Mount Wilson The Hard Way

There are about seven different routes in which to summit Mount Wilson. We took the route that begins in Bailey Canyon, and ascends first to Jones Peak, then to Hastings Peak, and then a final push to reach the Mount Wilson Toll Road.

I kicked off my 2017 Six-Pack of Peaks Challenge on Earth Day (4/22). This was my second summit of Mount Wilson, but my first for the challenge.

Mount Baldy and The Climb For Heroes 2017

For being so close to suburbia, this hike has a ‘far away land’ feel to it, and I’ll go so far as to say that, at times, it feels like being in a National Park.

Mount San Antonio, aka Mount Baldy, is known for many things, one of them being the highest peak in the San Gabriel Mountains. With an elevation of 10,064 feet, and elevation gain of about 3,900 feet in an 11-mile out and back hike, this mountain makes for no easy summit. Given these facts, it’s easy to see why Mount Baldy is number three on the Six-Pack of Peaks Challenge list. The ‘challenge’ is an annual opportunity to summit six of the highest and most prominent peaks in Southern California. Jeff Hester, who runs the website, SoCalHiker, hosts this challenge each year. SoCalHiker is also a major contributor in the annual Mount Baldy Climb For Heroes event. Climb For Heroes is an event hosted by the Heroes Project, a charity that raises money for our US military veterans.

From The Fountain To The Falls

It’s a fun event and it’s pretty cool to see the younger kids doing this.

It’s a 10k run. No, it’s a 10k walk. No it’s a 10k trail run. No, it’s a 10k hike. Well, it’s actually all of these, and which description applies, really depends on how you tackle it. The event is called the Monrovia Fountain to the Falls Run/Walk. Even though it’s considered a 10k race, it’s actually closer to 7 miles. What makes this event rather unique is that the route starts out about halfway through the Old Town district of Monrovia, California at the public library. It is here that you will find a large and beautiful water fountain, hence half of the inspiration for the name of this event. It then ascends up Myrtle Avenue through several streets worth of foothill neighborhoods (with an abundance of turn of the century craftsman homes, and ‘old money’ mansions), and then enters into Monrovia Canyon Park. The route through the park then becomes a hike, or trail run, for the last 1.5 miles on the trail to Monrovia Canyon Falls. The falls, though somewhat smaller than the falls on neighboring waterfall trails, are an impressive two tier type. The City of Monrovia hosts this event on the second Saturday morning in May, which makes for perfect timing when the falls are flowing very nicely.

Santiago Peak – The One That Got Away

My incomplete hike to Santiago Peak was not the most pleasant and rewarding hike I’ve ever done. I chalk it up to a good learning, and hiking experience.

It’s more commonly referred to as Santiago Peak. I’ve recently discovered that it’s also called Saddleback Mountain. I refer to it as one helluva hike. I have had the good fortune so far to summit every peak that I’ve set out to do, except for Santiago Peak. I missed it by about one mile. Maybe it just wasn’t my day, or perhaps I wasn’t physically capable of making it to the top. Maybe both? Whatever the case, it’s a tough 16-mile hike with about 3,900 feet of elevation gain. It’s also the highest point in Orange County at 5,687 feet, and located in the Trabuco Canyon area of the Cleveland National Forest.