EISPIRATEN

Thinking about this. Anyone have any input or experience?
http://www.trainingmask.com/training-mask-2-0/

I've used diamox and watch my nutrition closely, but still have elevation issues probably 4/5 times I'm at least 6,000.' I'm wondering if using one of these regularly may help.

Tim (or anyone else) -
It might be a stupid question but how would you downclimb those sections? Would you face the rock or face away from the rock? I've always faced away from it for whatever reason, but it'd be cool to hear another opinion.

Nice pics, Rico. It's a fun hike all the way up to Pine Mtn Lodge and the other way to Bear Creek as well. Just don't fall off Piedra Blanca like I did a few years ago

Big, big oso print today on the brand new Franklin Trail in Carpinteria, CA.



I'm guessing 3.5" wide by 5" deep. Very healthy, cool to see.

Teke -
I just came across this post. For what its worth, I'd only recommend poles like Black Diamonds that use a flick lock. It's much more dependable than those damned twist locks that operate on a plastic threaded mechanism. Sorry your Leki's took a dump on you.

thanks for the post jim. this is one of my favorite parts of the ANF. bummer to see it a bit beaten up, but still nice to see it nonetheless. i used to hike up to lowe, mueller, and san gabriel peak from lake ave; still one of my all time fave hikes, even in spite of that poodle.

rico -
we were on the front side, a half mile below camino cielo, towards montecito peak. i was very surprised as well, as this trail is well traveled. although...maybe people usually just turn around at the peak? idk, strange.

thanks matt. i had no idea black bears denned. it seemed so weird to see that den 2 feet off a trail as well.

going up the cold spring trail in santa barbara yesterday, i noticed a good amount of bear poo and tracks. cool! i came across something that seemed odd to me though. a couple piles of bear dung were outside a den or some sort of spot that an animal seemed to be living in...i think? https://eispirat...

love it. there's so much tar out here in ventura/sb. we live near carpinteria beach and when i go in the water, it just sticks to me. crazy.

love the bear track. thanks for sharing.

Nice job, Sean. Did you scramble up everything or tie in at any point? A couple of those granite walls looks slick and steep.

Thanks for sharing. I've wondered about the south walls of Icehouse for a long time.

hey dude, get well soon. thanks for sharing the pics.

I'd leave some of the extra clothing at home and bring a bag. If you're not on a super strict budget, get a bag with a high down fill (ex Marmot Plasma 40, 17 oz, 900 fill, extremely small packed up). While you hang out at camp and before you go to sleep, use your bag as an extra insulation layer. I...

Black Diamond Storm. It's 100 lumens, has two different led modes that dim, as well as red light, is light, no external battery pack, waterproof (for shallow submersion), and extremely efficient. Goes for 50 bucks. Great deal. Batteries included.

Thanks Jeff. It helps to know I'm not the only one who gets nutty with elevation. I liked your idea in the other post on two days of acclimation. I think I'm going to give that a try next. Keep posting your trips, they're always enlightening.

thanks mcp. its absolutely beautiful and worth the hike. i'll definitely be back there for sure.

you just convinced me to do this next year (or to do it from cottonwood/horseshoe). well done man, awesome pics. what was your total mileage?

Went out for what became an overnighter for me to Minaret Lake, up from Devil's Postpile. Full TR, pics, and my overdetailed commentary is here: http://summitascents.com/2013/08/08/8-6 ... ernighter/ My three friends and I spent the first night car camping at Lake Mary to acclimate. Didn't get much ...

I second Rico's comment.

Well done McP. Love that whole area.

Nice TR Sean. Love SF, love Foresee, love that whole area. My favorite local bpack trip was an overnight up to John's Meadow, a super pretty and often overlooked treasure.

Thanks for sharing (and for not sharing some details ).

LOL Sean! That is the ideal music for scree descents.

makes sense, taco. i've kind of been doing that, just lifting my feet maybe an inch off the ground. definitely seems to help me too, thanks.

On hardpack with, say, a 30 or 35% grade, I sometimes do a sort of shuffle run, keeping my feet close to or skimming the ground for traction, and with my body and feet angled slightly right or left for better balance. Kind of hard to describe. Basically the idea is to rough up the surface a little ...

Sean- Thanks for the input. That all makes sense to me. One question I have: Out here in SB, there are many xc trails and even fire/use roads that are probably pushing a 40% grade. The terrain is hardpacked dirt/clay with light gravel scattered about it. Coming down some of these paths, I've felt as...

This may sound silly but if you are right-handed you should blade your right side and foot forward. Lefties can often lead with either foot.

why is that tracker?

this is good stuff so far, guys. thanks for the tips. one question i have: i've seen people go straight down (like in a running pose) and others do more of a snowboard type of posture, where the person is going down sideways. which way is safer/better? Ze - this would be an AWESOME article for hikin...

awesome pics mcp. this looks fun. the trailhead for this is icehouse, but you turn right early on down that trail, right? how long of a hike up the canyon is it to ontario peak?

hey guys- i'm really strong going uphill but want to get better at my downhill skills. are there any sites or resources you'd recommend for learning downhill techniques (scrambling, screen-skiing, snow hiking, etc....)? i did a quick google search last night and found a few articles on about.com and...

Its weird, Sean. My body just doesn't want to eat during activity. I have to practically force myself to eat. It's really annoying.