We got up early to drive 2 hours to the trailhead. At 7 am, the parking lot was full, but there are many trails at this parking lot so the trail was not crowded. You need an Adventure pass to park there also. There is a bathroom there and it is clean, but you can’t close the door so make sure someone is telling others not to open the door while you are using it.

Then, we started our hike up the Bear Canyon Trailhead, which is next to the Ortega Oaks Candy and Goods store, which is your motivation to get down quickly from the peak. They have homemade bakery items and  cold drinks. Also, they sell Adventure passes.

I thought that the cloud cover we had this morning was going to be a good thing, but it ended up making the air feel humid and hot. We started up and I was already sweating and getting overheated. You have to sign the register for you or your group right past the Bear Canyon trailhead sign.

Then, the trail goes up and down and you follow the white posts with the writing on it. Just make sure you follow the ones that say Sitton Peak up and Bear Canyon/store/Ortega fwy on your way down. There is two posts that are the same about two miles in. You take the right path that says “4 corners, 1.1” next to another white post that says, “No camping.”

The hike is filled with swarms of bugs, Mt. Wilson style swarms. So bring a bug net and bring/wear strong bug repellent. I think by the end, I just became one with the bug swarm and it didn’t bother me anymore unless I got bit.

The hike is pretty easy until you get to the last 0.5 miles which is going straight up the hill with no breaks until you reach the top. It was hard to get up and down so bring hiking poles for this section.

My group did great, but I was getting overheated throughout this hike and had to pour water on myself a couple of times. Take lots of liquids and electrolytes if you are going to do this in the sun.