EISPIRATEN

Left the car around 3:30am. Got past the Red Banks around 12pm-12:30. There were some small rocks/pebbles that rolled down the glissading chutes, but they stayed low and just bounced on by or hit my boots without doing anything. I saw and heard some larger rock falls to the left from Casaval Ridge, ...

Nice job! The snow tunnels were really cool.

Unfortunately, the spring I saw was more like a puddle. Also wasn't sure if it was acidic from all the sulfur gas bubbling through it. But supposedly, John Muir got stranded at the top during a snowstorm and had to lie overnight in one of these puddles to keep from freezing.

Climbed Mt. Shasta via Avalanche Gulch earlier this week. This was actually my second attempt. I tried earlier in May, but I arrived a couple days after a big snowstorm and was constantly postholing up to my knees after I got above 9000'. On my first attempt, I aborted just above Helen Lake, about h...

The shaft I'm talking about is south of the cabin ruins and a bit downhill. The floor is literally paved with old cans. You can't walk in it without walking on the cans. Sheesh, I gotta get out there again some time. Hope my knee cooperates. HJ I think that must have been a different shaft. I don't...

Did anyone climb Shasta? I'm going to be up in the Sacramento area for a big part of May, so I'm going to climb Shasta at least once while I'm up there. I'd like to do Casaval Ridge, but I have some concerns with route finding, so I might do Avalanche Gulch instead, and if I have time, go back again...

OK, I did some more research and it looks like you're right. The first thing I looked at was a campground rules pdf and that said nothing about the wilderness area. The park brochure added in the bit about the wilderness though. Bummer. Ah, bummer.

OK, cool. Looks like dogs are allowed at the park, just not on the trails. Cross-country should be fine then!

Yeah, he loves hiking and I think his training is complete. He's already a stronger hiker than me.

Not sure. I think he's still a puppy. When I got him two months ago, he weighed 22.5 lbs, and now he's 33 lbs and still growing. I think he's still teething too. Hey, if you don't mind me bringing Bandit, we'd love to sign up for he hike in Anza Borrego. I know he can handle the mileage and gain; he...

Lol. He does look huge in that picture. And expecially after you add in Godzilla and Taco.

Cool hike Ze! I wanted to sign up for it, but my desire to prevent my dog from chewing up the rest of my apartment won out.

Yeah, that's exactly what I was telling people. His claws are like little crampons, and since his center of gravity is naturally low, he generally doesn't have a problem scampering up the slopes. Going down can be a problem though, since he's over enthusiastic at times and just charges down. He's st...

After doing a test run on the 17th where I stopped at the Ski Hut, I decided to try for the summit today. Took my dog, Bandit, and he was a trooper. It was the first time I've summited a mountain in the snow. I took the Ski Hut Trail and did not attempt the Bowl since I'm very new at climbing in the...

Nice job guys. I think I saw a bunch of you coming down that day. I started around 1:30pm and only had time to get to the ski hut before I had to turn around. I brought my Border Collie with me.

Yeah, a camping trip here would be great. I'll bring my fishing pole!

Thanks! The trout were pretty easy to catch; they must have been really hungry. Yeah, Old Army Pass is not maintained now, but it's in decent shape. I think lots of people still use it since it's shorter than taking New Army Pass, which is the trail that is now maintained. But it can be dangerous be...

I went July 4th weekend, and it was beautiful. I saw a pair of coyote, and some deer. Lots of mosquitos though. Caught some California Golden Trout at Cottonwood Lake #3 while on my way to Mt. Langley. I liked it enough that I'll probably make this place a yearly trip. https://eispiraten.com/images-...

I'm thinking Bandit/Bandito. His original owner was Mexican I think.

Thanks Tina. I hope I can make it out the 7th. I ended up adopting a dog the day after the hike, so I need to figure out a good way to board him for a day or two. I have a friend who might be able to take care of him. I'm not crazy about boarding him in a kennel. http://www.flickr.com/photos/2085667...

Thanks! I ran into another guy at the summit who also hiked up from Shorty's Well, but we left at different times, so we both ended up soloing it. He said he left around 1am, several hours before I did. He must have ascended the East-West ridge in the dark, which probably slowed him down a lot. I th...

Ah, thanks for the tip. Hmm, I tried to download my gps track from everytrail, but the file didn't work for me. Not sure what's going on. I'll try attaching it to this post. https://eispiraten.com/images-archived/gallery.myff.org/gallery/t632850/TelescopePeakShortysWell.gpx.png Click to download file

Yeah, I have a gps track. I'm not sure how to post files on the board, so I made an everytrail page.

http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=400728

Thanks! Yeah, I have some more pics on my flickr account. Here's a link to the set. http://www.flickr.com/photos/20856672@N ... 662339370/ About half the pics were taken the day before the hike. Everything after the pitch black photo are from the hike. If you like pics, you can browse my other sets ...

Got to Shorty's Well (250' below sea level) around 5:30pm on Friday. Did a little exploring before sunset, but couldn't find the well, if one even exists. https://eispiraten.com/images-archived/farm3.static.flickr.com/2790/4043872679_af20fe7796_b.jpg Started hiking at 3:50am the next morning. While ...

I'm planning on doing Baldy from the Village on the 18th. Hike is about 12 to 13 miles roundtrip, with about 6000' gain/loss.

I felt good the next morning, but my feet started to hurt and I felt soreness in my legs about 5-6 miles into South Kaibab. I started popping ibuprofen and acetominophen at about that time. I definitely went slower on day 2, due to the soreness, but still made decent time. I actually felt great duri...

I think you can start from either rim; it doesn't matter that much. However, you can leave your car at the North Kaibab Trailhead, so if you can't get a room on the North Rim, you can just park there if you can find a space at the lot. Not sure that is possible on the South Rim, although there's a p...

I arrived at the North Rim on the 9th and checked into my motel room, which I was able to get a few days before. If you are having a hard time getting a reservation for a room at the North Rim, I'd recommend checking 2-3 days before your desired date for cancellations. I noticed that rooms would alw...

Thanks for the heads up. I'll give it a try in my Honda Fit. It has poor clearance, but I think I should be OK as long as there aren't any large sand pits. I made it, barely, to the trailhead for the Holy Jim Trail for Santiago Peak, and that road was rough. If Black Canyon Rd is well graded, it sho...