"What was supposed to be a leisurely day in the mountains turned into a real adventure as a result of the local wildlife participating in the proceedings. Drove up Middle Fork Road mid morning on Sunday, and kept going as far as I was comfortable pushing the Subaru Outback which was a mile or so before the actual trailhead. Hiked up to Cucamonga Peak and then stayed on or close to the ridge to tag Icehouse Peak, Etiwanda Peak, Peak 8386 and Alta Loma (the peak 1 mile to the East of 8386 at 7,398 feet). Plan was to reach the saddle directly East of 7,398 and then descend directly via the canyon straight north of the saddle to reach the side trail leading directly to the Middle Fork Trailhead and a short hike along the dirt road back to the car. Just before reaching the saddle I traversed on a cliffy section, reached above my head to use a crack and had the novel experience of being bitten twice in the finger by a rattlesnake who was enjoying his afternoon sunbath until I disturbed him. After taking a few minutes to calm down I called a doctor friend to assess my options. We figured that it would likely be faster to hike down on my own rather than rely on a helicopter rescue particula..." — danishclimber • Jun 6, 2021

"Ok, so today started out horrible. After a couple of restless hours of sleep at Manker Flat (after driving from Vegas after work), we get up & start driving to the trailhead around 330am. As soon as the car moves forward - CRUNCH! I ran over the bag that had my cell phone and GPS in it! Both have severely cracked screens now, but magically, both work! We drove to the Icehouse Canyon trailhead and I back in to the spot. I absentmindedly removed my foot from the brake without putting it in park & start rolling backwards. By some dumb luck, I hit the brake again just before I back into a rock wall! Then, I go to eat my Mountain House breakfast & spill it all over myself. That put me over the edge! Lol! I calmed down & we ended up having a pretty good day. We hiked up Icehouse Canyon to Cucamonga Peak, Icehouse Peak, Etiwanda Peak & Peak 8386 before returning to the Icehouse Saddle & taking the longer Chapman Trail down. The smoke from the Apple Fire wasn't too bad, but we could see the plumes of smoke rising from the mountains as we enjoyed our summit breaks." — Kevin • Aug 7, 2020