Why hike a mountain?

[Kento]

When you can hike 6!

Oh yesterday was a long day, especially since I was so hyped/anxious, I didn't get a single wink of sleep the night before. Started up Mt. Baldy from the Village via Bear Canyon hike at around 5:15 AM. I knew this was going to be tough but that middle section was brutal. You can do all the research you want but once you're in it, that's when reality hits. The first 1.6 miles were pretty mellow but then you see the mountain in front of you. The steep switchbacks through the manzanita were one thing but the hike up the ridgeline was hell. 3,000 vertical feet in about 2 miles. After that, it gets easier and by easier I mean from very difficult to just plain hard. I took a lot of breathers on the way up and got to the top of West Baldy around 9:45 (Peak 1), moseyed over to the main Baldy Peak (#2) and then across to Mt. Harwood (#3). About 8 miles in at this point and legs were just thrashed. But I could see the Notch restaurant oh so close. Headed down Devil's Backbone (thankfully not too crowded) and then down the Turkey Chute trail, which has always been one of my favorite runs. Cool to check it out off-season. Burgers and beers never tasted so good. Chilled with a couple other hikers, talked some story.

Most sane people would probably call it a day and head down the road or lift to the bottom but I was kind of on a mission. Luckily, the break refreshed me a lot and, combined with an energy gel, I was ready to complete the rest of my goal. In short order, hiked to the top of Thunder Mountain (#4). Was a trip to be there in summer. I've hung out on that deck so many years, BBQing, tossing back beers, the nostalgia was strong. A hell of a lot stronger than the deck was. So many years also I have stared at Telegraph Peak (#5) across the way. This time I was actually going to hike it. The hike drops you down into a saddle and then you have to regain all the ground you lost. Tough but highly rewarding. I kept telling myself that I just did 6,000' of elevation already, 800' shouldn't be a big deal. That became my favorite peak in the area. Amazing 360 degree views and I had it to myself. Actually, I had the entire Three T's to myself. Time was getting short and I knew the sun would be going behind the mountains soon so hustled up to Timber Mtn (#6) and then down to Icehouse Saddle, getting there about 6 PM. I had forgotten how sh*tty going down that is, especially when you are already pretty tired. Only 3.5 miles but navigating a ton of rocks and other debris just makes it take so much longer than it should. Got down to the bottom at 7:30 PM, just as it got dark. My feet were torn up at this point and I was dreading the two mile road walk back to my car. Thankfully, a good samaritan gave me a lift within minutes.

All told: 23 miles, 8,000+ elevation gain. Got home just in time to see the 2nd half of USC beating Stanford. Good day.


Sunrise over the Telegraph Peak


Cool rock formation on Bear Canyon Trail.


Near the top. West Baldy in background with main Baldy peak just out of frame to right.


Getting closer.


Top of West Baldy with Baldy in the background.


Satisfaction! Top of Baldy.

 

[Kento]

Looking down Devil's Backbone with Mt. Harwood in the near distance. San Gorgonio and San Jacinto way off in the distance.


View of Devil's Backbone and Baldy from Mt. Harwood. Not a very pronounced peak but it does count.


Long way down if you fall off side of Devil's Backbone. But at same time, one hell of a chute to ride in winter. Of course, where does it dump you?


Thunder Mountain and Telegraph in background. Front and center is the Notch - keeping me motivated as it got closer.


Top of Chair 4. I abstained from doing the fire road trail and headed down to the right.

 

[casa_mugrienta]

You should add 5,000 feet and a touch of class 3 onto that.

Telescope Peak via Pinnacle Ridge

back to home page December 29, 2017 Pinnacle Ridge sits in the Panamint Range in Death Valley, connecting Telescope Peak to Badwater Bas...

peaksforfreaks.blogspot.com

30 miles
13,260 ft gain/loss

Done in a one day push...something like 23 hours hiking.

But in all seriousness, wtf do you do to train, if anything? I hike and scramble a ton and can never do these sorts of marathons.

 

[Kento]

Looking down Turkey Chute. It's a natural quarterpiipe (albeit raw) the whole way down in winter. Cool to see it in summer. Thunder Mountain and Telegraph in background.


