It has been 3 weeks since our backpacking trip to the Desolation Wilderness and we were ready for another good hike. We eventually settled on San Bernardino East Peak since it would offer a new trail and a new peak to part of the group. We met at 6:30am to car pool for the ride. With a quick bathroom stop we arrived at Momyer TH around 8:15am and hit the trail 10 minutes later.
The day started as it always does on that trail: cross Mill Creek on some stepping stones and start climbing up on the long switch backs. Forecast was for mid-70’s for Forest Falls, but it felt warmer even this early and we started to sweat right away. We soon got to the unmarked turn-off for the San Bernardino East trail. There is a sign, but it only points in the direction of the Momyer trail and leaves the destination for the other trail a mystery. Initially the San Bernardino East trail meanders through some burned out area with lots of charred tree stumps. Eventually one reaches the intact forest. At that point it started to be noticeably cooler, perfect hiking temperatures.
We continued on and during one of our hourly refueling breaks Klaus remarked that we did not take many pictures to which we responded that there was not much new to see for us since we had been on these slopes so many times (a remark that would haunt us later…). Clouds were blowing above us at quite a high speed and at around 9,500 ft we got to the bottom of the cloud layer and experienced brief periods of fog. At about 10,000 ft the trail turns to the east slope of the mountain and we got hit by the strong winds that were propelling the clouds. We continued on and started to scramble up the slope over some boulders. Once on the ridge we followed the San Bernardino Divide trail and quickly arrived at our goal. It was windy and since we were right at the bottom of the cloud layer we got spectacular scenery changes with windows of views of the valley below us and the mountains around us opening and closing rapidly.
After a brief snack break we headed back down. At this point our little thermometer (exposed to the wind) was showing temperatures right around freezing. Below 10,000 ft we got back to the more sheltered side of the mountain and even had to take our jackets off since we started to get warm. The perfect conditions did not last long, however, and it started to rain and not just lightly. The water started to pool and little rivulets formed on the trail, we heard thunder. Since rain is so rare for us here we kind of enjoyed these unusual conditions. The rivulets did lead me to comment that our biggest challenge might be getting back over Mill Creek to our car if that little creek had swollen up.
Back on Momyer trail at around 6400 ft where the trail follows some big switch backs we heard strange sounds coming from the valley. It sounded kind of like a big freeway going through there with heavy traffic. Of course there is no such thing and we knew that it must be the creek. Looking east towards the Mill Creek Headwall it was obvious that it was raining heavily there. On the final stretch of Momyer there was no mistaken the sounds we heard: roaring water was close by. And this is what we arrived to:
We got to the bank of the creek with just 15 min of daylight left. So we had to act quickly. It was clear that we could not cross here. I knew about a possible crossing/bridge less than 0.5 miles to our east so we had a quick look if we could make it there, but the terrain was too difficult and we abandoned that idea immediately since everything was wet and slick and we would have to bushwhack just with our head lamps. So I called our friend who lives in Forest Falls. As it turned out she was watching the flash flood with a number of local residents. They confirmed that we had no option but to wait for the water to return to normal flow and they said it was going down quickly as they had observed in the previous 10 minutes. We thanked them and told them we would wait for how ever long it would take (hopefully only 1-2h) and we would get back to them when we were safely across. Well aware of how dangerous even relative small amounts or rushing water are with rocks and boulders tumbling in flash flood waters we were in no mood to tempt fate with a flash flood.
During those busy minutes we had noticed a person on the opposing bank waving arms, as best as we could tell the person was indicating to us not to go into the creek. We sat down taking inventory of our food supply and checking our status. We all had wet clothes to varying degrees, but it was not cold and we were reasonably comfortable. We also had emergency blankets and Kevin had a tarp with which we could make a little shelter in the trees if we had to hang out longer. So at this point calling for help did not even cross our mind. The person on the other side did not know all this and apparently seeing us settle in was not enough to calm them down, because to our great surprise things started to happen on the parking lot and in the air:
We later learned that someone had called 911. The helicopter circled above us for a few minutes and also went up creek for a little bit. I suppose checking out the situation at the Vivian Creek trail crossing of Mill Creek. That trail is much more popular and there were still hikers out on the mountain. We observed the positioning of big fire trucks and eventually were illuminated by a big spot light. Then we saw lights descent into the dry part of the creek bed. 2 rescuers came to the creek across from us. They were in full rescue gear. Kevin went down to talk to them. They only asked how many of us there were and what gender. Then they told Kevin to get back up to us out of the wet part of the creek. We sat there for another 45min or so waiting for the water to recede. It did and we came to the conclusion that the shallowest spot was about ready. As we were checking it out with our head lamps the rescuers called over that they would come across in a few minutes and walk us over. They escorted us one by one through the ankle deep water/flowing mud with one guy in front and one behind the person led across. By this time the crossing was like a typical water crossing in the Sierra or even here in the creek that we normally walk through with just the aid of our hiking poles. One of the rescuers remarked that it might feel a little bit overly dramatic:
This only took a minute and we all walked up towards the parking lot. Here it helped that we were familiar with the trail and we could actually guide the rescuers up an easier way than they were trying. Once on the parking lot we were surrounded by a surreal scene. There were about 8 emergency vehicles of various sizes. The parking lot was bright as daylight with all the big lights and every truck had their flashers going.
Lots of people were moving around packing up (by the time the video was taken half the vehicles had already left). These guys were ready for anything. We talked to some of the ones in charge and they told us that one of the residents near by had called 911. They also said that they had a similar effort going on at Vivian creek and that there were still hikers up on the trail. So they probably had to prepare for a wait since rain clouds where hanging around the mountains and more rain could bring a repeat of the flooding. We thanked them for helping us, changed into dry clothes as much as we could and headed back home. The whole flash flood episode only delayed us by about 1.5 hours. Flash floods have a tendency to go almost as fast as they come.
So it turned out to be not a business as usual hike in the Forest Falls area. We got to see and experience a new face of the area. Oh, I almost forgot, we hiked 13.5 miles with 5,150 ft elevation gain. Another great day in the mountains.
Wow, what an adventure! I’m sorry I missed it. Lessons learned, be prepared for warm weather, cold weather, rainy weather, and ??? Interesting that the rescuers needed to rescue a mountain rescue expert (Kevin). I know you guys are smart enough not to endanger yourself but, the rescuers didn’t know who they were dealing with. Great report, great videos and fotos. One for the record books!!!
Agree with John. I remember a solo hike up San Bernardino 2 years ago when a thunderstorm hit. I didn’t get isolated like you but the trail was a small river.
Wow!!! Sounds like another fun hike with a surprise adventure at the end! Miss hiking with you guys…