Strawberry Peak (6,164 ft.)
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"Named by 'some wags at Switzer's Camp', according to Hiram Reid (1886). It is
told that they fancied a resemblance to a strawberry standing with its blossom
end up. 'We named it Strawberry because there weren't any strawberries on it.'
Reid icily noted that 'the joke took' and that burlesque name has been commonly
used by the old settlers; but the peak name is waiting some worthy occasion for
a worthy name. Like many other playful peak names, few expected the name would
last, but it has - perhaps because Americans have always loved to toy with
place names.
The first known ascents were by parties led by Bob Waterman from Switzer's. A
trail was built along the Arroyo, and then up Colby Canyon to the saddle west
of the summit, and then up the Class 3 rock to the top. This was one of the
most popular destinations during the first 'Great Hiking Era' (1895-1935). It
was also climbed and poetically recorded by Saunders (1923). One of this peak's
most curious moments was when a giant gas balloon, the America crashed
on the summit after being caught in a storm. The six men aboard, including
Captain. A. E. Mueller, spent a freezing night on the mountain but clamored
down Colby Canyon to safety the next morning (1909). It was front page news and
some sought to rename the peak after Mueller but nothing came of it.
Called 'Strawberry Peak #1' on original HPS List--there once was a #2 in the
San Bernardino N.F.
Name first appears on USGS Southern California Sheet #1 (1901).
Peak was on the original 1946 HPS Peak List. Weldon
Heald climbed this peak in 1933."
- HPS Summit Signatures
More of Bob's Trip Reports
For more information see these SummitPost pages: Josephine Peak - Strawberry Peak - Mt. Lawlor - Mt. Wilson - Mt. Markham - Mt. Lowe - Mt. Disappointment - San Gabriel Peak - Mt. Harvard - Iron Mountain - Roundtop - Granite Mountain - Rabbit Peak
This page last updated: Fri Jan 1 11:44:11 2010
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