Mileage: Approx 20
Elevation: 8,859 ft
Gain/Loss: Approx 6,500+
They say: Strenuous
We say: Enchanting.
What it is: My newest favorite. Lots of off trail, lots of beautiful views, and during this trip – lots of great people. We took off from Ice House Canyon TH at around 6:30am on my first namesake hike, which Jackie organized. We were joined by a large group of strong happy hikers, which are by far the main reason this hike was as fun as it was. From Ice House Saddle we continued south towards Cucamonga. At the sign for Cucamonga, stay to your left (skipping the right turn to the summit) and continue on a use trail towards Etiwanda. This well-worn train takes you down along the ridge towards the rocky summit of Etiwanda. Don’t be fooled by the first big bump (the trail curves west around it), the summit is the farther bump – only several feet higher – but much seemingly more prominent due to the large white boulders that cover its summit. After a somewhat too-long break at the top of our first peak (thanks to entertaining conversations which kept us seated snacking and laughing), we headed back down Etiwanda, keeping close to the ridgeline, to find an even clearer use trail back up the ridge to Cucamonga, stay on the Westside of the ridge and continue on to Cucamonga’s summit. The views from here were stunning as the storm clouds surrounded the San Gabriels and rain fell on the cities below us. From Cucamonga, we took the main trail down to the saddle, and then half of us continued cross-country up the ridge of Bighorn, while the other half skipped this peak and took the main trail back and around to Ontario. The summit of Bighorn is eerie and gorgeous, barren with sunbleached dead trees. We stopped only for a second and continued along the ridge to top of Ontario. Then we took the main trail down. All in all, it was a wonderful day of beautiful weather and beautiful people.
Please DO: This hike in the fall.
Please DON’T: Forget to bring a raincoat when there’s clouds out.
What you need to bring: The usual stuff, and a topo map (or GPS waypoints) to help out on Etiwanda.
What you want to bring: Goldfish crackers.
How to get there: Exit Baseline Road in Claremont. Turn left on Baseline. In one block turn right onto Padua Avenue. In 1.7 miles turn right at Mt. Baldy Road Continue a few miles up to the Icehouse Canyon entrance, park here. Don’t forget to display your National Forest Adventure Pass!