View down the mountain from the Notch. It's such a raw ski area but that's part of what makes it great. The inside had a very needed remodel but aside from that, it's one of the last few ski areas that hasn't Disneylanded itself.


On the way up to Three T's. Thunder Mountain was the first on the list. I've boarded this mountain for over 30 years, which helped a lot as I knew where all the steep and flat sections were. Psychologically, that can make a huge difference.


Top of Thunder Mountain. That deck is hurting.


Down to BBQ?


Telegraph Peak looming in the background.

 

[_____]

Awesome. How was the heat and what do you do for water up there? I went backpacking 2 days last week (further north) and it was well into the 90s, full sleeves and pants like you as well. I filtered and drank 8 liters of water and must have slammed 15 hammer gels on the hike back in and only took like one p!ss. Pure sweat.

 

[casa_mugrienta]

Ya what were the temps? And your hip must be feeling better.

 

[mundus]

Nice terrain, does it get enough snow to ski those chutes?

 

[Kento]

400' down to the saddle leaving 800; back up. Oh I hated those saddles. Unlike the hike up Bear Canyon, at least it was switchbacks, which made it a lot easier. Still, was starting to get pretty winded again about 3/4 up this,.


View from the top of Telegraph. Thunder Mountain in foreground with the other side of ski area just behind. Snowmaking pond to right. I could refill water at Notch restaurant but if it was closed, probably would have been relegated to hopping the fence and filtering from the pond. Zero water sources on trail until you got to bottom of Icehouse Canyon. The coolest part of that is looking back and seeing how far I had hiked.


Antelope Valley in background. This is now my favorite peak in the area. Relatively (very relatively) easy to get to and awesome views with not too many people.


Looking east from top of Telegraph. Timber Mountain is the small one in the foreground. From behind that, left to right is Etiwanda, Cucamonga, and Bighorn Peak.


Looking down into the mists and haze of the Inland Empire.


Timber Mountain making it 6 of 6. Time was getting very short at this point so just snapped the quick photo and headed down the remainder.


Victory lap down the last part of the trail. Baldy is in the distant background. I was really hurting at this point but it was such a feeling of accomplishment knowing I had completed that traverse.

 

[Kento]

And... last but not least, to keep this in true er-BB fashion, a Labia Tree.

 

[Kento]

You should add 5,000 feet and a touch of class 3 onto that.

Telescope Peak via Pinnacle Ridge

back to home page December 29, 2017 Pinnacle Ridge sits in the Panamint Range in Death Valley, connecting Telescope Peak to Badwater Bas...

peaksforfreaks.blogspot.com

30 miles
13,260 ft gain/loss

Done in a one day push...something like 23 hours hiking.

But in all seriousness, wtf do you do to train, if anything? I hike and scramble a ton and can never do these sorts of marathons.

That is hardcore. It is really the elite of the elite who can do those type of hikes. There are actually 4 additional peaks you can do on the traverse that I did: Cucamonga, Ontario, Bighorn, and Etiwanda, which adds up to pretty much the distance/elevation you described above. That's next level. To finish in daylight, you pretty much have to start at 3 AM and average 2 mph the whole way. In hindsight, I didn't do poorly. 23 miles in about 14 hours, which included an hour-long lunch, and a few weed breaks at top of certain summits.

As far as training, I should have done more. I had been drydocked the last two weeks with a sprained pinky toe (to keep it symmetrical, I broke the one on the other side too a day later) and had barely walked but I had the hall pass and I was going to take it. Generally, I try to walk around 8-10 miles a day, combined with 90 minutes of elliptical/treadmill/weights 2-3 days a week. I have the cardio but am at a disadvantage with quad and calf strength/endurance as I've never been a runner/soccer player and am pretty much building those muscles up from scratch. I would say at least 70% is mental and I had to really dig deep to finish those last 8 miles or so. Downhill can be harder than uphill sometimes. A couple months ago, my wife and I did the Marion Mountain Loop up San Jacinto, which was about 21 miles or so with 5,000' elevation gain. The uphill was relatively easy but the downhill suuuuuuucked.

