EISPIRATEN

I think the fire crews put in extra effort at Messenger Flat and Lightning Point. They are both 'island' groves of ponderosa. Most of the nearby pondos on Gleason summit burned, but the crews managed to save a line of tall ones near the start of the summit spur. I also once (30 yrs ago) found a whit...

The Santa Clara Divide Rd (3N17) is open at Bear Divide also. Looks like all of 3N17, from Three Points to Wilson Canyon Saddle is currently open.

The buttress rising from Deer Flat CG to Islip Ridge has always intrigued me.

Big Buck Road (4N24) passes a 'cliff band' at about the halfway mark, with some very interesting roadside stuff. Lots of hand- to offwidth-crack things that just invite the climber's eye, also good quality rock.

Anthony wrote: ↑

Tom Kenney wrote:All the recent grading work, and an upgraded loo at Messenger Flat CG would support this. Thanks!

Loo?

Privy, outhouse, commode, wc, Unincorporated Department of Sanitation...OK, now I'm trying for 'Python'-esque.

loo = s#!++er

jfr wrote: ↑In April I spoke with the caretaker at the North Fork Ranger Station and he indicated that they might be opening things up soon, as it's been five years or so since the last fire out that way.

All the recent grading work, and an upgraded loo at Messenger Flat CG would support this. Thanks!

Trailforks report Apparently it's open in a normal seasonal way? I haven't been in a few weeks, but noticed they'd been doing grading on the western side, including brushwork on Moody Cyn. This could also be temporary to spread out traffic since the Bobcat closure area is normally high-traffic. Thi...

Looks like a great, and peaceful!, trip. Thanks! Strange how the trail bypasses the good water in that segment. There is reliable water at Quail Spring...at the top of Indian Cyn Rd, too far west. In the lower elevations of Moody Cyn Rd, between the locked gate and the first switchback, there is alm...

dima wrote: ↑...puts him on the next ridge to the North, approaching point 5461. He was going for a first ascent!

With certain...um...objective hazards (*cough*buckthorn*cough*) conveniently reduced at the moment, sounds like faultless logic.

Twin Peaks, maybe? This (image below) is the saddle between the two summits, at the 'split boulder' campsite, looking south into SG Wild.

According to the CalTrans Map, the CA-2 closure has been dialed back to Eagle's Roost.

NVM...seems it was mentioned above.

I have no info on the trails/roads within the closure, but the Mt Wilson Road is open again.

'Congressional Boundary' is probably a reference to the National Monument designation. Funny how all the signs for the new Monument are placed 'outside' the old ANF signs, so you'll see them first/earlier?

In the medium-high-zoot catgory, AL and Cali built, Ventana El Comandante Ultimate

They will do custom, if you want geo change or rack/gadget mounts, threaded bb, etc. In the '90s I rode Kleins, but I coveted Ventanas!

Geez, I sure hope these folks don't learn about Mt. Clarence King!

Nice! RE: sheep, I've seen them twice, closer to Islip Saddle. One decided to kick a huge boulder down at me! RE: retaining walls/guard walls, near Islip Saddle, there are some that are about 40m/140ft high. Lovely old construction! RE: little structure, it's an old spigot hut. There was a cistern j...

Nice pics! I was just up there Sat (bike loop, 3N17 from Bear Divide to Indian Cyn, then Soledad/Sand Cyn return). The Indian Cyn Rd had much snow cover down to about 1100m/3600ft, much of it was packed/ice due to vehicle traffic, and on steep shaded sections of road. Temps should remain cool, so th...

David R wrote: ↑... one of those prolific peakbaggers not named Burd.

Got a good chuckle from this! Time was, the statement went something like "...not named Smatko."

If one was in need of bagging Iron/Rabbit/Roundtop for some reason (list completionist?), now would probably be a good time. The 3N17 was open from Mill Creek to Three Points yesterday. There were lots of hunters everywhere. Somebody was exiting the Gleason seg of 3N17. Does the USFS give out the co...

@Girl Hiker re: the plane pic Did you ride a charter or do you have flying friends? My mom is a pilot and member/low-level officer in this region's chapter of The Ninety-Nines ladies' pilots association. I'll ask her if she's ever made that trip. Looks like an excellent change of pace. Thanks for sh...

Los Pinetos Trail starts at Wilson Canyon Saddle. There's a full-blown trailhead with bathroom, tables, signage. Also Viper Tr nearby, Sombrero is a good ride/hike. When temps are cooler, I'll ride from my house over to Sylmar, up May Canyon Rd, down Santa Clara to CA-14, then back over Newhall Pass...

The Santa Clara Divide Road used to be open all the way from Three Points until almost CA-14. There is an old gate just west of Sombrero that was the 'terminus' for public vehicle travel. The Pacifico section saw occasional all-year closures due to damage, but they tried to keep it open if possible....

I'm gonna try to avoid stepping on a landmine here, so I'll make 2 brief points: 1) @bcrowell, yes, in it's currently scaled-down form, it's fine...but it's actually a decrease in campground revenue, since the last time I paid for a campsite (Lee Vining, Sep 2000?) it was $7.00 per night. The initia...

Wife and I took a mellow stroll up by Buckhorn CG on Sunday. We went to 'Akawie Peak' 2220m/7326ft. This is the large 'centerpiece' between Buckhorn CG and Cooper Canyon. The route follows a network of abandoned roads, starting at the second north-side turnout on CA-2 east of Mt Waterman ski lift. T...

Nice view. The cabin is abandoned? It's a weird area. It's wilderness, yes, but there're private inholdings and grandfathered ranching operations. So you have old, abandoned cabins AND all the meadows are full of cow pies. I'm sure there're non-abandoned cabins around there somewhere. Sorry for the...

I saw dozens of these guys marching around Blue Ridge Rd last night. Size is about 6cm x 3cm. I've seen a couple other varieties of (much) smaller ones, so this came as a bit of a shock.

next apex tool user species has a lot of first ascents to do.

I'm looking forward to reading of the first parrot ascent of Monrovia Peak in the next issue of the American Alpine Journal.

EDIT: Oh, yeah... I Want A Parrot

Sounds like his life was populated with good folks. Ripples...his positivity worked it's way outward to the rest of us.

"I didn't actually take a panorama"

You could paste together 3 copies of that shot, and it'd fool me for sure! ?

Overnight parking has been fine, just not in any closed lots (there are still a few). To 'demonstrate,' lots of my riding is at night, so I'm frequently returning to my quite late. This has been my experience on CA-2. Not sure about Chantry or any of the others. Curfew seems to mainly be about city....

CA-2 is open at Islip. I had to make an interesting call into CHP last night. Apparently CalTrans sent 'the new guy' to unlock the CA-2 gate at Islip. That person also opened the CA-39 gate. It was open all day yesterday, and folks were merrily driving down...and back up, since the lower gate is sti...

I agree with Rico, great pano shot. I recognize Whitney, Langley and Cirque on the far right part of it but those are the easy ones. Yeah, mind-bending! The Needles and Merlin Dome are dead-center. Merlin is the broad dome with dark cleft facing camera, The Needles are the rocks to it's right, oppo...