EISPIRATEN

Wife and I set out to overnight it up to Cottonwood Lakes from Horseshoe Meadows. The adventure did not go as one would plan, however. The trip started out pretty tyipcal. We departed the 10,000′ trailhead around 3pm, a late start to our hike. Wife had her Gregory Jade 28 pack on, loaded up with wat...

awesome photos. is that cartoon-y bear sign still up at bear flat? (if it is, you'd know what im talking about ...)

I live out in Carpinteria, near SB. The best ones I know of are:

-Romero Canyon up through Blue Canyon/the backside of the mountains
-Sespe River trail (in LP, closer to Ojai)
-Up and around Figueroa, near Santa Ynez (Nira)
-Little Pine Mountain area from Paradise Road

Good luck!

this is AWESOME! im so intimidated, its like the iron mountain of los padres. well done!

haha, definitely post a TR. i know a lot of local hiking folks out here who seem to know a lot of about this area (eg bryan conant and curt cragg) have told me they've never been up there. seems adventurous and unexplored.

i've been eyeing white ledge as well. everything ive heard from some local guides and looking at maps suggests its an absolute bear with tons of xcountry, decomposed scree towards the top, and lotsa thorns. ive actually been thinking of hitting it from romero trail in summerland and east on camino. ...

i used to get it really bad on high incline hikes like you described. what helped me was making sure i got good rest after long hikes (very few back to back days) and using the foam roller. it hurts like heck but absolutley does work. if you dont have the foam roller, take a nalgene bottle or can of...

ouch! thanks for sharing.

epic! great post!

great article jim, very helpful.

thanks phil. i've added jennie from stony creek to my long list of sierra hikes to do. so many to explore.

thanks hj. i ended up getting a giga tonight. appreciate your advice as always, friend.

hey phil, nice job! was the entire trail class 1 or would you consider bouldering and that kind of thing necessary for parts of it?

nice job, elwood. i always wondered what was out there. any pics?

hey jim, that post was really helpful.
one more ? for you. gigapower versus soto od1r? still go with the giga, even for higher elevations?

thanks jim, i appreciate that. i hope i find my jb but if not, i think that snowpeak may be calling my name.

hey jim! i agree, the windpro is a little bit overkill for 2 people on one night but working at rei, i get free rentals...plus i still have no idea where my jb is. grr. i really love the windpro. i've used it in several instances now, each time just for boiling water, and its been outstanding. water...

bill, how was this trip? did you go?

Wifey and I took an overnighter to Weaver Lake/Jennie Lakes Wilderness in Sequoia a couple nights ago. We started at Big Meadow and did the 4 in and 4 out with relative convenience. I'd never been to Jennie before but it was wonderful, perfect conditions, and was a good degree of difficulty for the ...

Got out with some friends to hike on this small island. We also spent most of our day replanting endemic plants on the island and removing pesky iceplant, which has all but strangled much of the native vegetation. It's only a couple miles r/t and is relatively flat but the views of the pearl blue wa...

hey jim!
if you're ever out in these parts and looking for a hiking buddy, let me know. i definitely want to explore mt pinos more.

thanks for those links... that is really really helpful. getting to pinos, we actually took 33 to lockwood valley road and took that up to frazier park. im pretty sure i remember the sigh for boy scout camp road. i'll have to keep that in mind for the near future.

well done!

hey guys- its been awhile. i've been lurking here lately mainly because ive been hiding in the santa barbara mountains and im not sure that you san gabers would be interested in that :-) however, i headed back down that way, sort of, today. wife and i hiked mt pinos (chuckle chuckle). i'd never been...

I'm interested!

absolutely brilliant! i very much appreciate your expertise, cm!

and btw, i also appreciated your backing me up in my eaton canyon article. you said the things i wanted to say but had to be careful of

muhahaha! nice one shreddy.
i was at casa blanca thursday...their enchilladas are excellente!

what is the main characteristic that makes you think that, matt? just curious.

i'm not so good at poo id'ing. anyone know what these two piles are from? they were in the middle of a fire road i hiked on today, just above montecito/santa barbara. there were multiple piles every 15-30 feet or so for a long stretch, making me think somebody wanted to mark its home. http://outdoor...

good call mike, thanks!