Bertha Peak - 5.13.2020
We parked at 7500 feet... where the Holcomb Valley Road crosses the Pacific Crest Trail... room for only one car to park.
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This was the trail sign where we parked... there was no mention of the PCT so we weren't sure if we were at the correct place.
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Less than 25 yards from where we parked this sign reassured us that we were on the PCT... kind of hard to see, but there is a PCT marker carved into each of the two signs.
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We only stayed on the PCT for a quarter mile... then started hiking on a 4WD road and got our first look at Bertha Peak in the distance.
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After hiking .8 miles the 4WD road crosses the PCT and gets much steeper... we will continue up the road to the Bertha Peak summit.
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As we continue to gain elevation on the 4WD road the views of Big Bear Lake get better.
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Continuing to gain elevation on the 4WD road... looks like a tower of some kind up on the Bertha Peak summit.
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After hiking 1.7 miles we have reached the Bertha Peak summit (8201')... 1500 feet above Big Bear Lake.
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Looking south and southwest from the Bertha Peak summit to Big Bear Lake... with San Gorgonio Mountain (11,503') on the left horizon.
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A closer look at the town of Big Bear and its two ski resorts... and San Gorgonio Mountain on the horizon... the highest mountain in Southern California.
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Looking north down Holcomb Valley to some kind of mining operation on the horizon.
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A closer look at the mining operation beyond Holcomb Valley.
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Denali Girl near the summit of Bertha Peak.
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After hiking 2.6 miles we have returned to the place where the PCT crosses the 4WD road just before the road becomes very steep... and we decided that we would take the PCT back to the car to see if it offered better views.
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It didn't long to see that the PCT was much more pleasant than the 4WD road.
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Hiking on the PCT... looking back at the Bertha Peak summit.
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After hiking 3 miles we have reached a junction with the Cougar Crest Trail... this trail comes up from Big Bear Lake from the Big Bear Discovery Center... but we will stay on the PCT.
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Continuing on the PCT.
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On the PCT... with Bertha Peak in the distance.
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Back to the car... the hike was 3.9 miles, gaining 959 feet of elevation.
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