We met at Pomona, and then carpooled to the Idyllwild Ranger Station, and there got a permit for the 12 hikers, which is the limit. The weather was absolutely gorgeous, not a cloud in the sky, and we started hiking towards Suicide Rock with pleasant temperatures. Just as soon as we took the short break at the wilderness boundary, Matt McBride caught up with us. He had his own permit, and we were 13 now. The hike went well up the peak, with occasional stops to admire the wildflowers. The view is always impressive from this peak, the way you look up to the highest peaks to the north and looking for rock climbers on Lily Rock. The register was in good shape with plenty of pages to sign in. After lunch and some picture taking we started down and arrived at the cars with enough time to go for the other peaks.
The big question was, "Is the gate open at Indian Mtn?" We sure didn't feel like hiking that dirt road in the 80+° heat. We drove to the trail head and Lady Fortune was with us. We packed all the hikers in the high clearance trucks, and off we went. Theresia was the leading driver, and she showed all the others how they drive on dirt roads in Australia. The peak register was at the bottom of the rock, but Frank and Roxana climbed the rock just for fun. After more picture taking we walked back to the trucks for more shaking on the dirt road. There was one more peak to climb, and since the gate is permanently open at the Ranger Peak trail head, we drove to the flat concrete, which was the base of the no longer existing lookout tower. There was more picture taking and officially closing the fruitful day hike. Afterwards some of us went to the Banning Sizzler to get some needed nourishment.
Thanks to all the hikers: Jim Kilberg, Andy Garcia, Roxana Lewis, Woody McCauley, Margaret Days, Ray Soucy, Christey Schreiber, Mike Fredette, R. S. Abele, and Matt McBride.
