EISPIRATEN

If you have a non-hiking significant other, how does he/she cope with your absence? Do you put a positive spin on the time you spend outdoors, such as, "Honey, when I'm hiking, it's YOUR TIME to do what you want. Go on a shopping spree, take a bubble bath, and eat chocolate for lunch and dinner...

If they had been chanting, it would have been scary.

FIGHT ON wrote:Have a photo image contest. Vote on them.

The BB poll feature might be a useful way to tally votes.

I started hiking just over a year ago, in March 2007. The inspiration came to me that month as I was participating in a weekend photo shoot in Lone Pine. We shot Mt Whitney at sunrise, at sunrise, and from across the valley. Even my hotel room window at Dow Villa had a view of Mt Whitney. For three ...

Rick Kent wrote: {from mt-whitney.info} You'll be happy to know I am human and ended up consuming over 5 liters of water/drinks for the day. Oh, and after forcing my way through the thorny brush 2 times I bleed red like everyone else.

He's human?

I wonder if Rick K holds the record for best time on "Heaton to Manker Flat Snack Bar" double traverse?

Hikin_Jim wrote: . . . multiple ascents in a single day via different routes.

. . . before lunch, so the sun angle is about the same, and drinking less than 1 liter of water, so your total weight is about the same for all ascents.

AlanK wrote:The Register Ridge route .... is easy to follow -- hard to miss in the lower part.

As I moved along DBB today, I looked for, but did not see a trail junction where Register Ridge might run into DBB.

Today (Saturday, 5/3/2008) I hiked Baldy Loop (up Ski Hut Trail, down DBB). Observations: -- Crowded! At least 3 dozen hikers at Baldy Summit when I was there ~11:30 a.m. No privacy for normal bodily functions for most of the loop. After port-a-potties at Manker Flat, I had to "hold it" al...

Going down via Devil's Backbone .... doing the loop .... Heading downhill, after Baldy Notch, do most hikers descend to Manker Flat using a combination of access road and foot trail? Seems like the foot trail shortcuts save a lot of time; however, there is a section of foot trail in the middle that...

HJ, when you were in, you had to make your own animal skin water carrier, right?

JMunaretto wrote: . . . will $10 walmart poles really not break from 190 lbs of weight?!

Joe, I bought a pair of WalMart poles in June 2007, and they're still working fine with my 180 lbs + daypack. BTW, I think $10 WalMart poles cost $15 now.

Ten essentials should include one "Rick M".

Travis, we'll miss you.

I have learned much about the care and feeding of Camelbaks . 1. I learned to close the drinking line safety valve when I toss my backpack into the trunk of my car, thereby avoiding a silent flooding incident while I'm driving. 2. I learned that drinking lines freeze, and sometimes you can thaw a dr...

Today I attempted Baldy via BCT but turned around at 9400 feet because: (1) I hit my turnaround time, and (2) snow coverage which began at 9000 feet was 100% by 9400 feet. (Coincidentally, this was near the same spot where I u-turned last December when solid ice coverage was 100%.) I counted six hik...

When I started using poles, my knees stopped hurting. As someone said earlier, poles reduce radial stress & strain on knees & ankles. My Walmart poles are celebrating their 1-year birthday.

HikeUp wrote:Iron #1 is 8007'!!!

I'm really tempted to join you on Iron, but I have a burning desire to field test my new Diamox prescription. In part, my trail choice will depend on how I feel when my alarm goes off in a few hours.

AlanK wrote:

FIGHT ON wrote:Is the Bear Flat Trail clear of snow now?

There was still snow above about 9000' when I did it this past Monday.

Sounds like Bear Flat Trail is my best bet for a south-facing ice-free altitude hike above 8K' this Saturday (4/19/2008)?

Joseph -- Good analysis!

No helmet -- ouch!

I enjoyed your video.

Rob - what software are you using to download into your My Garmin folder? Mapsource? Yes, I use Mapsource. Recently I simplified my system for organizing track data: for my home county, I combined small "best of" composite files for individual mountain parks into one large file for the en...

Today, in the middle of a hike, I noticed that my GPS was still on standard time.

Rick Kent wrote:My first exposure to ice was . . .

My first exposure to ice was last December on the Bear Canyon Trail. At 9200' I looked at the ice, looked at the chutes, turned around, and treated myself to a burger in Baldy Village. Smartest thing I did all year.

My handheld GPS calculates total elevation gain continuously for a hike, but a trick to using that feature is remembering at trailhead to reset values to zero and doing so carefully to avoid deleting other stored data (such as waypoints). After a hike, after transferring track data to my computer, I...

Joe, when I'm hiking I check GPS altimeter as often as I check time. Using GPS altitude I know how close I am to trailhead or summit, and I know how my hiking speed varies at different elevations. For me, the altimeter reading I get from my handheld GPS is as accurate as I need when hiking. My Garmi...

From PE.com (Press-Enterprise) Rescuers searching for missing hiker on Mount Baldy Search and rescue teams are combing Mount Baldy today in an effort to find a Chino man who has been missing since Wednesday. Robert Bruner, 46, went hiking in the San Bernardino National Forest, in a 7,500-foot elevat...

This was a poll. These haven't been imported. Sorry.

HJ, good explanation.