Big Bad Gorgonio as a Day Hike

All right, we have been training hard since April, and this is the local payoff.

This is hike #6, and the final hike of this training. You gotta come to this one if you want to get your Hiking God/Goddess Certificate, recognized internationally by the Hiking Association that I just made up. :-D

At 11,503, Gorgonio is the tallest in Southern California, and the hike from Vivian Creek - 8.6 miles each way, with 5,500 feet elevation gain- is one of the toughest, especially as a day hike. This is not for kids, pregnant women, and the faint of heart. Only the strong will survive this one!

Here it all the info on AllTrails.

The good news is, it’s an up and back trail, so turning around is an option if you find that it’s too much. That will also allow us to split into different groups according to how fast we’re hiking, and if some people don’t reach the summit, we will still meet up on the trail and exit together. Also, I’m going to teach you a technique that will allow you to hike any mountain (really).

THE PLAN

I purposefully scheduled this hike for a Sunday, so we can take a sleeping pill and go to bed at 6pm on Saturday to get up super early on Sunday to do the 2-hour drive.

We will meet at the trailhead at 05:30. Sunrise is at 05:44 that day, so we’ll have plenty of sunlight to get started. It should take us from 6-7 hours to summit. I’ll have a hard turnaround at 15:00, so, no matter where we are, we’re coming back by 15:00. I actually expect us to be at the summit no later than 13:00, so we should be starting to come down at around 14:00. I don’t want anybody to be by themselves at the summit, because the trail gets a little confusing at the beginning of the way down.

We should be back down by 19:30. Sunset is at 20:08, so we should be fine, and have plenty of sunlight. Regardless, a headlamp is a must for a hike like this, so make sure to bring one. New moon is on the 25th so it’ll be a dark night.

Usually we go out for dinner after our hikes, and we’ll certainly be hungry after a full day hike, but we’ll see how we feel. Some people might just want to go home and go to bed!

Bring:

• At least 3 liters of water. There should be water on the trail at High Creek Camp, but you never know.
• Iodine or purification tablets for the water we get from the creek.
• Lunch. Not just snacks, but a nice sandwich or something substantial for lunch.
• Snacks
• A dawn jacket for the summit. It’ll be cold up there. Even gloves and a beanie are a good idea.
• If you want my full list of what I bring for day hikes, here it is.

The address for the trailhead is 41900 Falls Rd, Forest Falls, CA 92339, and here it is on Google Maps

Here is the carpool list

All right, let me know if you have any questions.

See you guys there!
Eduardo.