EISPIRATEN

I hiked the Manzanita Trail out of Vincent Gap yesterday. In passing Blue Ridge I noticed that the Blue Ridge road is now gated at Route 2. There was a FS LEO sitting in his truck by the gate. At Vincent Gap, the main parking area has a sign "Recreation Site closed", which I assumed applie...

Until about 3 years, I had never seen any above 5500'. Since then, most of the ones I've seen were in the high country (always the Pacific species like the 2 above, the most toxic and assertive species found here). I think that it is somehow related to the unprecedented amount of acreage burned in t...

I am a long time hiker, generally solo, on trails and cross country up to lower class 3. I am 56, have been hiking since 1966, hiking in Southern California since 1979, and hiking every week for the last 24 years. Mostly day hiking, and a short backpack once in a while. I like exploring new areas an...

San Sevaine is definitely the easiest way to Elliot - 12 miles one way but easy dirt road walking. I was on 1N34 (Cucamonga Truck Trail) in spring 2010 as far as Deer Canyon. There is a large washout at aptly named Calamity Canyon that requires off trail travel. Otherwise no major obstacles, but the...

I also went up Smith Ridge earlier in the year, but turned back at 3400' when I found it unproductive. Same for Day Canyon. But the firebreak between Day Canyon and East Etiwanda Canyon is doable, and I went to 4100'. I'll do the rest of it next winter or spring. http://www.sovinec.net/html/san_gabr...

I hadn't been up this trail since late 2003, so I decided it was overdue. Once in Bear Canyon, I switched from waterproof boots to lightweight water shoes sans socks and hiked all afternoon in them. I kept count of the stream crossings, which ranged from ankle to knee deep. Lower Bear Camp is betwee...

I hiked down from Shortcut Saddle on ACH to the West Fork on the first day of the ACH road re-opening. A lot of construction traffic was out on ACH. The upper part of the trail passes through chaparral which probably burned down to the soil in the Station fire, and the re-growth is now averaging kne...

I started down the Gabrielino Trail from Red Box. The trail to Valley Forge is a little rough, but easy to follow as the canyon portion is heavily flagged. There is some fire damage evident in the West Fork Canyon, but most of the trees survived. I passed a youth group returning from an overnight ba...