2/13/11 Having summitted San Jacinto and Mt. Baldy in the snow in 2010, I had made it a goal to solo summit San Gorgonio in the snow during the winter of 2011. This was an exploratory trip as the first step towards reaching that goal.
1 I had to decide which trail to take to the top. A longer flatter route like South Fork, or a shorter, steeper route like Vivian Creek. I ended-up deciding that time was a bigger challenge than the physical workout, so I opted for Viivan Creek, the shortest but most physically demanding route to the top. There's pleny of snow here, and the elevation is only about 6000', so it looks like there should be no shortage of snow today.
2 Mill Creek in the morning. I got a late start because I thought I had to go into the ranger station to get my day-use permit (I hadn't faxed it in far enough ahead of time, and they don't open until 8am). Turns out you can just self-issue a permit at the Mentone station. It ends-up being about 9:30 when I finally hit the trailhead.
3 Crossing Mill Creek. I've never hiked or run this trail before, so I'm hoping this exploratory trip helps me learn the terrain, find the trailhead and junctions, etc. so I don't waste time on that when I make my full summit attempt. Most people who go to the top in the winter make it a 2-day backpacking trip. I'm still not entirely sure it's doable in 1-day.
4 The trail climbs about 1200' of steep switchbacks right away, making for a quick warm-up. That section of trail was mostly dry, so I made good time. At the top of the switchbacks you dip into the Vivan Creek valley. It's pretty much solid snow from here on up.
5 Crossing Vivian Creek. This is one of the most picteresque spots I've encountered in all of Southern CA. No wonder this trail is the most popular. It's packed in the summer, but I only see a few people all day on this trip.
6 Another creek shot.
7 The creek turns into a bit of marshy area admist the snow at the end of the valley.
8 The creek cutting through the snow.
9 This is legit alpine territory up here. I wish I had a good camera with me, but I'm stuck using the iPhone 4 for pictures, because my normal camera is dead.
10 I've had good tracks to follow up to this point, but here I lose the trail. The map says go this way, but the tracks turn into a free for all up the steep slope to the right of this picture. This area turned into some pretty nasty traversing, so I put on the crampons from here on out.
11 Turns out I should have followed the tracks rather than the map. They took a shortcut, where I end-up adding at least a mile to my trip going around a little peak.
12 I reach the Halfway Camp area and end-up taking another little detour to the end of the valley. Turns out I had missed the trail junction to High Creek. But the view I found was well worth the detour. That's Baldy in the distance.
13 You can also see San Jacinto from this vista point.
14 Another view from Halfway Camp.
15 It's a little hard to see, but in the middle of the picture you can make out a good sized waterfall as High Creek roars down the valley.
16 I finally make it to High Creek, a popular spot for those doing the summit as a backpacking trip (in snow or dry). The elevation here is 9230'.
17 The trail leaves High Creek and makes a quick 800' climb out of the valley in just over a half mile. It doesn't look like much in the picture, but that's steep. It's a perfect example of where the trail would normally switchback up this slope, but in the snow there is no trail, so you pretty much end-up going straight up. The snow had been pretty hard packed all day so far, but it starts to get deeper here, which is more work. This section was a brutal workout and the toughest of the day by far.
18 Once you reach the ridge above High Creek though, the view is amazing. Awesome view of San Jacinto.
19 Another view from the ridge above High Creek.
20 Moving on along the ridge, you soon get a view of the summit. It seems so close. Ya right.
21 Closer to the summit. I'm just over 10,000' and it's pretty much my turnaround time. I'm going to have to make 2:1 time to make it down before dark, and that is doubtful unless I do better at avoiding the detours on the way down. I estimate I need another 2-3 hours round trip to summit. With an earlier start, I'm now convinced it's doable. The exploratory mission has been a success, and I start heading back down.
22 An unintentional, but interesting, camera effect as the sun is getting lower.
23 Back down to High Creek camp.
24 This time I manage to avoid the detours and actually find the trail junction that I missed on the way up. This ended-up saving a lot of time. Hopefully I can avoid that mistake next time.
25 Back down to Vivian creek as the sun is getting low amidst the trees.
26 My trusty crampons, which served me well again today. And I actually remembered to bring my snow gaitors, so no cut-up pants this time around.
27 One of my favorite spots along Vivian Creek.
28 Back down to Mill Creek and not far from the car. I made good time coming down with about 30min of sunlght to spare. Exploratory mission accomplished. Next time I will summit!