Get Elevated in GT... Hike Blue Mountain

Blue Mountain, it's near GT and a hike is planned there Saturday
10:00 PM PST on Thursday, March 11, 2010
The Press-Enterprise
If hiking up a scenic mountain accessible within a short drive does not get you interested about a Saturday event, how about a llama?
The Friends of Blue Mountain -- those who honor the 2,417-foot landmark three miles south of the Interstate 10-215 interchange in Colton -- plan a hike then. The event is co-sponsored by the Foundation of Grand Terrace and the City of Grand Terrace.
According to the Friends group, the mountain is known for its twin peaks, just 700 feet apart.
The Blue Mountain event is co-sponsored by the Foundation of Grand Terrace and the City of Grand Terrace.
They note the color has been of controversy during the feature's history. The group says, "It's color has long been a subject of mild controversy, attributed variously to the effects of daily sunsets, seasonal ripened grass heads, the dark gray of crumbling granite boulders at the rest on its steep slopes, the long-forgotten discovery of a small deposit of fine blue clay by an early settler who went bankrupt before he could excavate it, and the bloom of wildflowers in spring."
More dispute, it says, centers on the flower, whether it is the native lupine or the California bluebell, or something else.
Among the variety of wildflowers on the mountain is California bluebell.
As for the Saturday event, it will be part of the group's campaign to create a 500-acre wilderness park at the mountain. The group also is trying to raise money to buy 10.5 acres
The walk begins at 8 a.m. on Saturday, with no one allowed to start up the low to moderate hike after 11 a.m . It begins at the corner of Palm Avenue and Honey Hill Drive.
Free on-street parking will be available near the trailhead. Additional parking is located at Grand Terrace City Hall lot, 22400 Barton Road, a half mile from the trailhead.
To get to the trail, take the Barton Road exit east off Interstate 215, continue straight on Palm Drive to the top of Honey Hill Drive.
And the llama? That's "Lil Star," which the group says has been designated as its official mascot.