Harrison Mountain

31 March 2001

By: Tom Hill

Leaders Tom Hill, Gabriele Rau

Occasionally the HPS leads a joint hike to one of the summits on the Lower Peaks List. These outings introduce enjoyable new peaks to our members and have been well-attended.

Harrison Mountain, a classic HPS-type peak but not quite high enough for our list, lies just north of the city of San Bernardino. It languished for many years because of the poor condition of the trail from the north. The proper trail follows a series of ridgeline firebreaks and has now been well-ducked and brushed out, and shows considerable usage.

A great group of twelve hikers assembled at 8 a.m. at Pomona for the 50-mile carpool - short by HPS standards - under crisp sunny skies. We took Hwy 330 north toward Running Springs, stopping at the large pullout at the road junction (3335') with IN09 Manzanita Flat, 2.2 miles past the City Creek USFS Station.

The crux for this peak is knowing where to begin the hike! It's obvious only when someone tells you. From the parking area walk over to the Forest Service bulletin board. Pass through the barbed wire fence using a specially constructed hiker's opening next to the board (the fence splits into two parallel lines, with just enough room to squeeze through).

Harrison is the large mountain directly south of you. The beginning of the trail may be somewhat obscured by meadow brush, so it's best to fix your location by looking for the firebreak that is clearly visible going up the small ridgeline to your west, obvious from the bulletin board. Head to this firebreak and then over bump 3867, which is slightly separated from the main mass of Harrison Mountain. Continue south up the main ridge about 1/3 mile, passing bump 4043 to a large duck on your right (west) that marks the spot to leave the ridge.

Leave the ridgeline and head downhill and west, passing the head of a large meadow, to a second obvious firebreak that continues to the summit. Our round-trip time including lunch was 6 hours.

Participants: Mitch Cutter, Pete Babij, Mark Hodgson, Bruce Morgan, Erich and Luella Fickle, Ron and Joann Schrantz, Laura Franciosi, and Chris Baxter.