San Gorgonio Peak is the tallest peak in California south of the Sierras at 11,499 feet (or 11,503 feet according to the summit sign). I hiked San Gorgonio Peak as a day trip during my undergrad, but it was somewhat grueling. After moving back to Southern California, it was on my list to hike again since it is a relatively easy drive from anywhere in SoCal. We planned a big backpacking trip for later in the summer that we bought new gear for. My boyfriend and I wanted to test out our new backpacking gear, so we thought backpacking San Gorgonio Peak would be a great opportunity. We went in early June over a weekend.
Permits to backpack San Gorgonio.
Before we set out on the trip, we needed a wilderness permit from San Gorgonio Wilderness Association. The wonderful news is that the wilderness permit is free!
Information conflicted as to whether or not the overnight wilderness permit covered our stove. To be safe, we got ourselves a campfire permit for our backpacking stove. It’s important to note the campfire permit does NOT allow you a campfire if conditions are not permitting. You can read more about the permit here: fs.usda.gov and you can purchase the permit from CAL FIRE.
I grew up in Southern California. I can’t stress enough how important it is to follow regulations regarding fires. Better safe than sorry. Especially when we’ve had so much devastation from preventable wildfires over the years.
Lastly, we also renewed our America the Beautiful pass so that we could park at Vivian Creek Trailhead. The parking requires either an America the Beautiful pass or an Adventure pass. Since we knew we would go to national parks later this year, we opted for America the Beautiful.
You can purchase an America the Beautiful pass online from USGS or in person from REI or any national park.
I calculated the mileages reported below from the Tom Harrison San Gorgonio Wilderness map.
Day One: Vivian Creek Trailhead to High Creek Camp (5.6 miles)
Parking
We arrived in Forest Falls around 2pm and, to our surprise, found that the trailhead had no parking. In fact, a ranger was stationed at the entrance and turned us away. He told us to come back in a few hours – when he expected to see overnighters returning from their hike.
To kill time, we went into a nearby gallery and met a wonderful woman who shared so many great stories with us! About an hour passed before we tried our luck again at the parking lot.
When we drove by again, the ranger greeted us and let us in to claim one of the newly opened spaces.
Vivian Creek Trailhead to Vivian Creek Camp
From the trailhead to Vivian Creek Camp has some of the steepest sections of the hike. We began our hike around 3:00pm and made good time until we reached Vivian Creek Camp. The day was warm, and we hiked at the hottest time of the day. We started to slow down a bit after Vivian Creek Camp as the dry heat started affecting us.
Vivian Creek Camp to Halfway Camp
It wasn’t until we passed Halfway Camp that we realized we were going through water faster than we initially expected. I suspect we started our hike dehydrated, but it didn’t catch up to us until we were about halfway through the hike.
There were points earlier in the hike that we could fill up our water. Vivian Creek or, seasonally, Halfway Camp both have water sources, but we missed our opportunity. So, we rationed our water carefully until we arrived at High Creek Camp.
Halfway Camp to High Creek Camp
The last 2 miles of the hike were a slog. We were really looking forward to refilling our bottles with cold creek water and relaxing at camp.
We arrived at High Creek Camp and hiked past the camp to investigate campsite options higher up. After realizing there wasn’t a higher campsite for a tent without hiking to the peak, we turned back. Then we filled up our bottles and set up camp.
High Creek Camp is the highest campsite on the Vivian Creek trail going to San Gorgonio Peak. It is located about 3.3 miles from the peak, nestled in a valley with beautiful views. There are several campsites off of the trail. These campsites can fit one or two large tents and several small tents.
I was surprised with how fatigued my feet felt considering how short the hike to camp was and how little we carried in our packs for the overnight.
The sun set and camp got cold really fast. We ate our warm dinner (pho with rehydrated vegetables) and enjoyed dessert (a chocolate croissant) before heading to bed.
I slept cold this night. It was likely in the 30’s the night we camped at High Creek. I used my new sleeping bag which is rated for 25F, but I was cold anyway. I previously used a 0F bag and was always cold using that below 30F.
There was quite a bit of noise at the camp throughout the night. The campsites near us chatted and played music late into the night. A few day hikers passed through High Creek late at night/very early in the morning with bright headlights.
Day Two: High Creek Camp to San Gorgonio Peak to Vivian Creek Trailhead (12.2 miles)
We woke up around 5am to get a head start on the hike up to the peak. We left our tent and camping gear at the campsite, so we only needed to carry water up with us to the top. I wanted to avoid running into the day hikers in the rush to the peak later in the day.
The morning air was colder than we expected. I wore my fleece hoody and a pair of mittens the entire way up and still shivered from the cold while we hiked in the dark.
Once the sun rose, the air heated up and the areas of the mountain in the sun grew warmer.
Along the way, we only saw one hiker on their way down from the peak – likely a sunrise peak summit. When we got to the top, we saw two groups who camped on the peak but, otherwise, there was no one else there.
We ate our breakfast on the summit and enjoyed the crisp early morning air and views. I was sad to see the logbook was gone so we couldn’t sign our names after summitting.
As we descended from the peak, we ran into a few groups of early trail runners making their way to the peak as well as other campers who had stayed in the High Creek Camp the night before.
We stopped at High Creek, packed up our gear and started our way down the mountain.
The rest of the hike down the mountain was wholly uneventful.
What I would have done differently:
Refill on water early.
We expected that the mileage to High Creek Camp was short enough that we didn’t need to pack too much water on the way up. With how dry the day was, this was a mistake and we’ll definitely need to be more water conscious in the future.
Pack warmer night gear.
I know that I sleep cold, but I (incorrectly) assumed that mountain nights in Southern California were warm enough to not need any extra layers at night. I recently invested in down booties that are a game changer for cold nights.
Get new boots.
I suspected that my boots needed replacing. This was confirmed by my very sore feet after only 5 miles of hiking.
What went well:
Short backpacking trip to start off the season.
I appreciated having a low stakes trip to test our new gear out before a big trip.
Hiking up at sunrise.
Though we didn’t reach the peak by sunrise, we were able to catch the alpenglow views off the surrounding mountains.