Forsee Creek Trailhead to Jackstraw Springs
(4.1 miles, +2,500/-0 feet).

I’m really excited about all these people in my life who are suddenly telling me that they’d love to go backpacking.  The latest is Jay, a friend of mine from work.  When he was younger he actually did some Sierra trips.

The Sierra is a little too ambitious for us right now, so we set our sights on something closer.  The San Gorgonio Wilderness contains the tallest mountain in Southern California (San Gorgonio Mountain) and the surrounding area is largely above 7,000 feet, making it higher than all of San Diego County!

Our plan is to do the Forsee Loop.  This is a popular backpacking location, so I had to apply for a wilderness permit (my first time ever!).

We were originally going to head out super early today to give us plenty of time to make some miles, but Jay had a last-minute conference call in the middle of the day, so we did not get to the trailhead until 5pm!

We changed the plan and decided to try for Trail Fork Springs tonight.  But that’s 6 miles and 3,500 feet, and as it turns out it was too ambitious.

Around 8pm we realized we weren’t going to make it, so we decided to head for Jackstraw Springs, since it also has water.

We didn’t get to camp until dark, but we had our headlamps so it was okay.  We set up our tents, ate dinner, and went to sleep.