Snow Hike Fails - Ontario (12/21/12), Ontario/Cucamonga (3/2/13)

Snow hiking can be pretty awesome. You get to use all the fancy gear that you keep hidden away for most of the year, it feels like you're walking around on some other planet (like New York or Minnesota), and you get to glissade your way down the mountain. 

The downside is that it's unpredictable and dangerous, and sometimes you have no choice but to turn back.

Baldy Bowl from the Ontario Trail - December 2012

We attempted Ontario Peak last December, forgetting that the amount of snow we can see from the city doesn't reflect the amount of snow that's actually on the mountains. We got about a mile past Kelly Camp (just under a mile from the summit) when the soft snow suddenly* turned into ice and there was no way to safely continue (not without an ice axe, anyway).

Ontario Trail

Snowy ass Kelly Camp

On our most recent trip, we'd planned to hike at least Etiwanda and Cucamonga, and hoped to have enough energy to get to Bighorn and Ontario too. It hadn't snowed in a week and it looked like there was barely any snow left. Once again, we were so wrong.

There is much less snow now than there was in December, but the recent high temperatures have turned the snow into a slippery death trap. 

Naked Baldy Bowl - March 2013

Between the five hikers in our group, we had three pairs of snowshoes, three pairs of microspikes, two pairs of crampons, and two ice axes, but we still only made it about half a mile past Icehouse Saddle on the Cucamonga trail before we decided it was too dangerous to continue. Then we gave the snow one last chance and hiked about a quarter of a mile on the Ontario trail before we gave up and just climbed Timber Mountain instead.

Ontario from Timber

We took Chapman Trail back down the mountain to try to ditch the crowds, but there were a few big patches of snow on some of the narrow parts of the trail that were pretty scary. It's a long way down. I'd stay away from Chapman for a while.

*When I say suddenly, I mean Matt thought he was stepping on snow but slipped about 10 feet and had to self-arrest.

Mt. Baden-Powell Snow Hike from Vincent Gap - 1/19/13

There's always that moment at the beginning of a snow hike when you're like "if I put on my spikes now, I might ruin them walking over rocks, but if I don't put them on, I might slip on some ice." This hike did not have that moment. The trailhead is only around 6600' but it's on the dark side of the mountains where the snow sticks around for longer, so there was no question about whether or not we'd need our spikes right from the beginning.

Baden-Powell trailhead at Vincent Gap

If you've ever done this hike in normal conditions, you'll know it's one of the easier of the major peaks in the San Gabriels, only gaining 2800' in the short 4 mile ascent. Fortunately for us, the conditions are far from normal right now.

The snow wasn't too deep for the first mile or so, but there were some slippery spots and steep slopes that put the spikes to good use. After about a mile and a half, we left the main trail and started following some boot tracks going straight up the mountain, and that's where the postholing party began. If you're one of those super-prepared snow hikers who doesn't mind carrying some extra gear, the middle section of the hike seemed pretty perfect for snowshoes.

This wasn't one of those friendly snowy trails where you posthole to your knees every once in a while and by the end of the hike it's still sort of funny; we were postholing to our waists with every damn step and probably moving somewhere around half a mile per hour for a good chunk of the hike.

Pine, Dawson, and Baldy

It took us almost 4 hours to reach the ridge and finally see that classic panoramic view of Baldy and the surrounding peaks. Less than half a mile to go. As you walk across the Baden-Powell backbone toward the summit, stay as far away from the left side as possible--it's hard to tell where the trail stops and the cornice starts.There was absolutely no wind that day, so this section wasn't nearly as scary as it could have been.

We were completely alone on the extremely comfortable sunny summit. I guess everyone was climbing the Ski Hut Trail to Baldy, which, compared to Baden-Powell is actually a fairly easy snow hike.

The best part of a snow hike is the descent, when you get to say "suck it" to all those annoying switchbacks, and glissade your way down the mountain. We were lucky enough to have some butt tracks to follow to keep our glissading experience relatively safe, and you definitely need to be carrying a pole or an ice axe to self-arrest when the glissading gets out of hand.

