correct trail on the way back to Chantry Flats and the parking area. About halfway down the trail got a bit more technical with a lot more switchbacks and some great scenery in the woods. I passed right by two deer feeding not more than 25 feet away from me. This was one hike where I spent a bit more time soaking in the wooded scenery and enjoying the solitude. Hiking along the stream that feeds the waterfall was awesome. I ended up with a bit over 16.5 miles and 4,400 feet elevation gain based on my route and little excursions to check things out along the trail. I can see why this is the first hike on the Original 6 list 🙂 I enjoyed it and look forward to going back later in the year to complete it when it's warm and clear!

Eight peaks to go and they're all over 8,500 feet, this is where things start to get interesting 🙂   Happy Trails!