Andrew T, Angelo C and I decided to go on a hike to Ontario Peak on a cloudy Sunday morning in May. We all drove separately and I was the first to pull up to the Icehouse canyon at 6:30am and to my surprise the lot was already full so I had to park on Mt Baldy road about 2 blocks away. It was cold with drizzle and a chance for rain so I decided to wear the hiking boots and long pants instead of the usual trail running gear and I also brought my stove so we could have some warm ramen at the top. Soon enough Andrew and Angelo both pulled up and we were on our way! I’ve been trying to do this hike for a couple of years as I have never been to Ontario Peak since all of the prior times I have hiked Icehouse canyon, we always went to Cucamonga Peak. It was only 2 week of running since I had to take some time off due to a knee issue I had which sidelined me for 3 weeks so I was sucking wind from the start, LOL. Luck for me both of the other guys have not been hiking in awhile ether so we all went at a “getting back in shape” pace.

The first part of this hike goes up Icehouse Canyon to Icehouse Saddle with the last mile being pretty steep, at least the cool cloudy weather made it not as bad as it would have been if it was warm and before we knew it we made it to the saddle where the usual crowd of hikers all stop for a snack break. It was freezing at the saddle with strong winds so we did not hang out too long. It was here Angelo decided to call it a day and head back so for the rest of the trip it would be Andrew and I. as soon as we started on the Ontario peak trail the crowds really thinned out as 80% of folks head to Cucamonga peak. The first mile of the Ontario peak trail after the saddle was a relief from the steepness of the Icehouse Canyon trail and soon enough we arrived at Kelly’s Camp where we saw a deer and a couple of tents from folks who were camping. After the campground the trail again got steep but also we finally climbed out of the clouds and were in the sun. The winds also died down so it was quite pleasant to be out hiking. We finally made it to the peak where we cooked ramen and talked to a few other hikers about trips we have all been on.

The A Team, Andrew, Angelo and Alan

After hanging out for around 20-30 minutes it was time to head back. Andrew decided as usual to run down but since I didn’t want to take a chance with my knee I hiked it down. I got back to the car a little after 1pm where again it was cold and drizzly. All in all a good hike, I was sore for most of the week after as it’s been awhile since I’ve hiked this far due to the whole Pandemic crap. In California they just eased up the mask rules for outside folks so we did not have to wear them hiking thank God. I’d say around 20% of folks still wore them though.

Above the Clouds

The Ontario Peak tree

Now it is time to put in some more hikes to go along with the running so I don’t feel so destroyed after a day on the trails, until then…SEE YA!

view from Ontario peak