"My first visit to this part of Angeles Crest Highway since the Bobcat Fire 2 years ago. A lot of burned trees along the trail. From Islip Saddle, the trail climbs steadily until the PCT breaks off from the summit trail. From there, it is a quick climb to the three peaks on Mount Williamson: East Williamson Peak, Mt Williamson, and Peak 8248. Great views into the desert to the north." — MikeTeeples • Aug 20, 2022

"Took the day off from work for a birthday hike. When we got to the trailhead parking, we were the only car there. So the mountain was ours! The Santa Ana winds were dying down fortunately so it was only slightly breezy, but left very clear views in all directions. At the first summit, Mt Williamson, I signed the register, and then dropped my pack and did a quick jaunt over to Peak 8245 close by. Found a register there too, but no benchmark. Back to my pack, and then down n out." — marc • Oct 11, 2019

"Hiked to the Mt. Williamson shown as elevation 8,214' on the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) topo map. Then hiked northwesterly along Pleasant View Ridge to a bump shown as elevation 8,244' (on same USGS map) recognized as Mt. Williamson by the Sierra Club's Hundred Peak Section (HPS). Found a register here in the familiar double-can painted red. Then continued along Pleasant View Ridge to another bump shown as elevation 8,248' recognized as Mt. Williamson by the Boy Scouts Greater Los Angeles Area Council's High Adventure Team. " — thesearcherextraordinaire • Sep 7, 2019

"This Mt. Williamson (8,214') refers to the USGS summit, the first from southeast to northwest on a ridge called Pleasant View Ridge. It is an easy hike up from Islip Saddle along the Pacific Crest Trail to a good use path that leads up to this summit. The top is barren and has fantastic views out top the coastal plain, other mountains, and desert at the same time.There is no summit register here, as the Sierra Club Hundred Peaks has it on Peak 8,244' which is a short ridge walk northwest of this one. This is my 2nd hike to both 8214 and 8244. Today, however, both were the 1st and 2nd of 6 peaks on a tough 8.5 mile day with 3600' gain out and back along Pleasant View Ridge over this, Peak 8,244' (the Sierra Club's Mt. Williamson), Peak 8248, Peak 8160 (listed here as Peak 8180), then down and up to Peak 7560 and Goodykoontz, and back in reverse. Beautiful day with absolutely no other hiker the entire journey!! The hike was tough to be sure, but peaceful. The scenery throughout is fantastic Stats for round-trip include the entire hike." — brianpowell • Jul 1, 2018

"I didn't really expect to be hiking this weekend, as there was a strong chance of rain and thunderstorms. But by the time I went to bed on Friday night, the chances decreased somewhat for the Mt. Williamson area, and I thought that if I got an early start, I'd beat the storms. I started hiking at 6:25am from the parking area midway between Eagles Roost and Islip Saddle where the PCT crosses Angeles Crest Highway (as described in HPS route 2). The ridge line between the PCT and Mt Williamson was very windy. I'd planned to continue north / northwest from Mt. Williamson along Pleasant View Ridge, then curve south to get to Goodykoontz Peak. But when I got to the bump at 8160', enough rain was coming down for me to throw on my poncho, clouds were beginning to sweep in, and the skies didn't look like they'd be getting better any time soon. Reluctantly I turned around, since I wasn't sure what sort of trail there was to Goodykoontz, and there was a good chance that the visibility wouldn't be very good. As I returned to Williamson, the weather seemed to get better, then worse, again and again, so I wasn't sure whether I'd made the right decision. Back on the summit of Williamson, I met an..." — HikerMark • Jul 18, 2015

"A nice hike up the PCT to the summit. One of the best views north of any mountains in the San Gabriels. Spotted a dust devil down in the Mojave along with some great cloud formations spreading across the desert. Third time up and I'm sure I'll be back again." — Christopher • Jul 15, 2012

"As my first 'high altitude' (not sea level, lol) I struggled, after a very long day, to reach Williamson's Summit. The sweep wouldn't let me give up--and I learned a valuable lesson!" — Mountain-Rain • Jul 24, 2010

"Disaster with the Sierra Club led trip. Was supposed to climb Islip but there was too much snow. Went to Williamson instead but had same problem at the top and couldn't find way down. 8 hour hike." — srphilip • May 16, 1992