Peak Bagging

This weekend Kristen and I made a trip to Big Bear to visit her dad. While up there we decided to hike for some elevation conditioning. We arrived Saturday morning around 10am, dropped off Ansel to hang out with her bff Penny, changed, and headed out to the trail head.

Kristen ready for adventure

We decided on an out and back starting at the Cougar's Crest trail head, which is a half mile from the Big Bear Discovery Center. From the trail head we hiked 2 miles on the Cougar's Crest trail until it dead ends at the Pacific Crest Trail. You then hike along the PCT for around half a mile until the turn off for Bertha Peak, which was our destination. You start the hike at an elevation around 6800 feet and finish at 8200 feet. Total distance covered round trip is about 7 miles.

The first half mile or so of this trail is very wide and easy, which is deceiving for those people not prepared for a real hike. (Which is common in this area). After a while the trail pinches down to about the width for 2 adults to walk side by side, but its hard because the trail is rocky and pitted out from water run-off. It usually takes me about 20 minutes for my lungs to adjust the elevation, so I was huffing and puffing for a bit. Once I adjusted though I breezed through most of the hike.

Lots of big pretty trees on this trail

This was a beautiful trail. It was moderately busy, but not annoyingly so. You hike amongst the trees for the most part, but strangely there isn't alot of shade. Everyone on the trail were wearing hats, which is plenty of coverage. Heat wasn't a factor either, it stayed around a pleasant 80 degrees and it was partly cloudy. The trail kept opening up to nice views of Big Bear Lake, but we knew there was going to be an even better view at the top so we kept moving.

One of the many pretty views from the trail. That's Big Bear Lake behind us

The Cougar's Crest Trail dead ends at the Pacific Crest Trail(PCT). This was an exciting thing for me. One of my lofty dreams is to through hike the PCT which runs through the US from the border of Mexico to the border of Canada. This was my first taste of this trail and I loved it. You are only on the PCT for half a mile on this trek, but it was a magical half mile for me!

Me and a dream. It will happen one day

The trail marker for the PCT

Me hiking on the PCT. A glorious half mile

The last part of the trail (and the hardest) is the climb up to Bertha Peak. The trail is wide but extremely rocky and steep. I had to take a few breaks on the way up because my legs were screaming at me. The climb is worth it though. We were rewarded with sweeping views of the lake and the Big Bear Valley. We found a nice secluded spot to enjoy the view and a snack of jerky, nut bars, and fruit leather.

Taking in the view

Refuleing

This is why we hike

We used our trekking poles on the descent because of the rocky terrain and it made our lives so much easier. We breezed through the descent and headed back into town sweaty, a bit stinky, and extremely happy. We then stopped and rewarded outselves with a burger from a local shop as well.

Come to find out Bertha Peak is one of the 7 Summits in Big Bear, which is something Kristen and I were going to do. So hey, We started the journey without even knowing! Next weekend we are doing the 10 mile hike to the Bridge to Nowhere in Azusa. Should be fun!

36 days until Yosemite!