The Corona Peak is Gone

Did you ever notice the pointy Corona peak off the 91 freeway near McKinley? We passed it many times over the years and I often wondered if there was a way to hike to the top.

There was, but not anymore.

The peak is gone. It is now an active mining site. Do not hike here.

Here’s a picture from May 2017…

… and a picture from this week (08/16/20):

I’ve always considered this peak to be an unofficial Corona landmark, so I will miss it. If my research is correct, I believe that much more of this hill will disappear.

In fact, there was an even higher peak roughly south of this one, but it was whittled down by mining as well.

That peak was designated “Cloud Reset” with a height of 1,637 feet.

From what I can tell, the peak I’m writing about has no official designation, although it has been pegged as “Arlington Peak” on Google Maps with a height of 1,621 feet. According to the National Geodetic Survey Data Explorer, however, there is a different peak designated “Arlington” that is closer to La Sierra.

You can see the remnants of “Cloud Reset” in this map (red marker):

For posterity, here are some pictures of the hike (taken during different hikes) along with some views from the peak:

This is where I used to start this hike (on a side note, I hope to write a post about the Sherman Indian School sometime in the future):

The trail seemed to be well-traveled, but I stopped hiking here when I learned it was an active mining site. Again, this is an active mining site so do not hike here.

Here are some pictures from along the trail…

At or near the top…

Cloud Reset…

It was fun while it lasted.