*** Official Backpacking Thread ***

PPK96754

Miki Dora status
Apr 15, 2015
4,683
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77
Kauai's north shore ~
How big is Mt. Baldy?

Doesn't look that big from photos online, but I see some actor dude been missing for 11 days. Seems like given large search teams looking, they would spot his body somewhere already in one of those steep ravines.

I'm thinking of driving down to hike it. Looks beautiful.
Kento …. Kento to the white courtesy phone, please
 

OneBadShredda

Legend (inyourownmind)
Feb 11, 2002
369
12
18
How big is Mt. Baldy?

Doesn't look that big from photos online, but I see some actor dude been missing for 11 days. Seems like given large search teams looking, they would spot his body somewhere already in one of those steep ravines.

I'm thinking of driving down to hike it. Looks beautiful.
'Extremely dangerous' conditions on Mt. Baldy prompt warning to even the most experienced hikers (foxla.com)

3rd hiker disappears in SoCal mountains: What we know (foxla.com)
 
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Reactions: Chocki and r32

San Gabriel Valley local

Michael Peterson status
Nov 14, 2002
2,076
132
63
San Gabriel Valley, CA
How big is Mt. Baldy?
From the Manker trailhead there are 3 options to hike Mt. Baldy: service road/Devil's Backbone (~6 miles to the summit), Ski Hut (~4 miles to the summit), and Register Ridge (3+ miles to the summit). Whichever route you take from Manker, the elevation gain is ~4000 feet. My favorite time to hike Mt. Baldy is early in the morning on a weekday, late spring or early summer. Weekends are really crowded. Right now it's winter conditions with snow, ice., etc., and people are dying. Here are some pics from mid-July 2022, I took Register Ridge on the way up and Ski hut back to Manker, there are different perspectives of the Baldy Bowl which people climb during the winter:

IMG_20220715_102117.jpg
IMG_20220715_074847.jpgIMG_20220715_085552.jpgIMG_20220715_092827.jpgIMG_20220715_102117.jpg
 

Mr Doof

Duke status
Jan 23, 2002
24,855
7,751
113
San Francisco, CA
Just a FYI about wool.

Source (more product marketing at link, but this is the interesting part for me)

A unique mix of performance attributes have always made wool the go-to long underwear. It remains warm when wet, resists odor, actively wicks moisture away from your skin, and helps regulate temperature, keeping you warm when you’re resting and cool when you’re moving.

And the ways in which wool does all that can—if you forget that it’s a natural material for a moment—sound surprisingly high-tech. Take wool’s ability to actually generate heat, for instance. While its scaly outer layer repels water droplets, a wool fiber’s hollow interior is actually hydrophilic: it attracts and absorbs water vapor. And, once water gets inside those fibers, their rough texture actually breaks apart the hydrogen and oxygen molecules, creating a chemical process that produces a small amount of heat.
 
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afoaf

Duke status
Jun 25, 2008
49,204
22,752
113
making another run at the Santa Monica Backbone next weekend...67 total miles, 3d/2n

I had to bail on the last day on my previous due to problems with feet...will have proper shoes on for this one and have a better sense of good spots to camp along the route. it's not legal so there is not a lot of quality spots carved out.
 

One-Off

Tom Curren status
Jul 28, 2005
14,123
10,244
113
33.8N - 118.4W
making another run at the Santa Monica Backbone next weekend...67 total miles, 3d/2n

I had to bail on the last day on my previous due to problems with feet...will have proper shoes on for this one and have a better sense of good spots to camp along the route. it's not legal so there is not a lot of quality spots carved out.
I was about to ask if you need a wilderness permit of some sort. I know there is a walk in camp near Trippet Ranch called Musch Trail and there is Malibu Creek. I don't know if they are on the Backbone Trail. Where is your start and finish?
 

Kento

Duke status
Jan 11, 2002
68,681
20,891
113
The Bar
Kento …. Kento to the white courtesy phone, please


Oops - just saw this.

With all that snow, they'll be lucky to find him by May.

There's a lot of places to eat sh!t and I wouldn't be surprised if he met his demise falling off the backside of the face as there are some steep gullies going for a couple thousand vertical feet or so, at least. Zero visibility at times as a lot of it is above treeline. Too easy to step on a cornice that lets go or just off the edge in a whiteout.

I don't think Baldy's the smartest place to venture out in during a blizzard. :shrug:

I took Register Ridge on the way up
Respect :bowdown:
 

Mr Doof

Duke status
Jan 23, 2002
24,855
7,751
113
San Francisco, CA
White Mountain Peak?
Correct.

Easiest 14K footer you can walk up...sure, 7 miles one way with not a lick of cover (or water...unless you eat snow), but stupendous view of the Sierra at eye level across the Owens Valley.

Been up it twice, denied once due to weather (snow/wind related).

I should go for a third time and stay the night in marmot heaven to watch the celestial goings-on.
 
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_____

Phil Edwards status
Sep 17, 2012
6,910
3,176
113
Mount Dana?

Hey did Afoaf get lost on the Backbone? Or arrested for illegal camping?
He's still frozen solid on the backbone. In mid March he will go full woodfrog and thaw from the inside outward, heart will begin to beat and brain awaken. When his legs begin moving, he will soon hike down the mountain and eat piping hot stroganoff at Solidarity.
 

Chocki

Phil Edwards status
Feb 18, 2007
6,353
6,735
113
Planet Earth
He's still frozen solid on the backbone. In mid March he will go full woodfrog and thaw from the inside outward, heart will begin to beat and brain awaken. When his legs begin moving, he will soon hike down the mountain and eat piping hot stroganoff at Solidarity.
He will find and bring famous Hollywood actor Julian Sands home and receive a hero’s welcome
 

npsp

Miki Dora status
Dec 30, 2003
4,236
3,805
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down the hill and to the right
Visit site
I dunno guys. Leaverite (Steak) went for an "overland" trek into Nevada (in his Toyota...don't get him started on Subarus)....and disappeared in the wilderness.
Steaks alive and kicking. I checked FB the other day and he was posting some kind of gibberish about how things were better when you had to earn your salt.