Dobbs, Jepson and San G., all three

[David R]

I got to the TH with my son at a little after 7 and started along the fire road. There is no water in Mill Creek which is alarming so early in the year. The nice steep 800 foot climb to get into Vivian Creek had us passing many hikers and having some trail runners pass us. I was planning on taking Dobbs ridge, the current route once you drop into Vivian Creek is to cross it immediately and access the ridge. That isn't my route however, I continue along Vivian on the trail until it crosses over the creek and then I go straight up with a tiny jog to the left. This route is a bit more direct. Most of it is on steep sandy slopes with occasional low oak trees to maneuver through or around. After a short but steep gain you access the ridge at a prominent bump. From here you get expansive views of the San Bernardino Peak ridge and can look down into the Momyer drainage. The views are much more enjoyable then the traditional trail. From here you get a steep section before the incline moderates a bit. On the narrower sections there is now a use trail, when the ridge broadens it fades away. You get to the final section a nice steep 1,600 foot sustained climb in just about a mile that is also a bit sandy to get you on the plateau that is Dobbs. Along this section I saw lots of ducks probably because there is a subsidiary ridge that if you were going down you might easily follow and go the wrong way. The peak is at the far east of the highest bump, as far as I'm concerned it is one long plateau with really no prominence. The only positive is at this altitude the trees became sparse and you got nice views of the peaks in the area.

Following along this undulating plateau, I stuck close to the drainage on the left to minimize elevation gain until it got shallow enough to cross over and start up the slopes of Jepson. Some of this section was surprisingly rocky and also sandy resulting in a tiring incline. Soon enough you hit the trail and then another 300 feet or so to the top which has a sign-in can and most importantly an Insta sign for your picture to show what a wonderful time you're having. We dropped off the east side of the peak to reconnect to the trail a little closer to San G. Once we hit the junction with Vivian we started to see some hikers heading down and a lot going for the summit. Being on the trail felt like easy street after all that steep xcountry and I flew up to the summit. The summit was humming with activity, lots of newbies talking hiking and not having a clue of what they were talking about but it was entertaining to eavesdrop. On San G, there isn't just one but two signs so this is significant Insta land. I have embraced Insta and if I hike with my son we take a shit load of stupid pictures of ourselves with the sign and no I will probably never post one of them on here. Here are some pics from the summit.

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From here it is a long hike down the trail to the TH. Along the way we passed at least three parties that looked wiped who were still pressing for the summit. They were probably going to come back in the dark. The trail back is quite frustrating with long switchbacks in places with lots of pointy rocks for your shoes to bang into. When I come back I think I'll check my map more carefully and just cut them out going straight down. The final statistics were just over 15 miles with 5,800 feet elevation gain in 8 hours and 45 minutes. A nice day to hang with San G. and my son.

[tekewin]

Wow, that's a big day!

I took the standard ridge route to Dobbs and remember it being uncomfortably steep. Your route was even steeper, quite the grind.

Thanks for the report.

[Sean]

Let's go to popular summits and start spreading all kinds of lies about it. See if anyone responds with the truth. And have a grand chuckle. I want to take those signs and put them on the wrong peaks. Thanks for the report and photos. I rarely go to my Instagram, so maybe I'll never see your silly selfies.