Sugarloaf Peak

Anthony · Post by **Anthony** » Wed Nov 04, 2020 8:14 pm

I've been meaning to bag Sugarloaf Peak for a couple of years and finally got around to it last Saturday. My partner and I got a late start, hitting the Icehouse Canyon trailhead at about 11:30am. We lucked out and found parking just outside the main lot on Mt. Baldy Rd.

We crossed Icehouse Creek and entered Falling Rock Canyon without any issues and began the slow and rocky trek. Per previous trip reports, we bypassed the dry waterfall, taking an extremely steep and loose route. It seemed like more trouble than what I had read in the trip reports though. Maybe we didn't go left enough -- or maybe we went too far left. I'm not sure. I can't help but wonder if there's an easier way around that waterfall...

I spotted some people coming down the canyon while finishing the bypass. I was surprised; I didn't think I'd see anyone past Icehouse Canyon Creek. The hiker said he had done Sugarloaf many times. He and his girlfriend would be the only people we'd see until Icehouse Canyon on the way back.

Going up Falling Rock Canyon was a slow but fun class 2 climb. Eventually we got to the notorious scree slope. We took a variety of paths, sometimes on larger rock and sometimes on smaller rock. We soon realized that the path with the smaller rock was not going to work; we kept sinking and expending too much energy. We figured it was intended to be the downhill path so we stuck to the paths with medium and large rock. Once again, I can't help but wonder if there's a better path...

We were happy to reach the saddle, and enjoyed the views before taking the final approach to the summit. We enjoyed hiking on an actual trail for a bit. The views from the summit were amazing and were worth the effort.

We headed back the same way, flying down the scree slope and enjoying every minute of it. No bloody hands!

Distance: 4.24 mi
Gain: 2,005 ft
Total time: 4:32:52
Recording: https://www.alltrails.com/explore/recor ... ak-a4d2f0d

Post by **HikeUp** » Thu Nov 05, 2020 7:50 am

Nice TR!

IIRC the "by-pass" is just to the left of the falls, closer than you'd expect. I think my first try was too far left, so I backed down and tried closer to the falls. It worked so maybe that is the trick. Others hopefully will chime in.

Anthony · Post by **Anthony** » Thu Nov 05, 2020 2:49 pm

I forgot to mention that we saw what appeared to be a military helicopter (grey Blackhawk) fly through Icehouse Canyon pretty low. It was not the usual FS or FD chopper.

Anthony · Post by **Anthony** » Thu Nov 05, 2020 2:58 pm

HikeUp wrote: ↑Nice TR!

IIRC the "by-pass" is just to the left of the falls, closer than you'd expect. I think my first try was too far left, so I backed down and tried closer to the falls. It worked so maybe that is the trick. Others hopefully will chime in.

Yeah, the hiker that I encountered said it was "just to the left" as well. We tried finding it on the way down, but I didn't see anything that looked safe. Maybe I was being too cautious. Nevertheless, the route we took was a literal pain in the ass and possibly just as dangerous if not more due to rockfall that we created.

I'll definitely head back at some point and maybe continue up to Ontario...

Girl Hiker · Post by **Girl Hiker** » Fri Nov 06, 2020 5:03 pm

Nice pics!

Post by **Sean** » Fri Nov 06, 2020 5:41 pm

"No bloody hands!"

Lucky you!

Thanks for the report. It's been awhile but I think the bypass is to the left of the falls, a series of steps and ledges along the wall. I don't recall a particularly easy way up the scree slope. To the right seemed best.

Post by **JeffH** » Sat Nov 07, 2020 11:32 am

Your alltrails link doesn't work for me, I get the page not found error.

Anthony · Post by **Anthony** » Sat Nov 07, 2020 1:05 pm

JeffH wrote: ↑Your alltrails link doesn't work for me, I get the page not found error.

Hmm. Here it is on CalTopo: https://caltopo.com/m/QENT

David R · Post by **David R** » Mon Nov 09, 2020 4:40 pm

The by-pass to be specific is to get out of the wash and be just on the left side in the scree. You look up and you will see a small grove of trees.Head for that and you will see a use trail that will wind through and connect to the side of the canyon. There will be a series of ledges that contour you into the canyon, sometimes the feel will not be intuitive but keep on moving to the right with minimal ups/downs. Last time I was there, there was a duck to tell you how to exit the canyon on the way back. If there is no water, down climbing the waterfall is not that bad as I once missed the egress point on my way down.

Anthony · Post by **Anthony** » Mon Nov 09, 2020 5:11 pm

Sean wrote: ↑"No bloody hands!"

Lucky you!

Thanks for the report. It's been awhile but I think the bypass is to the left of the falls, a series of steps and ledges along the wall. I don't recall a particularly easy way up the scree slope. To the right seemed best.

was your profile pic taken while scree skiing on sugarloaf???

Post by **Sean** » Thu Nov 12, 2020 11:44 am

Anthony wrote: ↑ was your profile pic taken while scree skiing on sugarloaf???

No. I was coming down Movie Slope above Manker Flat. We had descended Thunder Ridge.

ReFreshing · Post by **ReFreshing** » Mon Nov 23, 2020 3:40 pm

Fantastic! I love going up FRC, such a fun climb! Even when it's covered in snow and ice. Of all the peaks around there Sugarloaf certainly is the least visited peak.

Anthony · Post by **Anthony** » Mon Nov 23, 2020 3:55 pm

ReFreshing wrote: ↑Fantastic! I love going up FRC, such a fun climb! Even when it's covered in snow and ice. Of all the peaks around there Sugarloaf certainly is the least visited peak.

Yeah, it was so peaceful back there compared to busy Icehouse Canyon.
I'd like to hit Ontario from FRC!