EISPIRATEN

That rock section looks like fun! Good thing it was just one foot that got wet on the return. One of the parties we met coming down from camping at Panther Gap had fallen through a bridge to his thigh. Stuff was melting fast and maybe has a few weeks left before it's gone. My wife made me go first ...

Panther Peak (9,046') is minor bump sort of on the way to Alta Peak in Sequoia NP. Leisa and I spent the weekend in Sequoia and this one of three hikes did. Sean and Willie climbed Panther in 2016: https://eispiraten.com/viewtopic.php?p=58229&hilit=panther#p58229 They found the register, but I d...

Glad you made it up. It's tough little peak for being short. The trail was faint back in 2012. Yucca got me back then, too. I remember the use trail circling behind the summit before reaching the top, but I think people have taken the firebreak directly from the saddle. Haven't been back since then.

Great hike! I've not heard of this route before and it looks quite challenging compared to the other trail/road routes. That's a nice detailed map of the route. Nate, do you make your tracks available anywhere? If not, please consider uploading them to peakbagger if you want to make them available t...

Thanks for the report and the beta on access. I have a vague idea where this peak is based on your photos. Pretty cool hike, but I agree with your assessment that the area is not really attractive.

Sean wrote: ↑Sun May 12, 2024 9:34 am Thanks for the report! This has been on my bucket list for ages. How much of the road was paved?

It was paved all the way to the top, though there were a couple of short sections degraded to mixed pavement/dirt.

Yeah, I thought that, too, when I saw the pic. It's the same spot. They spent a lot, did a lot of work, and it's broken again. Last time it was so bad, the only feasible bypass was to hoof it directly up-slope and meet the road above. Wow, no wonder they stopped trying to fix it. I didn't have to g...

FYI, those are not Nike silos on Magic Mountain. The mountain site was an IFC (Integrated Fire Control) for the LA-98 battery. The underground magazines and (Lang) launch facility was located just to the north, south of Lang Station Road. Nikes didn’t launch from silos. Robert Black left a similar ...

About a half mile past the gate. It looks like photos I saw from reports 4-5 years ago.

I had a day open up unexpectedly, so decided to head to Magic Mountain (4864'). I made a bike attempt from the east last year, but a key gate was closed and I didn't have time to complete the longer distance. his time, I started from Bear Divide and a western approach. I parked just before Bear Divi...

Dang, super green. I never would expected that on Bliss.

JeffH wrote: ↑Tue Apr 30, 2024 8:13 pm It's not just the distant views, the wall looking at the other Maria peak is mighty impressive too.

Yes, I agree!

Yesterday was my fourth summit of Big Iron. Twice by trail, twice by San Antonio ridge. My last visit was six years ago. I had forgotten how awful the trail past Allison was in places. Although, for an unmaintained trail, it's pretty good. Also, I noticed how nice upper Iron is. Somewhere above 6500...

Fun mine video. Wow, that was a lot of trash you guys cleaned out. Gutsy to go into some of these mines.

Impressive! and creative.

Yeah, no one is running up the backbone yet. When you say spikes, did you mean crampons or microspikes?

Girl Hiker wrote: ↑Sun Apr 28, 2024 9:09 am Beautiful!! I want to go there.

Some of the nicest desert views I've seen. I think I still like the view from Chuckwalla Mountain best so far. Some people don't like the brown tones of desert landscapes, but they are unique. I am a serious desert rat.

This looks really cool. Looking at the map, it's all the way out by the AZ border? Did you already get most of the desert ranges between here and there? I've been working on Mohave peaks for the last year, mostly Sierra Club DPS listed, but also some others. They are not easy because of the distanc...

Another Sierra Club Desert Peak, Big Maria (DPS #92) is about 20 miles north of Blythe, CA. False Maria is a nearby peak on the same ridge line that is 1' lower according to the USGS. There is also a northern peak in the Big Maria Mountains that is 2' lower that I didn't visit. The starting point is...

Looks like a fun area. Those kinds of formations are very Joshua Tree. I'll keep this in the back of my mind the next time I am in that part of the Mojave.

Nice report. I don't think water flows very often there. Did you have to fight off any bugs? I remember unusual green and brown soil coloration that wasn't captured very well by my camera. You can see the colorations in your "Colorful landscape" photo, but it doesn't show how vivid it is. ...

I hiked to Liebre Mountain exactly two years ago today. I had better weather than you. I found a few flowers, but there were somewhat underwhelming. You were on the right trail.

Jeff, We found two small patches of snow in the shade under brush on the north side of the ridge. Sean made the most of it. The ankle is healed enough that it doesn't factor into my plans now. I am still doing PT on it, but it's 90-95%. It doesn't bend as far as it used to, but works. Just glad I di...

It was still a fun day, and we learned something about Allison Trail. I think we could have eventually made it to the mine, but my guess is it would have required another 4 hours round trip. Very slow going. We did meet a baby rattlesnake just before Allison Saddle. Looks like it is trying to grow i...

Thanks Nate (and Dima)!

Great hike! It's cool you could complete a loop down the steepest side. I've had some run ins with road cuts, too.

Can you re-post the GIS link? I'm being lazy about searching for it. Thanks!

Dudes! I don't even have words for this kind of adventure. You guys should contact Jimmy Chin to document your next Baldy Bikaneering Blowout. Might win an oscar! Except for the cool snownados, it sounded quite miserable and difficult, but quite an achievement. Thanks for the report and photos. Now ...

That video of tunnel #5 is insane. Glad there weren't any deep shafts below the water. The water was shockingly clear in some parts. Great shots! I've only been in a few mines and none very far except Bighorn Mine. I think I would get claustrophobic with water filling half the shaft. Keep posting, b...

What a day! The miles of side-hilling was so tedious. The least enjoyable part of the hike. The San Ysidro mountains are a special high desert area of Anza-Borrego with maybe the most scramble attractions per square mile outside of Joshua Tree. Temps on our trip ranged from 36F to 65F. I was prepare...

I had no issues driving there. There was an open gate I passed but I didn't see any trespassing signs on the drive. There was a lower lot with a "Fee Area" sign, but I didn't spot a pay station. The upper area where I parked had no Fee signs and no place to pay. I did poor research on the ...

What an adventure you had! Sorry I missed it. I think in two weeks, my ankle will be ready for scrambling, but it's not quite there. Since I didn't feel ready for the off trail on this hike, I wanted to at least meet the group where the ridge intersected the road. I started on the west side at the J...