It's only January and we've already done more snow hiking than we did all of last winter. Let's hope the snow lasts a few more months.

Baldy and buddies from Baden-Powell

Buckhorn Peak (Mt. Akawie), Mt. Williamson, Pallett Mountain - 8/26 and 8/27

In case you don't live in Southern California or you've just been locked inside your air conditioned home for the last few weeks, we've been experiencing a pretty relentless heat wave and hiking is pretty much out the question. This particular weekend was relatively mild and we figured it wouldn't be too bad above 8000', so we made our third (and most successful!) attempt at camping in the San Gabriels to bag some of our few remaining local peaks. 

Buckhorn Peak isn't much of a hike but it's a good warm up for Williamson and Pallett (and Will Thrall and Pleasant View Ridge) if you're out of shape thanks to the never ending Summer. I hear there might be a trail that takes you at least part of the way up the mountain, but we just walked behind our Buckhorn campsite (#8) and scrambled our way up.

This way to Buckhorn

After about a mile of steep and slippery scrambling, we found a flat area that looked a lot like Mt. Waterman. We looked around and didn't see anything else that could have been Buckhorn Peak, so we decided we'd made it and sat down to enjoy the view. Plenty of nice flat shady spots for a picnic or a tent and a perfect view of the peaks along Pleasant View Ridge.

Pleasant View Ridge

After a relaxing night at the surprisingly quiet and empty campground, we headed to the Islip Saddle trailhead to go for the four peaks we thought we could do in one day. We didn't start early but we should have; this isn't an easy hike and it was way too hot that day for a ridge climb.

If I'd done better research, I might have known ahead of time that this is some Three T's/North Backbone/Iron Mountain roller coaster shit and you do not want to take it lightly. You have to remember that every time you descend from a peak down to a saddle, you'll have to climb all the way back up to get back to your starting point.

Steep Ridge to Williamson (from Pallett)

Once you leave the PCT and start the ridge hike, the views open up on either side of you: Bear Canyon and the rest of the San Gabriels to the south and the Mojave to the north. The scenery almost makes it worth enduring the Summer heat.

Bear Canyon

Mojave

You'll reach Williamson about 2.5 miles and 1500' into the hike. After Williamson, the next peak you climb up to isn't a peak at all, but a pain-in-the-ass bump on Williamson (but you can call it Little Willie).

Next you'll drop down about 800' just to climb right back up about 600' more to get to Pallett. Ah, finally! Now for the descent. NOPE. You still have 4 more miles to go and about 1200' more to gain on your way back to Islip Saddle. Good luck with that. Eventually we'll take another Angeles Crest Highway trip to climb Will Thrall and Pleasant View Ridge (the peak, not to be confused with Pleasant View Ridge the ridge), but not until the temperatures drop at least 20 degrees.

Holcomb Canyon

Mt. Whitney - 7/24/12

After several months of intense training, we've completed our second dayhike of Mt. Whitney. Our five training hikes were specifically designed to prepare us for the altitude, length, and elevation gain of Mt. Whitney, but really, every hike is preparation for Whitney. There's something unique and exciting about each trail I've been on, but my biggest motivation for hiking regularly is to keep myself in good enough shape to climb my favorite mountain.
 
These were the training hikes:

1. Jones Peak, Hastings Peak, Mt. Wilson via Bastard Ridge
2. Timber Mountain and Telegraph Peak
3. Mt. Baldy, Mt. Harwood, and West Baldy via Register Ridge
4. Mt. Islip, Mt. Hawkins, Throop Peak, and Mt. Baden-Powell
5. San Gorgonio Mountain

Although this year's Mt. Whitney hike had some incredibly special moments, it wasn't really different enough from last year's climb to warrant another trip report, so instead I'll give you my best of and least-good lists.

The Best of Mt. Whitney Climb #2:

5. Remembering last year's hike

Not really a moment, but several moments, mostly on the ascent when I said "Oh yeah, I remember this part of the trail!" And a few times when I remembered which section of the trail came next, bringing back the same feelings of nervousness and excitement from the original climb.

