"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

"A successful benchmark hunt, and a nice hike up the PCT. Didn't care for the fire road portion of the hike, but, I never like fire roads. Too many trail trolling rocks looking to turn a hiker's ankle. Still, the Jeep dealership I found at the summit was lulz. There were like 15-20 of them. It was like the whole Jeep Club of Big Bear turned up for lunch." — jimduvall • May 10, 2014