The view from Manzanita Springs
In 1852, Colonel Henry Washington and his Army survey party were directed to erect a monument atop San Bernardino Peak. The monument was to be an east-west reference point from which all future surveys of Southern California would be taken.
Washington Monument survey point.
Saturday, August 13, 2005 at 1:39 p.m.
Bagged another one. All 10,649 feet of it via the San Bernardino Peak Trail from the Angelus Oaks trailhead on Saturday, August 13, 2005. This was a spur of the moment hike. A woman posted on the San Gorgonio Wilderness Association website looking for someone to hike with. I obliged. It took us 9 and a half hours to hike the 15.8 mile roundtrip hike. We started at around 8:00 a.m. and finished at 5:30 p.m. My hiking partner took Diamox for this hike. The weather conditions were ideal. Some clouds were forming but were of no concern. The smog did envelope the Inland Empire area. However, I was able to view San Gorgonio, San Jacinto, Saddleback and Baldy. I met 4 hikers who were training for their Mt. Whitney hike on Friday, August 26. One of the hikers was on Mt. Whitney last year about the same time I was. I wished them the best of luck on their trip.
In my opinion, this trail is THE TRAIL to train for Mt. Whitney. The elevation gain is over 4,700 feet and the trails are similar to Whitney's. This trail would be ideal to train with a heavy pack (25-35 pounds) to get the legs stronger.
I recommend an early start. Be sure to fax in your permit application to the Mill Creek Ranger Station and have them leave it out overnight at the ranger station. I was fortunate enough to have a wilderness permit application with me. I filled in the required information and left. There were no extra applications out front. There were as many as 10 hikers waiting for the ranger station to open. I couldn't help but notice the office hours were from 6:30 a.m to whatever. It was 7:30 a.m. and the doors still weren't open. Must be on Hawaii time.
There is a watering point past Limber Pine at Limber Pine Springs. There was enough water trickling alongside the trail. There were no other watering points along the way. Insects were of no concern. We did not see much of the wildlife except for a chipmunk or two and a few lizards and crows.
Gear: 10 essentials along with Camelbak pack with 100 oz. bladder, trekking poles, boots, wool socks, gaiters, convertible pants, long-sleeve wicking shirt, wide-brimmed hat, Nalgene bottles, bandana, sunscreen, extra socks, toilet paper.
