Cucamonga Peak and Etiwanda Peak are tall summits in the San Gabriel Mountains and prizes for HPS peakbaggers. These summits loom tantalizingly close over nearby Ontario and are visible from the entire LA Basin on a clear day. Though nearby Mt Baldy receives most of the attention (and congestion) these summits offer a splendid wilderness.
Cucamonga Peak and Etiwanda Peak Overview
Many routes traverse Cucamonga Peak and range in difficulty and length. The most common ascent starts from Icehouse Canyon Trailhead near the town of Mt Baldy. Its a paid parking lot with plenty of spaces. Though this is the shortest and most straightforward route, its still 15 miles, round-trip with ~4,700' of gain (combining w/ Etiwanda Peak). A much less traveled route via Middle Fork Trailhead is the same distance and gain but is much less traveled.
Here's my map:
Here's my altitude map and mileage-
Trip Report
Icehouse Canyon Trailhead to Icehouse Saddle
From the Icehouse Canyon Trailhead at 4,980', the long climb begins. The trail departs going up Icehouse Creek at a steady rate to the wilderness boundary. Along the way, I passed by the dozens of curious and small cabins that looked relatively maintained. Wish I owned one!
After about a mile of climbing the rocky trail through the cabin neighborhood, the junction with the Chapman Trail appears on the left. I went right to stay on the Icehouse Saddle Trail. The next 2.3 miles were an increasingly steep climb to Icehouse Saddle. The trail gains almost 2,000' during the climb but views of the canyon open up. From the trailhead to Icehouse Saddle is about 3.3 miles and it took me about an hour and a half, going a steady pace.
Icehouse Saddle to Cucamonga Peak
Icehouse Saddle (elevation 7,575' had sweeping views of the eastern San Gabriels and Cajon Pass. From the saddle, the trail goes through a number of disheartening ups and downs until the col separating Ontario Peak from Cucamonga Peak (elevation 7,657'). From there, it was another long climb to the summit.
The trail switchbacks for 1.2 miles from the col to the summit. Its fairly exposed to the wind and elements - I'm glad I brought abundant layers. Just below the peak is the cutoff trail for Mt Etiwanda - this was helpful on the return. Going straight goes to the summit of Cucamonga Peak. It stands tall over San Bernardino and has panoramic views of the San Bernardino Mountains, the San Jacinto Mountains and the entire LA Basin.
Etiwanda Peak Detour
The path from Cucamonga Peak to Etiwanda Peak was much less traveled and rocky. I descended the path down to the cutoff trail that stays on the ridgeline. After a short while, I reached the cut-off trail that would bypass re-ascending Cucamonga Peak on the way back.
From there, the trail goes up and down minor bumps between the peaks. The trail bypasses Etiwanda Peak on its way - I kept an eye out a herd path. It wasn't obvious but I found it and climbed Etiwanda Peak. The summit was similar to Cucamonga Peak with views but had almost no evidence of routine visitors.
Descent from Etiwanda Peak
After bagging the second summit, I made my way back on the trail to the col between Cucamonga Peak and Etiwanda Peak. There was a nice bypass trail that saves a few hundred feet of re-ascent. The 0.3 mile cut-off trail rejoined with the proper Cucamonga Peak trail.
From there, it was repeat of the descent to the saddle between Ontario and Cucamonga Peaks before re-climbing up to Icehouse Saddle. With all the up-climbing done, I descended the 3.9 mile trail back to the Icehouse Canyon Trailhead
It was an awesome hike. These summits have always taunted me from afar - finally nabbed them!
No Comments