Hell For Sure Loop

Post by **tekewin** » Sun Jul 24, 2022 6:55 pm

AKA Ten Thousand Foot Ridge Traverse in the San Bernardino Mountains. I started at Fish Creek trailhead. The 7 miles of dirt road to reach it are in good shape, but a few big rocks suggest high clearance. A sedan going slowly could make it. Here were all the peaks in the order of the loop:

Peak 9580
Hell for Sure Peak (9920')
Tea Bag Can Peak (9884')
Peak 9971
Peak 10055
Carmen Peak (10075')
Ten Thousand Foot Ridge (10094')
Fish Creek Peak (9942')

Just after the start of the trail, I went cross country to climb two steep slopes toward Peak 9580. It was covered in knee high buckthorn. I had to wade through some of it, but it became less of an issue higher up. Every peak on this hike had a register, while none had official benchmarks. After reaching 9580, I continued down a jagged slope connecting to a saddle below Hell For Sure Peak. A final slope of open forest led to Hell For Sure. There were great views of San Jacinto and Gorgonio just below the summit.

The ridge to Hell For Sure

Next along the ridge was Tea Bag Can Peak. After a 400' drop to the saddle and a 400' climb, I landed at the summit. The register was easy to find. Views at each peak along the ridge were mostly the same with a slight change of angle on the surrounding sights. The next drop was 500' to a saddle with a 600' climb to Peak 9971. This was the highest inter-peak gain. The register was in a metal can with the words Boston Tea Party on it, making me wonder if it didn't below on the prior summit. Obstacles along the way were mostly downed and burned trees with minor brush to walk around. I took a longer break on 9971 and got a better look back at Hell For Sure.

Tea Bag Can Peak

Looking back at Hell For Sure

The next three peaks were all over 10K, starting with Peak 10055. This peak had the most obstacles, and I scrambled up some class 2 boulders that could have been avoided by going around. The summit was farther than I thought, and I had to search for the register, finding it below a downed tree near the top. I think some people missed this register because it had fewer entries than the others. Carmen Peak was only a quarter mile away with a short drop to the saddle. The register was in an ammo box with the wrong elevation painted on it (10,900 instead of 10075). Many people mentioned this in their comments. After that was a very short walk over to Ten Thousand Foot Ridge Peak. In fact, the distance and elevation change from Carmen was so minimal, I question it being a separate peak. 10K Peak had a large ammo box with a single register book. This was my second summit of 10K Peak. It still had the Eispiraten sticker I added in 2019

Peak 10055

Carmen ammo box with wrong elevation

Lake Peak ahead, Fish Creek Peak on the right

I dropped off 10K and followed a good use trail toward Fish Creek Peak, leaving the trail at the closest point for a walk up. There was a fallen wooden pole marker with support wires that I restored to glory. The register was just a baggie next to the high point. The last challenge was to get back to the trail. I started angling side hill toward Fish Creek Saddle. Boulders and trees were more of a problem in this area. I hit the Fish Creek trail just below the saddle. I did Lake Peak in 2019, so didn't visit it again. Got back to the truck without seeing another person. The loop could be done in either direction. 10.8 miles, 3500' gain. A great hike to pad your stats!

Fish Creek Peak

Ten Thousand Foot Ridge from the side of Grinnell

Post by **Sean** » Mon Jul 25, 2022 4:33 pm

Thanks for the report. That's a heck -- I mean hell -- of a hike. I think the devil has been up to some mischief on that ridge route. He probably possesses the feeble-minded and makes them mess things up.

Post by **tekewin** » Mon Jul 25, 2022 4:44 pm

Sean wrote: ↑Thanks for the report. That's a heck -- I mean hell -- of a hike. I think the devil has been up to some mischief on that ridge route. He probably possesses the feeble-minded and makes them mess things up.

Haha, well, there is still massive burn damage across most of the ridge. Could be the work of the devil.

Post by **Uncle Rico** » Tue Jul 26, 2022 7:27 am

Nice teke. Looks like you had an amazing day.

That range is still unexplored by me. My anti long-drive obstinacy doesn't permit me to visit nice places like this for a day hike.

Post by **tekewin** » Wed Jul 27, 2022 7:55 am

Uncle Rico wrote: ↑Nice teke. Looks like you had an amazing day.

That range is still unexplored by me. My anti long-drive obstinacy doesn't permit me to visit nice places like this for a day hike.

The San Bs are nice, worth the drive. My perspective has become skewed after years of seeking the new. The first time I drove 100 miles, I thought I'd only do that once a year. Now, it's just an average weekend. My record drive for a day hike (so far) is 4.5 hours each way to the San Luis Obispo area.