EISPIRATEN

Dang, the fire shaved the mountain clean. I've never seen the kind of damage it does up close. Looks like you had some fun wandering around up there.

atomicoyote,

That stinks, and sounds scary. I hope that is something that goes away with time so you can get back in the mountains. Take care.

Nice cat. They look so domesticated to me, except they are clearly bigger.

I have a 1995 edition of the Jerry Schad book for Orange County. He describes a hike for East Horsethief Trail with the following directions to the TH: Exit I-15 at Lake Street, continue south (Lake Street becomes Robb Road). at Mountain Street, 2.5 miles from I-15, turn west and go 0.5 miles throug...

It's a really nice hike, just long. It looks greener than when I was there in 2012, or maybe it is just your superior camera. Is there still a tree down over the trail before Fox?

This is one of my favorite hikes in the Santa Anas. Some cool boulders on the summit and just off trail if you are willing to get to them. I'm glad the fire didn't get the Morgan TH or the trail. Very nice photos.

Glendora Ridge Road is still closed at Baldy Village.

Great photos! I found 5878 on the topo and it looks like a long way back to Islip Saddle. Can't tell exactly which way you went, but it looks very remote.

More details on the 3 arrested for the illegal campfire that start this...
http://www.scpr.org/news/2014/01/16/416 ... /?slide=14

I bought a 2014 pass online through Kinsail. I have mixed feelings about it, but I'd rather pay the small fee than fight with a ranger or pay a larger fine. I understand that the USFS is and should be funded through regular income taxes. As taxpayers, we get gouged a million ways beyond that. FICA, ...

The pics are fine, Rico. Nice trip. Echo mountain is always a zoo. I hope those Leki poles are treating you OK. My locks broke the first time I put stress on them.

Hard to believe those pics are of Baldy in January. Winter appears to be cancelled this year. I've been under those ski lifts, lots more fun than the road!

Thanks, Rico.

Cool fox! I have yet to see a fox of any kind anywhere.

Do you need any special permits to hike Santa Cruz (or Catalina)?

Wow!

Rico,

It's really beautiful country. I think it is worth the side trip to Twin Peaks West for the views if it is a nice day.

I asked Sean Green if he would be interested in doing this hike with me. He agreed, even though he had done them before, saying that his friend Willie Price was also interested. They also wanted to do some bouldering along the way. We planned to meet at 9:45 AM at Buckhorn. Before tackling the big h...

Just awesome photos and area.

Not surprised to see only light snow cover.

20 miles is a pretty good day for anyone I think!

HJ,

This might do the conversion for you. I ran a quick test and it looked OK, but I didn't spend much time trying to verify it.

http://www.gpsvisualizer.com/convert_input

Set output type to GPX and upload the KML(Z).

Here is another site to try if that one doesn't work:

http://kml2gpx.com/

I think the USFS makes that call in May each year. It's been on my list, too, for a couple of years.

...Azusa Peak could be called Trash Mountain, or People-who-wear-very-bright-fitness-oriented-clothing-mostly-the-shoes-man-those-are-really-obnoxiously-bright-maybe-they-do-Crossfit Peak. ;) Haha! I think the same can be said about most of the easy access, front range, lower peaks. They get "...

Thanks for the analysis, HJ. I've wondered why the trip odometer is always longer than the track reported mileage. Even though the tracks do wander, they are usually close enough to be useful for back tracking or planning. Thanks for the time resolution tip, Sean. I'm going to change mine to try to ...

Nice photos, HJ. Shortly after Maple Springs turns to dirt, maybe half a mile up, there is a use trail on the right that leads to Modjeska. It crosses the road a few more times and turns into a fire break just before the junction with Main Divide. Nice to see your daughter is self powered. I can't b...

Love the A-B Desert. Thanks for sharing the photos. Those two are still on my to do list -- probably next years list.

The coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) towers over all other trees in the world. At 112.1 meters (367.8 feet) the coast redwood discovered on the banks of Redwood Creek by the National Geographic Society in 1963 was the tallest known tree, known as the Stratosphere Giant. However, in 2006 the wor...

HJ,

I appreciated them more than my kids, which is expected.

JeffH,

I was looking for slugs, but didn't see any. I wasn't really sure which kind of plant I should have looked under. That would have been a great find!

I did a 9 mile hike from Aliso Canyon to the Top of the World in Laguna Beach. Not exciting, more to burn calories and wake up the legs from holiday sloth and overeating.

Now to take down the lights and tree.

Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park I'm not usually floored by flora, but... https://eispiraten.com/images-archived/photobucket/i1183/albums/x471/tekewin/Redwoods/hc-big3_zps627d3309.jpg Puny humans among the giants https://eispiraten.com/images-archived/photobucket/i1183/albums/x471/tekewin/Redwoods/h...

Nice rocks, rico. Hope you got some good scrambling done.

Not sure when winter will really arrive along with precip.

You must have been in the very northern part of the Santa Anas. Maple Springs Road HJ Doh! I forgot you have high powered cameras. I have to stop thinking through my limited phone camera lens. Funny that you also think about climbing routes of distant objects. I feel a little less weird now. :)