After the summiting of Sitton Peak, in the Cleveland National Forest near Lake Elsinore, my buddy and I decided we would shoot for the popular Ontario Peak in the San Gabriel Mountains near Mt. Baldy. Ontario Peak clears the skyline at 8,696 ft of elevation and if hiked from Ice House Canyon is about 13.5 miles.

The decision to hike Ontario was made near the end of winter in 2017. At this point we had yet to experience snow and ice on trails and we were extremely unprepared. The hike at that moment was aborted and sent to a plan B while our quest to summit Ontario took nearly 27 months to achieve. 

The hike it self isn’t especially difficult and trail runners head to the top quickly and with limited supplies so it should not have been something we couldn’t bag within a few weeks. But it was…….

Finally one morning I woke up and made the decision to get it done. After an early morning wake up call I hit that mountain solo and along with the summiting of Big Horn, Cucamonga, and Ediwanda in the same sitting. Ontario was last on the list and the peak I took the longest rest at. I may have even past out for a few minuets but it felt good to finally bag it.

Thats the memory I think of when I see this sticker. …