Reader Photo: Summiting San Gorgonio

Guided by headlamps, flashlights and the sound of a babbling creek, Josh Iniego and friends embarked on a 17.3-mile journey, up a steep elevation gain and into the early-morning darkness to summit San Gorgonio Mountain.

San Gorgonio Mountain, which stands 11,503 feet above the San Bernardino National Forest, is Southern California’s highest peak. The seven-hour hike to the top is “cold, windy, brutal but with beautiful views,” Iniego said. The sound of Vivian Creek motivated them onward with the promise a lush, green forest view once the sun rose.

About halfway to the top, Iniego captured this image of a friend sitting on an outcropping above the San Gorgonio Wilderness.

“It was still cold, but with the sunlight coming from a low angle shining through, the leaves and some fog making the view even better, we decided to take a break here, eat lunch and snap a few photos,” Iniego said.

As they neared the peak, it was so cold and windy they could only stay up there for a few minutes. The descent took five hours, with the last two spent in the rain and, once again, in the dark.

Iniego used an iPhone 6 to make the image. For more mountain climbing photos, follow Iniego on Instagram.

Follow Sean Greene on Twitter.

Each week, we’re featuring photos of Southern California and California submitted by readers. Follow us on Instagram @socalmoments and share your photos on our Flickr page. Dont forget to always tag your photos with #socalmoments and/or #californiamoments. Follow us on Twitter or visit latimes.com/socalmoments for more on this photo series.