Hulda Crooks Park, Loma Linda
The first “true” hike of the new year was at Hulda Crooks park in Loma Linda. An easy one to get started with for the year, this marked one year to the day that we hiked the same trail. The park is named for a woman who climbed Mt. Whitney every year into her 90s, so it seems an auspicious name to begin 2007.
- 5.36 miles.
- 690′ elevation gain.
The park lies at the very end of Mountain View Ave (exit off I-10 and head south).
- 34° 2′18.75″N
- 117°14′38.78″W
KMZ file: Hulda Crooks Park.kmz
The parking lot is to the left just after the entrance. There are a ton of trails in the hills, and you’ll usually find a number of hikers and mountain bikers. Now, we’ve hiked this area a bunch over the past couple of years, but it wasn’t until yesterday that we met up with packs of dirtbikes and ATVs, forcing us to scurry off the trail a few times as they crisscrossed the landscape. Other than that, though, a beautiful day.
With all the trail options, you have sort of a hiking buffet to choose from. A route we enjoy, and the one we went on yesterday, takes a couple of hours and has a nice look at Reche Canyon in the middle, as well as good views of the San Gabriels and San Bernardinos to the north, along with the whole valley.
Otis and Alex on the trail heading up and out of the canyon during the first part of the trip.
Otis and Alex on the trail.
Pharaoh happy to be out and about.
Taking a break. Alex channeling Will Rogers. ;)
Looking over Reche Canyon. This is at the middle of the route, after which we turn to walk the ridges back.
An offshoot of the trails heads off into these hills.
Alex taking point, listening for motorcycle engines.
Making our way back to the beginning with Yucaipa in the distance. Pisgah Peak, our next planned hiking destination, is over there.
Otis and Alex descending one of the steeper bits.
Looking back over my shoulder at Otis and Alex on the trail.
After the hike, Pharaoh the standard poodle met a cousin — a silver miniature poodle named Bentley (great name). There were a ton of other dogs around in the parking lot, and it was rather tricky getting these two settled. So funny that they both struck the exact same pose. :)
Casey said,
January 8, 2007 @ 9:49 pm
Looks like some great scenery. I haven’t been down in that area much, but as the snow settles in the San Gabriels, I think I might check it out …
robert said,
January 10, 2007 @ 10:34 am
Another good one in the same vicinity is Box Springs Mountain, which offers some awesome 360° views of much of Riverside County and the San Bernardino Valley.
End Pavement / Hulda Crooks Park 2 said,
January 17, 2007 @ 12:24 am
[...] Due to weather conditions up in the Pisgah Peak area and our lack of proper gear, we decided to postpone that hike. Instead, we returned to Hulda Crooks Park and explored farther. Thanks to the additional climbing and distance, it was a good second hike, pushing our fitness a bit farther for bigger challenges later in the year. [...]