San Gorgonio South Fork Trail

I hiked San Gorgonio this past weekend as part of Whitney training. Since the mileage is comparable to Whitney, I wanted to put the duration into perspective and it definitely proved to be a good gauge for how much water and food would be needed. The trail head was 40 minutes from the Mentone town. The other review for this hike said 20 minutes so we kept thinking we had passed it. Be sure to turn onto Jenks Road East and not West, which comes up a few miles prior.
We started the trail at around 3:30 am with headlamps because we were working with some time constraints. There was no one else on the trail at that time and fortunately we didn’t encounter any wildlife with the exception of a deer. The trail got a bit busy once late morning hit, as expected, since South Fork is supposedly the busiest trail.
The trail is very well maintained. Though it’s the highest peak in Southern California, it’s a very gradual ascent. Our hiking group has been regularly hiking Mt. Woodson and El Capitan and in many ways I think those trails are more difficult than San G (though obviously much shorter). It took us a total of 12 hours roundtrip — that included quite a few breaks as one of the girls in our group succumbed to altitude sickness and was not able to summit. The summit is anti-​climactic — lots of rocks to sit on, a sign to hold and take a picture with, lots of aggressive chipmunks going after your food. We encountered two rangers on the path who checked our permit. Permit was easy to get (downloaded form online, mailed it in, was faxed back to me within a couple of days).
We encountered two water sources on the way up but they were close to the trail head. I packed almost 6 liters of water and Gatorade and it was plenty for myself. It’s a very pretty hike. Terrain changes as you ascend to the top. We were lucky that the weather was very pleasant. My shoulders still burned though I had applied ample sunscreen. It was a very long day but I thoroughly enjoyed this hike. If you have been training regularly this hike will be a piece of cake. Many people have told me this hike is more difficult than Whitney but I simply cannot see how … again, it’s a very gradual ascent.

The San Gorgonio wilderness is 58,969 acres of incredible wilderness. There are numerous trails and is a great place to go for a day hike or a weekend backpacking trip. My husband planned a wonderful trip for Labor day and even though this is one of the most popular trails and on a 3 day weekend, it wasn’t crowded. We saw a good number of groups but there was very little passing along the trails. This particular trailhead is located only about 1.5 hours from West LA and really easy to get to. Just past the town of Mentone, continue along highway 38 about 20 minutes past the ranger station and arrive at Jenks Lake where the trailhead begins just past the paved parking lot.
To summit Mt. Gorgonio, which is the highest peak in southern California at 11,502 ft is the ultimate goal and starting from this particular trailhead it will be a trip of about 24 miles. It can be done in one very long day or campsites are available for a more leisurely trip. Permits are required but are free. To park you need an adventure pass to display on your car. To get a permit you need to send in for one using the website listed above. Parking passes can be purchased in advance at REI.
The trail head at Jenks Lake starts you off at 6,900 ft. After 2.5 miles is Poop Out hill where the trail will split to Dry Lake or Dollar Lake. We took the route towards Dry Lake. It is about 7.5 miles from the trail head until Dry Lake at 9,000 ft. Dry Lake is where some campsites are offered, it is also the place to stop and refill your water. As with all backpacking, you have to carry in everything you need including water. You can refill here using your preferred sanitation method. There are two campsites at Dry Lake and the next site is Trail Flats about 1.3 miles past Dry Lake, which is where we camped.
From Trail Flats, you can begin the summit at Sky High Trail and will be another 4 miles to the top. This is incredible scenery and remember to bring plenty of water as your last water source was Dry Creek. Also bring a hat because at this elevation, you probably don’t want the sun beaming down on you. There are a good number of switchbacks but I didn’t find it to be that strenuous but at that point, I had put down my 25lb pack at the camp site. It will take about 2.5 hours and affords incredible views including the wreckage of plane.
The main perk of taking this trail is that the ascents are gradual. The scenery is just amazing and the trails are well maintained. It’s incredible to see entire hillsides and trees just flattened due to previous avalanches. The trees are just beautiful and even uprooted are interesting and intricate.
Overall I really enjoyed this trip as it can be taken as leisurely as you’d like or as quickly (and much more strenuously) as you’d like. The air is thin but it feels wonderful to get away from the smog of LA. The view a the top includes Mt. Baldy, the San Bernardinos, Mt San Jacinto, and various other things I probably can’t identify. The hike goes through mostly tall shaded trees but changes to rocky meadows and falling trees, and some small streams to cross. It’s anything but boring! Be careful of altitude sickness, it can hit at any moment, be prepared for possible rain, and enjoy this beautiful wilderness.
Check out this great blog for more detail: