EISPIRATEN

So I stared at the map, and noticed that there was a trail from Dawson Saddle to the PCT. Maybe we could camp there. It's much closer to Baden-Powell. True, we'd have to carry our own water, but maybe it would be worth it. Looking on Google Earth, it appeared that the ridge just above the trail abo...

You: Disgusted with carrying bear canisters in any form.
Me: Dumb enough to still hike where they require bear canisters.

Is that old Bearikade Weekender Bear Canister still laying about, collecting dust? I can help.

HJ

hillbasher wrote: ↑Filled a one quart bottle in 12.86 seconds.

You sure it wasn't 13.01 seconds? Let's not exaggerate here. If I bring a Nalgene up this weekend, I expect sub 13 second fill times!

HJ

Well, and if you do find water before 3rd Crossing, so much the better, right? Particularly in the vicinity of the falls, I would think you might find water before 3rd Crossing.

HJ

Taco wrote: ↑Third Stream Crossing probably has water. Not too sure about Comanche, haven't been there yet. Jim might know.

Third stream: water.
Comanche: Dry at last report. I haven't verified that personally.

HJ

No problemo.

Hey, by the way, I updated the list based on input from others. It's up to 62 peaks now... You're welcome.

HJ

I was just doing one of my periodic lists. This one is of peaks in Southern California over 9,000' in elevation. And of course a number of them are in the now closed SGW -- but there are quite a few outside the wilderness or in other Southern California mountain ranges. Looks like there's some fun s...

Oh.

HJ

Good to know. Thanks, gents.

HJ

Yeah. It would have been good to have stabilized the fire inside the SGW. But no. The fire has burned up to nearly 10,500 on the flanks of Bighorn Mountain which is immediately south of San Gorgonio Mountain. I really hope the dwarf forests up there don't burn. It' would be centuries before they'd c...

It's a sad day for San Gorgonio Wilderness lovers. The Lake Fire burned up the east flanks of San Gorgonio Mountain up to and past the Sky High Trail. It may reach all the way to the krummholz at the very summit later today. Bighorn Mountain's east flank has also burned up to somewhere around 10,000...

6/24/2015 Evening Updates: 1. The Lake Fire has a made a run to the north of about three miles that is nothing short of dramatic. See areas with blue rectangles on the below map. 2. The Forest Service issued an order closing the entire SGW, including those areas not affected by the fire, until Octob...

Dang it! It looks like Mineshaft and Big Tree were burned yesterday. Yep. Toast. :( Good news might be that the N Fork area might become passable again. I've added a fire progression map to my blog post on the Lake Fire. Lots of fire growth in the N Fork of the Whitewater. I've also added a "t...

Yeah, it's pretty frickin' incredible. In a bad way. And we're not out of the proverbial woods yet. Looking at the latest MODIS data, there is active fire on the SW slopes of Ten Thousand Foot Ridge. https://eispiraten.com/images-archived/lh3.googleusercontent.com/-qv0ALvU2MUM/VYo1HY8NexI/AAAAAAABMH...

Looks like the Lake Fire is now making a run for Big Tree Camp. :( MODIS is showing a lot of thermal activity in the area which indicates an actively burning fire. I don't like the idea of Big Tree Camp burning, but it wouldn't bother me in the least to have the brush in the bottom of the canyon of ...

Yeah, hard to put a good spin on it.

The good news is that this fire like all fires is patchy. There are going to be some spots barely scratched -- and others that are nothing but scorched earth. I saw a photo of Poopout Hill yesterday. Scorched earth.

HJ

I don't know if anyone is following the Lake Fire, but I've got detailed topo maps with the fire perimeter added as an overlay on my blog:
Lake Fire

HJ

Taco wrote: ↑As one who has benefited from Jim's Super Ramen (tm) on several occasions, I have to say this is solid stuff. 8)

Hey, nothing like a little Super Ramen™ on the side of Crystal Crag. Or dodging dislodged rocks with one's little girl. Good times!

HJ

Yeah, it's a staple. Easy, light, and my daughter likes it.

I like the Sriracha! Won't fly with my daughter, but for my next solo...

HJ

Not that this is earth shattering or anything, but I've written an article for SoCalHiker.net about an inexpensive alternative to freeze dried food.

See Cheap Eats for the Trail: Ramen Plus.



HJ

You crazy kids.

Gnarly stuff! Them rocks is tuff!

HJ

How much should your pack weigh in proportion to your body weight? What's reasonable? What's excessive? https://eispiraten.com/images-archived/lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Us-f3rBAsyg/UwREBZkW-VI/AAAAAAAAtmE/JMIlyvnDmS8/s576/DSC06128_Crop.JPG I try to develop some "ground rules" for how much...

You should be able to save weight by DL'ing the new testament-heck even the whole bible on your phone and tossing the handheld. Yeah, I've come to that conclusion too. Puts a lot of eggs in the Smart Phone basket, but it just makes sense. I am soooo jelly of your ti pot kit. It's a super nice set u...

JayO wrote: ↑Did you create a trip report of your Grand Canyon adventure? If so, where can it be found?

JayO, I haven't done a TR. I'd like to, but I haven't yet had time.

HJ

I went out with my daughter (age 5) this past weekend. I got my combined base weight down to 20.2 lbs (13 kg), which while not phenomenal represents progress for me, particularly since my individual base weight would have been roughly double that, say 10 years ago. https://eispiraten.com/images-arch...

2 Hours to W Baldy? I feel good if I make it to the hut in 2 hours. Or 5 with my daughter.

Seriously, nice job.

HJ

Sweet captures, CM²!

HJ

Pretty dang cool. 8)

HJ

Ha! That would be an affirmative. https://eispiraten.com/images-archived/lh3.googleusercontent.com/-gpkyeN52jXY/VU7P40aiicI/AAAAAAABImQ/bNqL1x09HBc/s720/DSC01199.JPG https://eispiraten.com/images-archived/lh3.googleusercontent.com/-R4yQCNl_wbQ/VU7ZpLjxGmI/AAAAAAABIo0/5YXY-_4SxoI/s720/DSC01253.JPG ht...

I just got back from a trip to the Grand Canyon. For your amusement, here's my gear list . I wound up with 19 pounds base weight, :( which is a bit heavier than I was looking for. If you scroll down in the above linked list, you'll see my list of "proposed changes" to get my gear weight do...