Hiking Ontario Peak

[Sr. Califas]

About 2 weeks ago picked a fabulous day to hike in our local mountains. The peaks Ontario and Cucamonga are two of the most prominent peaks visible from Orange, L.A.  and San Bernardino counties. There are plenty of websites that can offer you detailed information about to the hiking trails and the sights and scenes included within. I just wanted to share a some pictures I took on my way up to the top of Ontario Peak. Pictures of fauna always came out blurry, but I was able to do a decent job with the flora and topography.  

The manzanita was thriving!

View looking west. 

Over looking the I.E. where L.A. county an San Bernardino county meet. Out in the distance, looking south, is Saddleback, part of the Santa Ana mountains near the border of Orange and Riverside counties. On a clear day the ocean, including Catalina Island, is visible looking south-west. 

[Silas_Sancona]

39 minutes ago, Sr. Califas said:

About 2 weeks ago picked a fabulous day to hike in our local mountains. The peaks Ontario and Cucamonga are two of the most prominent peaks visible from Orange, L.A.  and San Bernardino counties. There are plenty of websites that can offer you detailed information about to the hiking trails and the sights and scenes included within. I just wanted to share a some pictures I took on my way up to the top of Ontario Peak. Pictures of fauna always came out blurry, but I was able to do a decent job with the flora and topography.  

The manzanita was thriving!

View looking west. 

Over looking the I.E. where L.A. county an San Bernardino county meet. Out in the distance, looking south, is Saddleback, part of the Santa Ana mountains near the border of Orange and Riverside counties. On a clear day the ocean, including Catalina Island, is visible looking south-west. 

Great shots!! Thanks for sharing!  

Out of curiosity, about how long did the trip up to the peak take?
 

[Sr. Califas]

We took about 4.5hours to get from Ice House Canyon trailhead to the peak. But I am slow and we breaked at the Saddle for about 20 minutes. 

[Silas_Sancona]

Just now, Sr. Califas said:

We took about 4.5hours to get from Ice House Canyon trailhead to the peak. But I am slow and we breaked at the Saddle for about 20 minutes. 

Thanks, i hear ya, lol.. learned the hard way not to rush a hike in that kind of terrain. That's not bad time from the trailhead to the peak though..  Was curious because this area is on the list of places i want to explore once back in CA.

[Sr. Califas]

Yes, you definitely need to check it out. I've hiked many of the peaks in the Mt. Baldy area. Lots of choices of trails to choose from. It had been several years since I've done a hike that challenging, had just been hiking the foothills.  First time to Ontario Peak and it might be my favorite now. Going for Cucamonga Peak next. 

[tropicbreeze]

At what elevation did you start (or the photos start)?

[Sr. Califas]

The trailhead starts right at about 5000'.  A pretty good website below describes the trailhead to the saddle where you have many options from there, including Ontario Peak.

https://www.hikespeak.com/trails/icehouse-canyon-to-icehouse-saddle/

 

[tropicbreeze]

That's a good height. Most I've been (on foot) is 2190 metres. According to Dr Google that's 7185.039 feet. I was in New Guinea so equatorial rainforest. We bypassed the highest peak in the area, 4038m (13248.03 feet). Enough's enough. Despite being the tropics it still felt pretty cold at night.