"Another unplanned ascent of San Jacinto. We went up the Marion Mountain Trail to Deer Springs, and to the summit. There was about 3-4 inches of snow the whole way. My first time on The Marion Mountain Trail, and while shorter, it was steeper. And of course it seemed steeper on the way down in the dark. A great day!" — Mojavewanderer • Dec 2, 2023

"Camped overnight at Manker Flats. Broke camp at 0800 and hit the trailhead at 0830. Plan was to take Devil's Backbone on the way up, including the detour to bag Mt Harwood, with an option to bag West Baldy as well. Given my penchant for missing turns, I purchased a smartwatch before this trip (Garmin Epix Pro) so I could navigate without needing to pull my phone out. Conditions were great -- plenty of shade at the start with pleasant temps and a cool breeze. Had the mountain pretty much to myself on the ascent; only came across one small group who were on their way down. Devil's Backbone granted great views of the desert to the north and hazy views of San Gorgonio to the east. Made it to Harwood around 1100. As I rejoined the main Backbone trail to make the final push to Baldy, my right calf threatened to cramp up and I realized my left hamstring wasn't far behind. I paused to load up on calories and electrolytes then proceeded in a relatively delicate fashion. Summited right at 1200 and all at once, doing this on a Thursday paid off -- I had the summit to myself. Two other hikers summited right after me via Baldy Bowl and we exchanged photos before they descended. Spen..." — colin • Sep 14, 2023

"I clibed this peak earlier in July. I used the Marion Mountain trail. Then I passed through some pine forests and some meadows with springs. Then I climbed up a steep trail and saw some small waterfall. After a while and and some scenes of more meadows, I reached the PCT. Then I went through a meadow of manzanita and climbed up through some sparse pines and Little Round Valley. And after a food break at the valley I went up the trail towards the peak. Then I went to the summit hut and saw the first large patch of snow. Then I summited the peak. There was insane views and some signs and survey benchmark" — lc444 • Jul 28, 2023

"Began at Vincent Gap on the PCT. Followed the never ending switchbacks up and down the mountain. It's a scenic trail with ample shade in a healthy section of the forest, except near the summit where the trees thin out. Nice cool Summer day! " — MikeTeeples • Jul 8, 2023

"I hit the road from Los Angeles around 8am. A wet winter washed out parts of CA-2 and prevented direct access to the trailhead via that route, so I detoured around the north side of the San Gabriel range via CA-2 to N3, through a sliver of the already-90-degrees-by-9am Mojave, through Valyermo, and onto Big Pines, where I re-joined the CA-2, westbound this time. I reached the TH around 10am. Conditions were great: clear skies, low 70s, no wind. That in mind, and after eyeballing the route ahead/above me, I elected to leave behind my microspikes. A majority of the trail's 40 switchbacks are shaded intermittently, which was much obliged given the grade. The frequency and volume of flies plus an empty pouch where my bug repellent should have been left me feeling like Pig-Pen throughout the ascent. That my only complaint was a result of my own boneheadedness speaks to the excellence of the trail. The first patches of snow appeared around 8000' and soon became large (for almost-July anyway) and laid across the trail. Despite the still-steep gradient, they were easily circumventable, or traversable without spikes provided you don't mind taking a sudden seat once or twice. I didn't ..." — colin • Jun 30, 2023