The 2018/2019 winter brought a TON of snow to the southern California mountains – and we knew we wanted to take advantage of the late-season snow this year… So we headed up the South Fork Trail to Dry Lake!
South Fork Trail to Dry Lake Prep
Chris and I (Jesse) went up to Dry Lake in January and loved the winter route so much, we decided to go back again in March – this time with our buddy Luke to further explore for our upcoming guided trip!
Preparing for a winter overnight trip is always a little more work and you have to be flexible. Here are a few things we had to keep in mind from when we started planning all the way up to parking the car.
Things to think about for winter vs summer trips
- Weather
- Daytime vs Nighttime Temps
- Trail conditions
- Snow condition
- Avalanche risks (http://www.socalsnow.org)
- Overnight wilderness permit (normal)
- Parking Permit (site specific, but can be different if certain roads are closed)
The biggest factor that we had to be flexible about until we actually started our hike is the weather. San Gorgonio is Southern California’s biggest mountain and can cause very rapid weather changes. Temps, heavy snow and wind, slushy snow and avalanche risks were what we had to plan around and had an impact on what car we drove to the gear we brought. Here’s an abbreviated version of our gear list that is different than our usual 3 season gear list.
South Fork Trail to Dry Lake Gear List Subs for Winter:
- Tent: Mountain Laurel Designs Supermid (no inner net)
- Chris’ gear:
- The North Face One Bag (5º)
- Madera UL Sleeping Pad (top)
- Therm-a-Rest Z Lite Sol Sleeping Pad (bottom)
- Gregory Baltoro 75 Pack
- Jesse’s gear
- Feathered Friends Flicker UL 20º
- Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XTherm Sleeping Pad (top)
- Therm-a-Rest Z Lite Sol Sleeping Pad (bottom)
- Arc Haul Zip 64L Backpack
- Stove: MSR Windburner with 2.5L pot (for melting snow)
- Microspikes / Crampons
- Snow Shovel
The rest of the planning was straightforward. You can get an overnight wilderness permit pretty easily from the San Gorgonio Wilderness Association (http://sgwa.org/wilderness-permits/) and a parking permit is a National Forest Adventure Pass ($5/day or $30/year) that you can get online or at pretty much any outdoor retailer in Southern California.
South Fork Trail to Dry Lake Itinerary
Day 1
The Drive
The 3 of us woke up early to be on the road by about 4 am. We made our mandatory stop at Denny’s for coffee and breakfast/last chance to use a flushing toilet.
Then We arrived at the South Fork trailhead around 6:30 am just before sunrise, doubled checked our gear, used the pit toilets at the trailhead (because Denny’s), and hit the trail.
Starting the South Fork Trail to Dry Lake
The first 1/4 mile of the trail was snow-free and in good condition. Then we came across a massive washout where the trail used to be. We hiked up the ravine about 100 feet to cross in 2 places that were much more manageable.
From that point until about 1 mile in, there was little snow, but a ton of downed trees. Trail crews and volunteers (THANK YOU!) will have their work cut out for them this spring. From the meadow at the 1.25-mile mark on, it was almost entirely snow. The snow had an icy crust in the morning, which made the going a little easier but got much more slushy and soft as we climbed through the day.
South Fork Trail / Dry Lake Trail Junction
The small creek crossings were no problem as we got closer to the Dry Lake/Southfork Trail junction. After we took the Dry Lake trail for about a 1/4 of a mile, we split from the main trail and took the main winter route.
Note: When there is sufficient snow coverage, the winter route is MUCH preferred and typically much safer. The main Dry Lake Trail is much steeper and can very slick if conditions are icy.
From there, it’s a straight shot up to Dry Lake where we crossed the snow-covered, usually dry, lake bed where we made camp on the east side of Dry Lake. There are a ton of great campsites on this side of the lake bed.
Dry Lake
We set up camp, started some dinner, then went sledding on Chris’s sleeping pad. There was a perfect hill on the west side of Dry Lake and we spend the hour or two before sunset climbing up and down that hill (You don’t want to miss out on the video)!!!
After that, we finished getting camp ready had some hot chocolate and went to bed.
Day 2
Hike to car
We had a cold night (overnight low was 20º on our thermometer), but overall pretty uneventful. It was a little windy, but the snow walls we build help take the brunt of it.
Once we got up, we cooked some breakfast, broke down camp and headed down the mountain.
The snow was much more slushy on the way down. For one, it was a warmer day, and two, as it gets warmer throughout the day you are also descending, which leads to higher temps. So the last 2 miles or so were slushy, muddy and slippery.
We got the car packed up and stopped for pizza on the way home.