I was on my way to San Diego, another extended roadtrip mixed with family business. It was expected to be warm for the next 4-5 days, so I decided to head to the San Bernardino Mountains where I could get cooler temps with the higher elevations. I left San Jose around 6a, so I didn't get started until the afternoon. Still, I managed to tag seven summits, all of these short excursions.

Peak 6,338ft

Coming from the north out of Lucerne Valley, Peak 6,338ft was my first stop off SR18. The summit is located on the east side of the highway and there is a nice turnout southwest of the summit. It took 15min to make my way to the granite summit boulders. Of the two eligible spots, I think the west one is higher. Views overlook the Mojave Desert to the north.

Nelson Ridge

The ridge is found east of Baldwin Lake and Baldwin Lake Rd. A dirt Forest road passes by the summit on the south side. A five minute walk on a road I probably could have driven gets you to the highpoint in less than 10min. A register was left by Mark Adrian in 2019. Trees block much of the views, but a slightly lower point to the north has a rock outcrop and no trees to obscure views. There's a nice one of Baldwin Lake, but it's currently bone dry.

Peak 7,291ft

This summit is located south of Balwin Lake. I parked across from some residences on Shay Rd and went steeply up the north side. Careful route choices minimize the bushwhacking. Lots of brush on this slope. An old road runs across the ridge, and I followed this for the last portion. 25min saw me to the summit where there are no views. Mark left a register here in 2021. When I got back, I noticed there was a No Parking sign tacked to a tree nearby. So it may not be legal to park there...

Deadmans Ridge

This ridge is a few miles southeast of Peak 7,291ft. There is a rural community on the south side of the ridge. Driving through the neighborhood I came to the entrance to a private camp in Gocke Valley. I parked outside the gate and went steeply up the south side of the ridge. The last part was along another old road found on the ridgeline. Mark left a register here in 2019. He seemed to have been to all the summits I visited these first few days. Decent views, but still trees all about.

Lightning Gulch Point

This is a more serious mountain sandwiched between Sugarloaf Mtn to the west and Onxy Summit to the east. Luckily, there is a rough Forest Road from the south that winds its way up to the northwest side, making this a piece of cake. The register found in a rock cairn with a survey pole was a busy mess. Pretty close to the PCT, this one. Really nice views of the San Gorgonio massive to the southwest.

Peak 8,568ft

The next two took some fun Jeeping on a Forest Road out of Heart Bar Campground. The road climbs to over 8,000ft, passing within a short distance of both summits. Peak 8,568ft has two points vying for highpoint honors. I visited the east one first, then over to the west one. My surveying has the east summit about 6-7ft higher, but the register left by Mark in 2019 is on the west summit.

Peak 8,548ft

It was getting close to 8p by the time I got to the last summit. The sun had just set and it was getting chilly, about 45F. It took only a minute to reach the highpoint where another Mark register from 2019 was found. The moon was out and it was going to get dark soon. I was happy to find I had cell service up here, so I set up camp a short distance down the road from the last summit. One of my better campsites this year...

Continued...

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