"Leave early to avoid the crowds. We started the hike at 7:45am. Saw 2 people while hiking up. On the hike down, we saw 173 people. Last 1/2 mile or so is steep! Beautiful views of the lake." — mattjohnson • Aug 29, 2020

"July 19, 2020. Trail running. My first time on this trail and it was very rocky and annoying to run on. Only one nice viewpoint of San Gorgonio at the last false summit. The actual summit did not have a view at all. The highlight was that I only saw three other people on the trail. This is a one and done peak for me; not worth the drive and not a nice enough trail. " — runningvegan • Jul 19, 2020

"Gold Mountain was a last-second decision, as I had no concrete plans until the morning of the hike! The decision, I feel, to hike Gold was definitely the right decision! The weather was PERFECT!!!! I was not sure how much snow would be left on the PCT, I believe being on a more northerly exposure, so I decided to hike up Gold Mtn. Rd., since it would be relatively snow free being on the southeast flank of the mountain. I know it is a popular 4WD/Off-Road route, so I was expecting a gang of vehicle traffic. Again, fate was on my side! I saw nobody, not even another hiker the whole way up and about 2/3 of the way down. Then, I saw a bunch of off-road enthusiasts as the time closed on 12pm, but I was mostly the way down. The route is beautiful, featuring a lovely pinyon-juniper woodland with a few Jeffrey Pines and at least 3 species of cacti, and awesome views to the San Gorgonio Wilderness. It was a peaceful ascent with the song of wind in the pinyons and junipers, and call of the Steller's Jay! There are many large mountain-mahoganies in the higher portion of the hike as well! Before the last summit push, 3N69 passes just under Peak 7893 before it dips to the saddle bet..." — brianpowell • Mar 23, 2019

"Really fun day trying out some of the routes on the SW Face. Did Great Steps of Cheops 5.8, The Sphinx 5.6 and Ball and Chain 5.10a. Complete TR: https://TheMtsAreCalling.com/castlerock" — Christopher • Aug 25, 2018

"I went ahead and prioritized this hike because all of a sudden I had one peak left to climb to complete my Big Bear 10 Peak Challenge. Looks like round 1 is complete now. There were ski lifts that simply take you up there, but that wasn't for me. I wanted to do this the right way. The trail to the top is rather scenic. On top are an assortment of buildings, most of which are closed for the season. Instead of coming back down right away, I continued heading east toward Sugarlump Mountain. The Log Chute Trail to the summit is 1.4 miles, with an optional 1 mile loop on the mountain top." — MikeTeeples • Aug 30, 2017