I am planning to climb Mount Sill from Lake Elinore by the Scimitar Pass, SW Chutes route, with a group of 4. I have done this before up to Sill, with almost no gear. This time I want to traverse to Polemonium Peak. My research on the route says basically this is a scramble, until a class 4 section on the final climb. What should I bring with me? The approach, is going to be a long hike from hell, so I want to travel as reasonably light as possible.

Well it depends on how comfortable with the class 4 section. It isn't long at all... a drop down to a notch before Polemonium and then a short climb up along a real knife edge. The drop down is minor if you search around. Climbing back up it requires no gear.

Impossible to say without knowing the group. Some would find a rope to rap down from either direction to be easiest... Slings are there. Others wouldn't. I wouldn't bother bringing nuts or cams though.

Chad describes it well. Getting from Sill to the base of the knife edge is easy. Then you have to go up a few feet to gain the knife edge (protectable by clipping pre-existing bail slings, if they are there) and then along the ridge. It's not difficult, but the exposure is great and invigorating, and it's not a place to fall. We were in hiking boots and overnight packs so opted to rope up quickly.

If you are used to exposure and soloing 4th/low 5th, you won't need gear. If you are less sure about your reactions or abilities, a 30m line with some long slings for horns and maybe 2-3 pieces (although I really can't remember what) will offer solace.

I'd make sure first that I was acclimatized. You don't want to feel dizzy or crappy for the final knife edge. The route from Sill is class 2 until you are basically there, Polemonium is in front of you. Next you have to get to the notch before the knife edge. We traversed an exposed ledge to the notch, not hard, but very exposed. Most people do it that way (traverse horizontally to the notch). I have heard of people descending into the chute and then ascending the chute to the notch. This looks loose and dangerous, but doable. From the notch it's a short climb on good rock along the knife edge to the top. One way to do it solo is to rap into the chute or down to the notch. Leave the rope. Ascend the knife edge with rock shoes (better than clunky boots) to the summit, then descend the knife edge back to the rope. Then use the rope to protect yourself as you reclimb up to the class two. If you are alone, there is no good way to protect yourself along the short knife edge. You can also climb Polemonium from the U notch, but it is definitely 5th class. Polemonium is not hard in the technical sense, a solid class 4, with two short parts (part 1 is getting to the notch, part two is ascending the knife) but an unprotected fall anywhere during the final 2 parts would likely be fatal.

Thanks, these were all very helpful.

At the risk of ruining the originality, if you want to see what it looks like from the gopro, take a look here (BETA ALERT): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mWL_gBtmm4

Total pro I used was a #1 and a #2 C4, and a cordelette for the belay at the end. Rope drag was a problem on a traversing section like this, hence my constant tugging before moving along.