This blog will detail 1,000 video hikes in Southern California. By Southern California, I am drawing a line from San Luis Obispo to the Nevada Border. Anything south of that line will be declared "Southern California". In a way, it is a personal challenge to do so many hikes. Mainly, however, it is my way of showcasing how many hiking opportunities there really are right in our own geographic back yard. As a blog, it serves as a companion piece to my Youtube channel "Mike On The Trail". It is also a work in progress, as I don't actually have 1,000 edited videos completed. This will take effort for quite some time before it is declared done. Even then, there will still be more out there. Here's to hiking and all the positive effects it has had on my life...and possibly yours!
With coastal Southern Orange County not being well-known as a hotbed for hiking, there are still open spaces worthy of a visit. Flagpole Hill is one of them. I was able to form a loop hike out of it, which helped to add to it's appeal for video production.
Looking up the ridge, where the flag blows in the wind.
From a San Juan Capistrano neighborhood, I entered the open spaces and made a quick left to ascend toward Flagpole Hill. The summit has a tall flag pole on top, thus the name. It is so so known as Patrick's Hill.
On top of Flagpole Hill.
The summit is the hike high point, but the trail continues in a half circle along the ridge, where it crosses over a lower Hill before ending on a third high point, Peak 880.
Heading off on the ridge to visit the other high points.
I then dropped back to a five point junction where I return to the parking area through the Canyon. I combined this with a visit to Dana Point, where I was able to gather a handful of other easy hikes.
Icehouse Canyon is the gateway to some of the highest peaks in the San Gabriel Range. Ontario Peak is one of these options. I personally prefer to give each major Peak it's own day, rather than combining them all on the same hike.
Approaching Ontario Peak.
Because if that, I still need to go back to video Cucamonga Peak and Bighorn Peak, when the time comes. Both are neighboring peaks with their own unique final approach.
Bighorn Peak.
Each Peak requires ascending the rock filled Canyon to reach Icehouse Saddle. From there, the hiked ng route breaks off into four directions. For Ontario Peak, I turned right and continued elevating to Ontario Ridge. On the ridge, Bighorn Peak is to the left, while Ontario Peak is still not visible yo the right. I turned right and elevated on the ridge.
Ontario Peak summit.
I passed "Fake" Ontario Peak (which I visited on the way back). Beyond, the true summit appeared. I managed to reach the summit soon after, where a large hiking group was congregating. I managed to get my summit time, though.
Getting ready to visit "Fake" Ontario Peak.
I returned the same way, for a typical long and rugged outing that accompanies any visit to Icehouse Canyon.
Coming freshly off of my Sugarpine Mountain visit on my previous hike, the ascent of Cajon Mountain came up the opposite slope to the North. I utilized the same forest road which comes up from Silverwood Lake State Recreation Area.
Taking the Cajon Mountain summit road.
In my younger days, I actually drove up the rough road from Silverwood. However, this time I wanted to hike the entire way to the summit. That's supposed to be what hikers do, after all!
Cajon Mountain Lookout.
The hike is on the dirt road all the way to the junction with Cajon Peak. I was glad I hiked it, since I only encountered a few cars on a generally peaceful hike. The Cajon Peak junction is gated and can only be accessed on foot or Mountain bike. So even drivers would need to set off on foot from there. I hiked it to the end of the road to reach Cajon Lookout.
Approaching Cajon Mountain High Point.
The summit has foundations and a small summit structure. There is also great views into the Cajon Pass. While turning back around, there is a summit trail that goes to the true summit of Cajon Mountain. I needed to bushwhack much of the way.
Cajon Mountain summit.
Views were not as good from this true summit. It was a long walk back from there, but at least it was downhill all the way!
Having visited Bailey Canyon more than once over the years, I had developed a yearning to hike the road up to the high peaks. I had hiked it to Monument Peak years ago, and knew that if I were to hike further, the day hike would take me all day.
Peak #1: Monument Peak.
The road is rough, but is also drivable. Though, I was not willing to take my own vehicle up the road. This meant that I would need to be committed to hike nearly 20 miles to cover the ground that I had in mind.
Monument Peak summit plaque.
The historical plaque of Fr. Francisco Garces still sits on the summit like it did on my first visit.
Bailey Peak.
When the day came to carry out the plan, I was ready, willing, and eager. I set out shortly after sunrise and hiked the 5 miles to Monument Peak. It seemed almost unchanged from my visit of two decades previous. Then, as I continued along the road going west, I started covering new territory. I visited the two Bailey Peaks before eventually arriving at Sugarpine Mountain. A short but steep use trail took me to the summit, where I was able to check off my 4th Peak on the day.
Sugarpine Mountain.
With the climbs completed, all I had to do was return down Bailey Canyon. Although mostly downhill, this was no small task, since it was at least another 8 miles (my mileage counter was out of whack and inaccurate, since I was due for an IOS update on my iPhone). With minimal breaks, I managed to finish a few hours before sunset and feeling rather gratified in completing a task that I had plotted out long ago.
