Originally, I had planned to co-lead a hike for the Anza-Borrego Foundation through the Domelands. Unfortunately, the hike was canceled, and I didn’t want to hike it solo. With Anita visiting our daughter in DC, I decided to do an overnight somewhere anyway. After some research, I settled on returning to the Big Bear area for some peakbagging. I drove up and made my way to Yellow Post Site #31, which was very near the route I wanted to take to summit Bertha Peak. I parked, gathered my hiking gear, and set off. I would set up camp when I returned. After about 1/2 mile of road walking, carefully avoiding the puddles, I turned onto the PCT and headed south. I cruised along the trail, wondering if I might be backpacking this section in 2027. Another 1/2 mile later, the trail crossed Bertha Peak Road, which is closed to public traffic. Here, I opted for the shorter route along the road. When the PCT crossed the road again, I switched back to it, hoping to take a use trail up to the summit and spend a little more time on the PCT. I reached the spot where I should leave the trail, but didn’t really see a route or any cairns. The ridge was fairly defined, so off I went. I worked my way up, scanning for signs of a trail or cairns. After a bit, I opted to retreat and just follow the road to the summit.
Soon the communication tower came into view, and I had reached the summit. A summit marker stood behind the fence. I walked the fence’s perimeter, looking for any other marks, but saw none. The views were quite spectacular: Big Bear Lake, snow-capped San Gorgonio, and Holcomb Valley. Since I still needed to set up camp, I headed back down, retracing my route (sans the detour to that ridge). Back at the car, I quickly set up for the night. Sadly, fire restrictions prevented me from having a campfire, so it was going to be an early night. I opted for Bowl and Kettle’s new meal, Green Chicken Enchiladas, for dinner. I paired it with a Southwest-style salad. This new meal rocked! I might bring some extra tortillas and turn it into tacos or a burrito. As the sun set, the breeze made things a tad chilly; it was November, after all. I settled in and enjoyed a few podcasts before drifting off to sleep. If all goes well, tomorrow should have me knocking 2 or 3 more peaks. Including my misadventure, this hike was 5.2 miles in 2:16 and had a nice elevation gain of 760 feet. That was HPS peak number 87!
I am an avid peak bagger, sometimes backpacker, and former sea kayaker living in San Diego. I co-authored Urban Trails: San Diego, available now!
In 2019, I became the third person to complete the San Diego 100 Peak Challenge. Not stopping with that accomplishment, I set my sights on the harder San Diego Sierra Club 100 Peak list, which I completed in 2021. I’ve also conquered several Six-Pack of Peaks challenges (SoCal, San Diego, Central Coast, and both the Arizona-Winter and Arizona-Summer).
I look forward to exploring new summits and adventures across the Southwest.