Hike Review: McKinley Peak

Location: north of Highland, CA
Distance: 3 miles round trip 
Difficulty: strenous 
Elevation Change: 1,700 feet 
Time of Year Best: late fall, winter, spring, no shade

Fun hike. No shade. No crowds. Easy to lose the trail. Register/log at the top. There were only a dozen or so entries from all of 2013. There was an entry in the log from Iron Hiker who had climbed McKinley the day before. 
Saw some mule deer. It's nice knowing you aren't the only option for lion food.

 

Chris Dorner's Last Stand

Chris Dorner burned here

Recently, I found myself on Glass Road, crisscrossing the Santa Ana River. This wasn't a planned stop, but there it was. The burnt down cabin was fenced off. The remaining smell of embers was dull, but present. The wind faintly rustled the trees and birds sang soft. The river whispered gently making gunfire and death difficult to imagine.

On February 12, 2013, Chris Dorner was burned and died in this used to be cabin. On this day, Jeremiah MacKay was shot and killed here. The killings followed a week long man hunt for Dorner who engaged authorities in multiple running gun fights. From Irvine to San Diego to Riverside to Big Bear to here, lonely and quiet Glass Road along the Santa Ana River, Dorner led a terrific siege of cop killings on southern California. This is where it ended.

Dorner Cabin before

Dorner Cabin during

Onyx Peak near Big Bear Lake

On the road to Big Bear from Redlands on highway 38, you must pass through Onyx Summit, at 8,443, this road is the highest paved through road in all of southern California. At Onyx Summit, there is a turn off to the east of the highway for a dirt road 1N01 that leads to Onyx Peak (9,113). However, the road is usually gated about 1 mile from the peak. Park here and walk the 2 miles round trip for an easy hike. There is about 300 feet of elevation gain.

Location: eastern part of the San Bernardino National Forest near Big Bear
Distance: 2 miles round-trip
Difficulty: moderate to easy
Elevation Change: 300 feet
Time of Year Best: any
Recommended Map: National Geographic TOPO! Weekend Explorer 3D (Los Angeles, Los Padres, San Bernardino National Forest)

Hike Review: East Fork Canyon of Mountain Home Creek

There is not much of a trail here.  We followed what appeared to be a trail that would disappeared and then quickly reappear.  The going was slow.  The canyon walls are steep. In April the water runs strong and surprisingly we encountered the darting glitter of fish dashing beneath rock shelters.  The poison ivy is not that abundant, but there are variety of different types of trees, shrubs, flowers, and ground cover along this trail.  Also, much rock scrambling and unfortunately no snakes. But we were greeted with the flutter and song of a few quail.  Prepare for a lot of rock scrambling and creek jumping.  All this with my boy T to the E.

Hike Review: Vivian Creek Camp in the San Gorgonio Wilderness

Location: San Gorgonio Wilderness near Forest Falls, CA
Distance: 2.4 miles round-trip
Difficulty: moderate to difficult
Elevation Change: 1,200 feet
Time of Year Best: Spring to Fall
Recommended Maps: San Bernardino National Forest