This hike was actually kind of a barometer check to see how I would fare doing Cactus to Clouds (Palm Springs to San Jacinto; 21 miles, 10,000') and Iron Mountain (12 miles RT, 6,700' gain). I knew halfway up Baldy that I am flat-out not ready for those. I am sure I could finish them but it would be more survival than enjoyment at that point. Those mountains will still be there, though, so no issues with waiting until I am in better condition.

 

[Kento]

Ya what were the temps? And your hip must be feeling better.

Oh the weather forecasts lied to me. I saw 4 different ones and they were all wrong. They all said between 49 and 61 degrees in the morning. Was 70 degrees in the village at 5 AM. Luckily, it stayed pretty much the same the whole day as I gained elevation and was pretty much above 8,000' most of the day. The sun was really intense and there wasn't much wind until the end of the day.

The hip is better, thanks. Plus, been strengthening it with stretches I was taught in PT.

Remember what you said about foot injuries being tricky with that break I had back in March? And how. Between my feet swelling and just beating them to hell, all of a sudden stepped funny on a rock and it just exploded in pain. Thought for a second I had refractured it. Luckily was just nerves acting up.

 

[Kento]

Awesome. How was the heat and what do you do for water up there? I went backpacking 2 days last week (further north) and it was well into the 90s, full sleeves and pants like you as well. I filtered and drank 8 liters of water and must have slammed 15 hammer gels on the hike back in and only took like one p!ss. Pure sweat.

The worst part of the heat really was first thing in the morning when I was at Bear Flat in the middle of the trees. Air was super stagnant and muggy and I was already sweating before I got up to the steep section. But temperature really wasn't bad. The sun was really intense though. Almost no bugs which was nice.

With water, I brought a 3 liter bladder and 2 1-liter bottles with the Nuun electrolytes. I refilled at the restaurant, which was about halfway point and the only real source of water. Well, the snowmaking pond but wasn't too accessible. All told, went through 4 liters of water and 3 liters of electrolytes. Oh, and 2 beers. They were $9 apiece but that was an easy trade compared to carrying the extra weight. I believe I took around 7 pisses but I lost count. The last one was critical as I was close to the bottom and could have used the pit toilet instead of pissing just off trail but instincts told me to not have any f*ckaround time cause I needed to hitch and there were very few people left at around 7:30. Was exactly the case too as I got a ride with pretty much the last ride for a while.

 

[Kento]

Nice terrain, does it get enough snow to ski those chutes?

It definitely does! A lot of people hike Baldy and ski the bowl. There are a ton of chutes off that side of Devil's Backbone too. With avalanche danger there, you really have to know what you are doing.

Some of the other chutes, they dump you into who knows where and you'd probably need a helicopter to get you out of there. That said, I'm sure people do them.

 

[PPK96754]

Great phug'gin report, bitchen photos! San Diego on the 15th. Joshua Tree on the 16th.
Island fever ~ Desert time!

 

[Kento]

Great phug'gin report, bitchen photos! San Diego on the 15th. Joshua Tree on the 16th.
Island fever ~ Desert time!

Thanks Peter! Not sure if we'll have time to connect while you're out here but have a great time! Good day to do Joshua Tree as the temperature will have dropped a bit by then. Should be beautiful out there!

 

[PPK96754]

Thanks Peter! Not sure if we'll have time to connect while you're out here but have a great time! Good day to do Joshua Tree as the temperature will have dropped a bit by then. Should be beautiful out there!

Joshua is still in the 90's. Evenings into the 60's. Be there for a week then headed north.

 

[Kento]

Joshua is still in the 90's. Evenings into the 60's. Be there for a week then headed north.

90s is better than 100s!

A week out in Joshua Tree is a dream. Is that your first time out there?

 

[PPK96754]

Yes. I may go north to see my brother in Daly City then to Seattle to see my other brother or Zion NP. Three weeks total to play.

 

[Kento]

You'll love it out there. There are so many areas to see and hike. Jumbo Rocks is really cool as is the Geology Road loop. Make sure you bring a lot of water as there is a lot of exposure.

All in all, awesome trip you have planned!

 

[tenover]

That's awesome. My wife just left for a 60 mile hike(5 days) on the PCT with her friends. I have ZERO interest in doing something like that. Great pics, thanks for posting.