EISPIRATEN

Instead of a new post, I thought I'd just add on to yours. The trip from Tecuya Ridge was harder than I expected. I underestimated how much water I needed, so it was a hot, miserable trip on the way back. I wasted a lot of time and energy crashing through brush. The summit area was really cool and w...

Well, three years after your post, I made it to the top of White Mountain. I'll add a few recent photos, but your documentation is pretty thorough. I considered trying to bike it, but didn't want to worry about getting the tire pressure right or risk damaging the bike. I drove about halfway up White...

Day two of my White Mountains weekend featured Boundary Peak (13,141'). It's the state high point of Nevada, even though it's a lesser peak in the White Mountains that spilled over the border. I started a little before 7 AM from the Queen Canyon trailhead. The drive on Queen Canyon Road was about 6....

My wife planned a backpacking trip to the Big Pine Creek area with a permit for the third lake. I had only seen this area through haze from the summit of Cloudripper. There were nine or more lakes in this basin fed from the high peaks. Backpacking is not my favorite way to visit the mountains. I pre...

This has been a random thought on my mind for a bit. When people think about hiking, they usually think in terms of physical endurance. Rightly so. It is a physical activity, walking with whatever degree of distance and gain. I haven't turned back many times due to physical endurance, although it ha...

Sean and I bagged a couple of minor peaks near San Jacinto. We rode the tram up to Mountain Station, got our permits, then hiked south on the Willow Springs Trail. The trail eventually goes all the way to Humber Park in Idyllwild. At one mile, there was a junction with the High Peak trail and the Hi...

Mount George Davis (12,691') is the high point between the north fork of Bishop Creek and Wonder Lakes in the John Muir Wilderness. It's on the south side of the Piute Pass Trail across from Mount Emerson. I noticed it recently when my wife and I hiked to Piute Pass and when I looked it up, I found ...

Day two of my Bishop blast had my sites set on Bloody Mountain (SPS #141), 12,552' south of Mammoth Lakes. The name refers to the blood red glow reflected from the red rock in the morning. The effect is best viewed from Mammoth Lakes. Bloody can be a short hike (5.6 miles round trip) if you can driv...

I drove up the ACH to pick up some easy HPS peaks. These are pretty far down on my list since a lot of the HPS peaks are garbage. But my standards are low, and they fill the time between more interesting adventures. Nothing worth noting at P7160. Mount Akawie is a small bump across the highway from ...

Cloudripper ( https://ironhiker.blogspot.com/2015/08/cloudripper-and-vagabond-peak.html ) is one of my favorite names. I mean, it rips clouds. Anything with Palisade in the name. I've attempted none of them. Everest is an awesome name. Reminiscent of everlasting. Spectre Peak ( https://ironhiker.blo...

This is mostly a report about the Rincon Shortcut OHV road that starts by the Rincon Fire Station. To use this road, you need a permit from the Glendora Ranger Station (Mon-Th). Permits are good for two weeks and they change the gate lock combo every two weeks. They also give you a sticker to put on...

I've read that this route is well-marked but neither of us saw anything painted or drawn or flagged along the way. Maybe someone cleaned the graffiti up? No Kamper Ken? https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHYIzEb08K5X_gF8hwo75Hcz7AFAPccS5qo84u1eFwiZ7HsqgNVfuaHlXEpikQRbrA1f6VV...

On Friday, I knocked out more easy HPS peaks off the ACH. I had hiked Winston Peak as a warm up 10 years ago before my first hike with Sean to Twin Peaks. I got the Ridge this time, going over P6903 on the way. It's a nice area with sparse pines. The Winston Ridge register was in a circle of stones....

Dynamite, guns, and a secret lab! Straight out of Breaking Bad.

That's a wild and interesting trip report. Thanks for sharing all the photos.

Thanks for the beta. I tried to get Lewis early in the year before learning about the long term road closure. I also considered walking down the road as you did, but I'm not sure I want Lewis bad enough for a 12-miler. I think I'll wait until the road reopens. Really sad they painted over the benchm...

More pointless HPS peaks, well, Cole Point (HPS #222) is actually a "point" so by definition not pointless. All of these peaks are near Palmdale. I started at a turnout on Mount Emma Road where there was an official trail. Mount Emma (HPS #254) and Old Emma (HPS #274) are usually hiked tog...

The BM was probably bulldozed like many others.

My wife and I spent a couple of days in Death Valley with our kids. My plan was to hike Titanothere Peak and Thimble Peak, but access to both of those was on the closed Titus Canyon Road. Instead, we decided to climb the two Death Valley Buttes that are close to Daylight Pass Road. You can park alon...

Sean and I made the long drive to the trailhead for Stepladder Mountains (DPS #94, 2940') on Friday and camped. Well, Sean set up a tent and I slept in the truck. From highway 95, there were 17 miles of good, then bad dirt roads. The powerline road was smooth, the pipeline road not as good, and NS25...

Why separate? What did I miss? No disrespect intended. The direct route from the truck was very rocky and went through some annoyingly deep washes. Sean was looking for a path with fewer rocks and obstacles since his feet were starting to hurt. The mistake I made was assuming he had the track and c...