They say that things happen for a reason. Maybe my NO turn, causing me to start more than an hour later than I had planned, was one of those things! But, before I get into that story and since I know there are some out there that don’t want to read through all my crap just to get to the trail report. I get it, and I have no problems with it. So, here we go.

For those who don’t know there drive to the Fish Creek Trailhead, once you turn off the 38 at Heart Bar Camp, is about a 8 or 9 mile dirt road. I’ve been on this road in the past, but took my truck. It’s a 2wd ¾ ton full size Chevy. I had no issue then. I did see a report where someone said that the road is traversable in a car. Hmm. So, I had to try it out myself. Today I drove my little Hyundai Elantra GT. I had no difficultly driving my Elantra all the way to the trailhead. With that said, there are parts of the road that are a little rugged and required some careful ingenuity on my part to make it work. I only hit the bottom (hard) on a rock while I was driving down. Probably due to me going too fast and not really focusing at that moment.

With all that said, please DO NOT go tell others that Phil said the trailhead is accessible by car. Truthfully, it is not. You will run the risk of damaging your car if you drive it up to the trailhead. Now, in perfect weather and conditions, like today, you don’t need a 4wd or a super high clearance vehicle either. A standard SUV type vehicle can traverse this road (carefully) without issues.

I believe I clocked just over 19 miles on this hike. 9.81 up and 9.18 down (I started my tracker late during my initial descent). Truth be told, I did cut across the large open area near the summit. Skipping the Sky High Trail sign and intersection with the San Bernardino Divide Trail, and probably taking off about a quarter mile or more each from my ascent and descent.

The trail is in great condition. There were a few obstacles (fallen trees) in the way, but they were easily negotiated. There are only two water sources (on trial) for the entire hike. The first is a tiny stream about .9 miles in from the trailhead. This stream will dry up quickly as the warmer weather hits. The second, is right at 2.15 miles. It is flowing pretty well. Especially, if you follow it up stream about 20 feet or so. This one too will be gone soon as the weather warms, so be prepared. Also, there were no bugs and no snow on the trail.

There are several camp sites along the route. Fish Creek Camp, Fish Creek Saddle to name a few. There were people camping in each one. The only potential water source (that I know of) for Fish Creek Saddle, would be to take a trace trail down toward Dry Lake about ¾ of a mile to Lodgepole Spring. I didn’t go there, but I have heard reports there is still water to filter.

Okay, back to the real reason we write these reports. On my way to the Fishcreek Trailhead this morning, I drove right past the turn to Fishcreek (which has a huge sign with an arrow). I knew to turn, I just was too excited and wasn’t paying attention. Plus it was still a little dark. So, after driving about 6 miles the wrong way on the dirt road, I finally realized I had missed something. So, I checked my GPS map and sure enough, I was way off course. I doubled back and made the correct turn where I was supose to, but this cost me over an hour.

My plan was to start off at 6am, but I didn’t arrive to the trailhead until just after 7am. I still had to put on my shoes, put my food and water in my pack and make some adjustments. There were about 8 or so cars (trucks and jeeps, lol) at the trailhead when I arrived. As I hiked up the trail, I saw no other hikers, except a few at the campgrounds, until I ran into my beautiful and dear friend Meredith Crane. Other than on Facebook, we hadn’t seen each other since we did Mount Whitney last year. Had I not, not turned when I should have, we would not have crossed paths today.

Once at the summit, I saw a lot of familiar faces. Most notably, the face of Hiker Norm. He and I know each other, again, from Facebook and we have a lot of mutual hiking friends, but we had never met. Well, today was the day and it wouldn’t have been possible without me not turning and driving an hour out of my way.

The weather at the summit was perfect. ZERO, YES, ZERO wind on San G today. Temps were probably in the upper 50’s at the summit. There were several hikers and groups of hikers coming and going, causing me to talk more and spend more time at the summit.

Coming down was quick. Although, I did stop on a few occasions to talk with other hikers. Go figure!