4. The windows

As much as these freak me out and I'd almost rather wait until I get home and just look at the pictures, they're like the mountain's final encouraging push to help us get through the last section after all those exhausting hours of climbing. 

3. The view from trail crest

You've finally huffed and puffed your way up 97 switchbacks and you're considering the possibility of calling it a hike and turning back, when you look to the west and say "Holy shit, where the hell did all those mountains come from?"

2. Alpenglow 

In our case, alpenglow came a few minutes after we reached trail camp and turned the Sierra Crest into a fiery wall of granite. Don't look away; it only lasts a few minutes.

1. Sunrise over Lone Pine 

Last summer I saw the most amazing sight I'd ever seen and I spent a year waiting to see that sunrise again, partly worrying that my memory was an exaggeration and that it wouldn't look quite so incredible the second time around. But it managed to be even more spectacular this year.

The Least Good:

5. The Windows 

Yes, they're on both lists. They didn't scare me this time as much as they did last year, but it's still a 3000' drop on either side of a narrow walkway. There are actually parts of the trail between trail crest and the summit that are narrower than the windows, but the drop is only on one side of you and they're not convenient landmarks like the windows.

Don't fall

4. Nowhere to pee

The mountain hasn't suddenly sprouted trees out of the rocks at 13,000'. If you want some privacy, you're out of luck for the majority of the hike.

Good luck

3. Being afraid to sit down for fear of falling asleep

Some people hike Mt. Whitney in 3 days, others do it all in 8 hours, but at some point everyone has to take a break. If you're like us and hiking on 3 or 4 hours of sleep, you'll have to be careful not to let your snack breaks turn into nap breaks.
 

Perfect nap spot

2. The Pain 

My shoes don't fit quite right and my pants scrape the flesh off my sides, but even if you have all the best quality and most comfortable gear, you'll inevitably end up with sore muscles and probably a few blisters. Hopefully you make it through most of the hike without constant cringing, but mile 22 is unlikely to end up being the most pleasant experience of your life.

"Wimps"

1. The Weather

Some people are unfortunate enough to be greeted by thunder clouds on their way up the mountain and they're forced to turn back prematurely, but just like last year, we ended up with perfect weather: no thunderclouds, no rain, clear skies. There was absolutely no chance we'd have to turn back for weather-related reasons, but that doesn't mean the weather wasn't a total pain in our already-sore butts. The sun is bright, the wind is crazy strong, and the summit was about 20 degrees when we were there, but it's a pretty good sign when the biggest complaint I have after 22 miles and 6000' of gain is that the weather was annoying.

Now enjoy a Mt. Whitney picspam.

Lassen Volcanic National Park: Lassen Peak and Brokeoff Mountain - 7/4 and 7/5

There's nothing quite like spending a week surrounded by active volcanoes, bubbling mudlakes and steaming earth cracks. No one would want to miss sitting by the many incredible blue lakes of the park and walking among the repulsive sulfur springs, but you'd think your average national park visitor would have no desire to climb an active volcano--especially one that gains 2000' over the short 2.5 mile ascent and has permanent snowfields scattered throughout the trail.

Lassen Peak and Summit Lake

Believe it or not, Lassen Peak is one of the most popular hikes in the park--people who you'd never expect to have an interest in peakbagging are suddenly all over this 10,462' mountain. That's not to say that the average park goer doesn't struggle through every step, but there's no reason to turn back when your destination is less than 2.5 miles away (unless you're injured or have symptoms of AMS).

Lassen Peak Trail

The trail is filled with informative signs along the way, detailing the geological history of the area. They also keep you posted on how far you have left before reaching the summit. Although this is encouraging for those who find this climb strenuous, the mileage didn't seem quite right and they'd probably be better off leaving the hikers guessing.

Mt. Shasta from Lassen Peak

If you've never summited a volcano, you're really missing out. Once you've climbed up to the high point and gotten your views of Mt. Shasta and all of the surrounding lakes and volcanoes, don't head back down just yet. The summit of Lassen goes on forever once you climb down into the lava-filled snowy crater.

