Ontario Peak should be named an OCH (obstacle course hike) because there are many obstacles on this 14 mile trek:

1. Icehouse Canyon Parking Lot: We arrived by 6:30 and all of the parking was already filled up and we had to park up Mt. Baldy rd. You need an Adventure pass to park and note the no parking signs on the road before you park.

2. Bugs: The flowing water from the rain and snow this year has made IceHouse Canyon section of the trail filled with bugs: gnats, flies, and mosquitoes. Make sure you wear lots of bug spray!

3. Icehouse Canyon Trail: There is always people on the Icehouse Canyon Trail. Lots of groups so you spend most of the first 3 miles of the hike watching people pass you every 10 seconds. And you spend the same 3 miles coming down meeting backpackers who are staying overnight or people who think they can start this hike at 3 pm and be back by sunset. We were glad we were doing Ontario peak to miss all of the crowds after turning right on the saddle. The trail itself is difficult with hiking on broken rock terrain and switchbacks up to the saddle.

4. False Peaks: The Ontario Peak trails had you hike along the ridge of the mountain making it seem like every mountain you see is the peak. You can do Bighorn Peak also, but the other mountains are not the peak. You know when you reached Ontario Peak when you hike the last 3rd ridge and see the mountain with a one giant tree sticking out of it (see picture below). You also can camp at Kelly Camp if you want to break this 14 mile hike in multiple days.

5. The sun: It’s summer time and the snow is all gone. There is no water past the switchbacks up to the saddle. So the goal is to hike early in the shade up to the saddle and hike down later to avoid the sun. The Ontario Peak Trail has no shade after hiking up from the backpacking camp. Make sure you drink lots of liquids on this hike and protect yourself from the sun. Also, bring a water filter if you need water later once you get back to waterfalls after the switchbacks.

6. Unmaintained Trail: The Ontario Peak Trail has many overgrown bushes to squeeze through, logs to jump over, and some loose rock. Bring hiking poles, wear long pants, and good shoes with traction to help with this.

But, all of these obstacles did not deter us from reaching the peak! Another peak completed!