Strawberry Peak

A must do hike and route in the San Gabriel's. Known as the Mountaineer's Route, this hike starts at the Colby Canyon Trailhead, initially winds through a small canyon (if you are lucky there might be water in the creek) and then steadily climbs to Josephine saddle. From there, the fun really begins as you experience some ridge hiking and some class 3 climbing on the way to the peak. While there is some exposure, I don't think there's enough to bring a helmet. There are green arrows painted on the rocks during the final ascent to help navigate. On this trip I saw 2 garter snakes and, for the first time, a rattler. Highly suggested to do this hike in cooler months. There is little shade and it does get very hot (even in May.)