5/7/20 Almost 17 miles and 4,500' of gain up the San Bernardino Peak trail. There was too much slushy snow for a summit, so I tried some great new trail to Columbine Springs and Forsee Creek instead.
1 Heading up the San Bernardino Peak trail. It's a warm day, so I know the snow is going to be slushy. If it's too deep, then I probably won't be able to summit.
2 Nice views of the valley and Mt. Baldy in the distance.
3 Looks like there's still a lot of snow at higher elevations. Much higher than was on the Momyer/Vivian side last week.
4 By about 9,000', the snowfields were getting deep. What looks like ground cover plants there are actually the tops of large bushes. It's pretty deep, and every step is a roll of the dice whether the surface will hold you, or whether you sink down to your crotch. After getting bloodied up on one nasty posthole, I decided to head back to the junction and try one of the trail offshoots I hadn't done before.
5 Back to the Manzanita Springs trail junction. Here's (what I though was) the offshoot to Columbine Springs. I bushwhacked through this razor sharp bramble for a while until I found the real trail.
6 The real trail is actually off to the left. It's gorgeous singletrack that looks like it doesn't get used much.
7 Made it down to Columbine Springs. Another nice little hidden gem of a spot.
8 Video of the creek.
9 Heading back now. Next I'll try the offshoot to Johns Meadow and Forsee Creek.
10 Heading down to Johns Meadow with San Bernardino and East San Bernardino peaks in the distance. The trail looks seldom used, is a little hard to follow in places, and gets pretty steep. In other words, awesome!
11 Made it to Johns Meadow. Small but nice.
12 Looks like a nice backpacking camp.
13 Forsee Creek with East San Bernardino Peak in the background. Another great little spot that gets a fraction of the traffic of the main trails.
14 Video of the creek.
15 One more shot just because I love this spot. End to a great day of new trails.