Lake Helen from Lassen Peak

Exploring the crater

A lake in Lassen's crater

If you find yourself in Lassen National Park and you want to climb a volcano over 9,000' but you're plagued by a nasty case of misanthropy, you might want to give Brokeoff Mountain a try. It's about 1200' shorter than Lassen (but still the second highest point in the park), and the trail is 2 miles longer than the Lassen Peak Trail, so you won't run into as many people on your hike. It's also not an active, bubbling, snarling volcano like Lassen; if Lassen Peak is a volcanic zombie, Brokeoff is more of a volcanic ghost. This one gains 2600' over the 3.5 miles to the top, and you're rewarded with a slightly different view of Mt. Shasta, and a unique view of Lassen Peak.

Brokeoff MountainTrail

Lassen from Brokeoff

There are also plenty of non-peakbagging hikes for children, the elderly, and able-bodied lazy people. It might not have the incredible waterfalls of Yosemite or the vastness of the Grand Canyon, but it certainly doesn't deserve to be one of the least crowded National Parks.

Lassen Peak and Summit Lake

Mt. Zion Loop - 6/18/12

In case you've been wondering if I've given up on hiking and found a new hobby, I absolutely haven't--I will keep hiking until the mountains figure out how to file a restraining order--we've been taking our Whitney climbing group on training hikes and haven't hiked anything new. In the last few weeks we've done Baldy, Harwood and West Baldy via Register Ridge, 3 T's (minus Thunder), and Jones, Hastings and Wilson via Bastard Ridge. This week we finally got a chance to ditch the noobs and try something different.

If I were one of those helpful bloggers who arranged their hikes by difficulty, I would put this one in the Moderate section, but only because I'm worried someone who's never hiked before will see this and be like "well that vulgar peakbagger said it was easy so I'm gonna give it a try." It actually is pretty easy, but since it starts at Chantry Flat and Sierra Madre Search and Rescue does most of their searching and rescuing in that area, I think it deserves a warning.

Start the hike at Chantry Flat and follow the bustling Sturtevant Falls trail for about a mile. After you cross the bridge, follow the sign to Spruce Grove Campground to start the loop. Or you could start the loop from the opposite end with the Winter Creek Trail and it would feel a bit more like a peak bagging experience.

About another mile and you'll get to the Gabrielino Trail sign 2 1/4 miles from Spruce Grove. Take the Lower (Top of the Falls) Trail for the more pleasant hike (unless you brought your horse with you). 

The trail takes you up above Sturtevant Fall and provides some great views of the pools above the waterfall. This seems like it might be the spot where hikers have to be rescued; it's quite a drop. On a weekday, this might be the last place you see anyone on the trail; the rest is secluded and bordering on creepy.

Pretty soon you'll enter into a forest of alder trees surrounding the stream. This gets my vote for the prettiest canyon area in the San Gabriels. As an added bonus, the Humboldt Lilies are in bloom all over the canyon at this time of year. The trail will bring you to Spuce Grove Campground, a nice place to set up your tent, or have a picnic, or get your food stolen by a bear.

Continue on the trail until you get to Sturtevant Camp, where there will finally be a sign for Mt. Zion, and probably some boy scouts.

Chaparral Summit Push

At some point this trail gains 2200' but I didn't notice it. There is a little bit of an incline after the sign that says 1 1/4 miles to Mt. Zion Summit. The summit push is right after the sign telling you all about Wilbur Sturtevant's trail building activities and this is where it abruptly switches from shaded canyon to sunny chaparral. A quarter of a mile and you're on the summit. Yep, that flat area with a view of Harvard and Wilson and not much else is the summit. Sorry.

When you drop back down to the history of Wilbur sign, head down the opposite direction from where you came. This part of the trail feels a lot like the Mt. Wilson Trail. Just over a mile later you'll start to leave the chaparral and get back into the canyon. When you reach Hoegee Campground (not as creepy as Spruce Grove), just under 2 miles to go and you'll be back at the parking lot with the rest of Los Angeles.