Pyramid , Pine # 2 , Lion PeakLocation : Riverside County , about 11 miles southeast of Idyllwild , 120 miles from Los Angeles Date : Oct 21 , 2018 08 : 58 ~ 18 : 58 ( 10 Hours ) Course : Cedar SpringsTrailhead ( 08 : 58 ; 5430 ’ ) ~ Water Tank ( 09 : 02 ; 0 . 1 Mile ) ~ Gate 1 ( 0 . 3 Mile ) ~ Trail Guide Board ( 0 . 4 Mile ) ~ Gate 2 ( 0 . 7 Mile ) ~ 1 st SwitchBack Begin Point ( 09 : 42 ; 1 . 0 Mile ) ~ Gate 3 ( 1 . 3 Mile ) ~ PCT / Cedar SpringsTrail Junction ( 10 : 35 ; 2 . 5 Miles ; 6800 ’ ) ~ xxx Peak ( 11 : 03 ; 2 . 8 Miles ; 6870 ’) ~ Pyramid Peak Jump Off ( 11 : 34 ; 3 . 6 Miles ; 6820 ’ ) ~ Pyramid Peak Summit ( 11 : 48 ; 3 . 8 Miles ; 7035 ’; 30 Min Stay ) ~ Rejoin PCT ( 12 : 31 ; 4 . 1 Miles ; 6763 ’ ) ~ PineMountain Jump Off ( 12 : 40 ; 4 . 4 Miles ; 6845 ’ ) ~ Pine Mountain # 2 Summit ( 13 : 39 ; 5 . 2 Miles ; 7035 ’; 30 Min Stay ) ~ Rejoin PCT ( 14 : 50 ; 5 . 9 Miles ; 6845 ’ ) ~ LionPeak Jump Off ( 15 : 10 ; 6 . 5 Miles ; 6666 ’ ) ~ Lion Peak Summit ( 15 : 32 ; 6 . 7 Miles ; 6868 ’; 20 Min Stay ) ~ Rejoin PCT ( 16 : 06 ; 6 . 9 Miles ; 6666 ’ ) ~ PCT / CedarSprings Trail Junction ( 17 : 28 ; 9 . 1 Miles ; 6800 ’ ) ~ 13 th Switch Back EndingPoint ( 18 : 09 ; 10 . 5 Miles ) ~ Trail Guide Board ( 18 : 45 ; 11 . 1 Miles ) ~ Trailhead ( 18 : 58 ; 11 . 5 Miles ; 5430 ’ ); 2700 ’ Gain With : Hiking Friends DRIVING ROUTE Go south on I - 215 to the Ramona Expressway . Turn left ( east ) . Go east and then southeast on the Ramona Expressway until it ends at SR 74 . Turn left ( east ) . Go east on SR 74 to Mountain Center . Continue east on SR 74 for 8 . 7 miles to Morris Ranch Road on the left at a fire station . Turn left . Go north on Morris Ranch Road for 3 . 7 miles to an iron gate on the right with a sign " Cedar Springs Trail ". Park off the pavement near this spot . Pyramid Peak : HIKING ROUTE From your parking spot , hike down the road to the trailhead ( 5430 '). Go through the gate . ( There are several gates on this trail . Be sure to close each gate as you pass through it . ) Immediately on the left is another gate . Ignore it . It is another access to the trail for equestrian riders in the area . Continue up the road past a water tank to another gate . The trail turns left just before the gate . Soon you come to another gate . Go through this gate . Here you leave the fences behind as this is the National Forest boundary . Continue up the road as it becomes a trail and it begins to climb until you come to another gate . This is not a boundary but is part of a cattle drift fence . This keeps range cattle out of selected sections of the National Forest . Continue up to a saddle at 6800 '-. This is the junction of the Cedar Springs Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail ( PCT ) on the Desert Divide . Turn right on the PCT and follow it east and then south until you reach a saddle just southeast of Pyramid Peak . From here hike up the ridge northwest to the summit following a use trail which stays mostly to the left side to avoid brush . Pine Mountain : HIKING ROUTE Continue up to a saddle at 6800 '-. This is the junction of the Cedar Springs Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail ( PCT ) on the Desert Divide . Turn right on the PCT and follow it east and then south until you reach a saddle just southeast of Pyramid Peak . This is the turnoff for Pyramid Peak . Continue on the PCT about 1 / 4 mile to a trail on the left marked by ducks . This is the turnoff for Lion Peak . Turn left ( east ) on this trail and follow it a short distance up to the top of a ridge . Turn left again ( north ) and follow this ridge up to its high point . Turn right ( east ) and hike down into the saddle west of the peak . Follow a good , clearly visible ducked and brushed - out route off to the right as it skirts the base of the hill on its west side and slowly climbs directly up to the summit . It is not necessary to climb the large , plinth - shaped rock at the south end of the summit ridge . SPECIAL CONDITIONS : With the passage of time ducks disappear and brush regrows . Thehiker should be prepared to find no ducks in place and the route completelyovergrown with brush . Conditions in the field are dynamic and changes over timeare to be expected . NOTE : The section of the routewhere you hike down into the saddle west of the peak needs to be ducked . Thereare many use trails to this saddle , and it would be helpful if this section ofthe route were ducked to focus the travel on one preferred route . Lion Peak : HIKING ROUTEContinue up to a saddle at 6800 '-. This is the junction of the Cedar Springs Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail ( PCT ) on the Desert Divide . Turn right on the PCT and follow it east and then south until you reach a saddle just southeast of Pyramid Peak . This is the turnoff for Pyramid Peak . Continue on the PCT about 1 / 4 mile to a trail on the left marked by ducks . This is the turnoff for Pine Mountain # 2 . Continue on the PCT past a high point ( 6880 '+) and down to the saddle northeast of Lion Peak . Leave the PCT and follow a use trail up to the summit . ***