First creek crossing. Good to see some water flowing after such a dry winter.
Second crossing.
Into the wilderness...
A whole family of oak trees.
A little bit of spring color.
Third, and last, crossing of the middle fork of Lytle Creek.
Great canyon views as the trail climbs.
The waterfall. I don't remember seeing it last time I was here. You can't quite see the bottom, and it's a little ways away, so it's probably a decent sized…
The trail is almost indiscernible in places, which was a lot of fun on the way up. But a little tougher on the way down, especially in the dim light. I lost the…
A great area of foliage before making the last big climb up to the saddle.
The saddle. After seeing only one pair of people the whole way up, the saddle is a zoo. Remind me to never head up here on a weekend again! Now it's on to…
This is the spot where my Dad and I had to turn around last time after running out of time. No rain or thunderstorms this time, and no ruined cameras.
Some nice views on the way up.
Last scramble to the peak.
Made it. Cucamonga Peak at 8,859'. The last mile up to the peak is a solid climb.
The views from up here are pretty jaw dropping. If you like urban sprawl views, this is probably the best spot in SoCal. With a nice view of Santiago as well.
Gorgonio and San Jacinto views. Although the views are amazing, so are the crowds. There were at least 10 people up here, loud, smoking pot. I didn't stay long.
Baldy in the distance with the ridge headed to Ontario Peak in the foreground. I will be on that shortly.
Back down to the saddle. It would be sooo easy to just head the 5.5 miles back down to the car from here. But no, I just have to add on another 5.6 round trip…
A look at what you would think would be Ontario Peak.