After meeting at the Mill Creek ranger station we car pooled to the Fish Creek trailhead.
Jay, Abe, Kathy, Darrell, Scott and me, Joe at the Fish Creek trailhead at 8,100 feet.
We entered the San Gorgonio Wildernes near the start of the hike.
This section of trail was really green.
Scott and Darrell.
Fallen tree along side the trail.
First view of San Gorgonio Mountain.
Zoomed in on San Gorgonio.
Dry Lake is stiil full.
Scott up ahead as we leave Mine Shaft Saddle and start on the Sky High Trail.
Looking back to Mine Shaft Saddle at 10,000 feet.
Kathy and Scott ahead. I was hiking really slow, it will hours before I see anyone again.
A view of the Ten Thousand Foot Ridge.
Looking down on Mine Shaft Flat.
The C-47 Dakota crash site at the 10,400 feet level. The Sky High Trail pases right through it.
More wreckage below the trail.
Every time I past this wreckage want to stop and check it out, but there's not the time.
Another piece. Going to come back soon and spend the whole day here, I have a plan. Link to the crash site photos at the end of this album.
Lot of nice looking trees above 10,000 feet.
There were a few places where trees fell across the trail.
Dragons Head and The Tarn come into view. Soon it will be time to leave the trail.
A short time later Bighorn Mountain shows its self. I left the trail here just past the 11,000 foot level.
Have to climb down about 500 feet to The Tarn. From there I'll climb to the saddle and follow the ridge on the left the peak.
Almost down to The Tarn. When The Tarn is filled with water from the snow melt, it becomes the highest lake in southern California at 10,560 feet.
A view of Dragons Head as I cross The Tarn. I didn't know it at the time, but the rest of the group was climbing up Dragons Head. They are hard to see, but three of them are on it's ridge in this shot.
Looking back arcoss The Tarn at the slope I just climbed down.
Making my way up to the saddle.
Almost to the peak.
The register box. There was only one entree for 2005. It was Abe's who just climbed it before moving on to Dragons Head.
Me on top of Bighorn Mountain at 10,997 feet with San Jacinto Peak in the background. That small black dot on the right side of the photo is one of the hundreds of ravens that were flying over the peak.
Looking to the northwest at San Gorgonio Mountain.
San Jacinto Peak to the south.
Zoomed in on San Jacinto Peak. A couple of ravens are in the upper left.
I could barely see Dragons Head's peak from Bighorn.
A shot of some of the ravens that were in the area.
This is looking straight up at all the ravens flying around over Bighorn Mountain.
This one took an interest in me and made a few close passes.
Looking down on The Tarn as I start the climb down. I climbed straight down the slope to The Tarn.
Back on The Tarn heading for the slope I have to climb to get back on the trail 500 feet up.
Back up on the trail. This is a very long hike to climb a little mountain.
Cool looking clouds.
I was surprised to find Scott and Darrell on the trail. The others hiked to San Gorgonio Mountain where they will climb down a chute on the north side to connect with the Sky High Trail at the 10,200 foot level.
Looking up the 1,300 foot chute that Kathy, Jay and Abe climbed down off the summit of San Gorgonio Mountain. We met them here.
Jay, Kathy and Scott.
Darrell and Abe. It's amazing that we all met up after going to different peaks.
It was a long hike out.
Darrell on a stream crossing near the end of the hike.
Nice green area at another stream crossing. Almost back to the trailhead.