Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board San Gorgonio questions

Sometime in June I'm planning on climbing San Gorgonio. Are there permit issues on this one? How's the water situation? Is this one of those lug all your 8 liters or are there springs or streams in which one can fill up. I plan to take the Vivian creek route/trail. It will be my first time in the area. I don't have a definate date yet but I will probably looking for company if anyone is interested.

Rafael...

The San Gorgonio Wilderness Association has a nice Message Board.

http://members.boardhost.com/sgva/

There has been a lot of discussion recently about water. There are at least three places along the Vivian Creek Trail to get water: Vivian Creek Camp, Halfway Camp, and High Creek Camp. There is a Web page on which people post water information -- be sure to check the dates. It is not always current.

http://www.howlingduck.com/cgi-local/display_water_data.pl

I just completed the Vivian creek trail on Sun/Mon. We camped out at Vivian creek camp and even had a Bear visitor!!! The Vivian Creek is the only good place to get water. I didnt see any at halfway camp and a low flow at high creek. I would advise a water filter for high creek. I passed on getting one and regreted it as we ran out of water about halfway down. I had no issues with a permit but we went on Sun/Mon. Just download it from the above website and fax it in. I got a really quick reponse. I heard you can self issue at the ranger station at the bottom of the road. Hope this helps!!
Also let me tell you that this climb is a real doozy....Very steep in parts!!! And Gorgonio has the most deceptive summit..You'll see what I mean. But the views are worth every step.

I'm overnighting in the SG Wilderness this weekend, Saturday night at Dry Lake View and Sunday night at Trail Fork Springs. I'm entering and exiting at Angelus Oaks. I intend to check out the water situation at Limber Pine, Trail Fork Springs, High Meadow Springs, Dry Lake, South Fork, Dollar Lake, Jackstraw and Johns Meadow, and will provide a report when I get back, both on this Web site and the SGWA water collector Web site.

Here's the San Gorgonio Wilderness Association's website. Good info on permits, conditions, rules, etc.

http://www.sgwa.org/

-lance

I hiked up Greyback last weekend from the South Fork trail head via dollar lake on the wayup and dry lake on the way down. There is an abundance of good water in the main South Fork drainage, including multiple springs etc. Dry lake (not dry) is fairly stagnant, but less than half a mile below the lake, there is a good spring right on the trail.
There is also another spring on the way up to dollar lake saddle, and one or two small snow patches still remain just above the saddle.
I hiked up with a 25 lbs pack that included approx. 150 fl. oz. of water. It lasted me to the summit and about one mile down the trail to dry lake. I then had to hike the next 4 miles without H20.

Most importantly though, the restaurant at Angelus Oaks closes at 8pm. We got there at 5 minutes to 8 and they were happy to serve us fantasitc burgers and very cold Heineken. Whichever trail head you use, plan your exit with this restaurant in mind

Just got back from the SG Wilderness, here is a water report:
Limber Pine: low flow, small trickle and puddles.
Trail Fork Springs: a tiny trickle comes out of the pipe if you push down on it; there also are puddles.
High Meadow Springs: no flow from the wooden spigot, a pump is necessary.
South Fork Meadows: plenty of water.
Johns Meadow: plenty of water.