Rattlesnake, Cold Spring, San Ysidro and Jesusita are four of my favorite trails. For a taste of the Alpine world, head for the top of the San Gabriel Mountains-Mt. Baldy, Mt. Islip, Mt. Baden-Powell. Or head for the San Gorgonio Wilderness in San Bernardino National Forest. The alpine meadows on the mountain shoulder are dotted with wild rose, lemon lily, mountain iris, Indian paintbrush and golden yarrow.
Bighorn sheep roam the high slopes, and golden eagles soar over the summit.
The San Jacinto Mountains are probably the most Swiss-like terrain in Southern California. Even the gondolas of the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway are Swiss-built, and they give hikers access in 18 minutes to country that once required a day's strenuous hike to reach. The tram takes you over one of the most abrupt mountain faces in the world-over cliffs that only a bighorn sheep can scale, and over several ecological zones from palms to pines. In few parts of the world do alpine and desert vegetation thrive in such close proximity. In the heart of Mojave National Preserve is a stunningly beautiful slice of the Sahara-the Kelso Dunes, one of the tallest dune systems in America.