Hit Cucamonga today and was enjoying myself so much I went up to Bighorn too and looped back down via the Ontario Peak trail. The trail up to Bighorn from the East side is very steep and loose, not dangerous but very tiring. Probably knocked it out in 15-20 minutes so not too bad but I was wheezing. Between bighorn summit and the Ontario Peak trail I lost the trail numerous times and kept getting blocked by pokey little manzanita bushes. I wouldn’t say Bighorn peak affords any view that Cucamonga doesn’t, but I did have the whole place to myself. Definitely fewer people on the Ontario side but it looked like Kelly Camp was hopping. Weather was NOT cold. I way overpacked and stayed in my shorts and t shirt for the entire hike. Maybe would’ve gotten a bit chilly if I’d stayed on the summit longer. Better safe than sorry
This was my first time on Cucamonga and I was blown away. Great to see lots of hikers of all ages making it to the top too. Trail was very busy obviously, but I was still able to remain out of earshot of others for most of the hike. Generally great trail etiquette and very nice people. My only complaints:
People using walkie talkies(???) at like full volume. Can we not, please? Also lots of dogs heading all the way up to Cucamonga summit and some of them seemed a little…. out of their comfort zones. Worth considering whether your dog wants to do a 12 mile hike in the blazing heat.
14ish miles, ~8hrs total/6 moving, ~5200 feet elev gain