After completing Cucamonga, we made our way down to the large Xmas tree where the secret trail to Big Horn Peak and Ontario Peak began. After completing  7+ miles at that point, we hesitantly decided to try the steep trail up. Our legs were on fire from how steep it was and we had to be careful not to slip. As we made it to Bighorn Peak, we did not see a sign but just a pile of rocks. We weren’t sure if this was it but assumed it was.

As we went over to Ontario Peak, we got off track of the trail a little bit which was frustrating. I was running low on water. But we made the decision to do this trail so no turning back now. We had to keep going. I was tired and it started to get hot especially after getting a little lost. As we reached the start of the summit to Ontario, we realized at the 9 mile mark that this would be a 17+ mile hike today and it’s at least two more to Ontario.

I got a surge of energy from the excitement but wanted to keep my heart rate down from all the uphill. We pushed ourselves and made it to the peak. Wow, what views! The tree was great. We met a couple nice people at the peak. Then we made our way down and saw a new friend that we never expected- a Big Horn Sheep! We were ecstatic! I tried to get a selfie with it. Later I found out that they are dangerous and could have pushed us off the mountain with their horns since they are wild.

We continued down after such excitement heading through Kelly’s Camp. Every mile felt like 2 miles. It took forever to finish up the hike. Our feet hurt. The trail was rocky. By the time we made it to the car, we had been up on the mountain for 12 hours, 17.5 miles, 5400 calories, 50,000 steps…it was the biggest accomplishment to date for me. We enjoyed a nice cold Coca Cola on the way home and were so proud.