EISPIRATEN

Monday I figured it would be nice to watch the Rose Bowl July 4th fireworks show from Millard canyon/Chaney trail. I was on the ridge near the water tanks beside the Mt Lowe road. There was maybe 15 people there. The fireworks were incredible at that distance. I felt good about watching an event lik...

Well, if you're like me you cannot afford a car. I've used the bus with success to get to places like Arroyo Seco and Millard canyon. The hike from the bus stop to either trailhead points is less than 2 miles. Sure you have to add the mileage to your initial hiking distance but it still means you ge...

I'm glad to hear these reports of that trail. Past few weeks, I've been eyeing my maps focusing on the loop from Millard canyon to JPL...through Tom Sloane: basically I'd just loop around Brown mtn. I was worried about the poison oak mostly. Now, this is good news

John Wick is a bad ass! Heh heh heh. I haven't seen this one yet.

I used to be 330 lbs...I'm now 230lb. body weight can also affect pack weight. I think. At 330 lbs it was a lot more important to minimize any weight. I.e., pack weight...easier to lose pack weight than belly fat. I like the measure of your calculations. I estimate that 30lbs is about good for me.

Yeah! Ramen and tuna... Ramen, 5 for $1....tuna pk...$1...mountain house...?...too much! Ramen and tuna and, taco bell hot sauce, and instant oatmeal. Oh yeah and coffee. That's all I'll need. I'll get my veggies and vitamins when I get back to the city!

Everybody seems to favor light day packs. I go the other route on a day pack. I figure a short hike allows me to handle the weight for a short period of time. My day pack is a Maxpedition falcon 2. Its 23L at 3.2 lbs. The advantage in this pack is its bombproof ruggedness. And its got molle compatib...

As an under the poverty line backpacker I would seriously risk my life to avoid paying $10000. Many people would. So hikers would be dying just cuz of financial status.

I hope you're not advocating restricting the rights of the mentally ill in the wilds! That'd be horrible. I think the rescue team would notice if there was an obvious mental issue. But it is not their field of training and detaining people against their will for days or weeks, just cuz they had a sp...

I read that some people have grown marijuana in this canyon. That sounds too close to a well used trail to be a secure location for that sort if activity. I dunno.

The few times that I saw big, wild animals I was not deep in the mountains. I saw a mountain lion at Millard campground one night. I Iike Millard cuz my family always went there when i was a kid. I was sleeping on the table closest to the pkg lot and heard something large crossing the trail from the...

From 6/16 to 6/17 I lived in the Los Padres Nat. Forest. On hwy 33, at 4400 ft. I saw a ringtailed cat as I was leaving my trailer late one night to take a leak. It wasn't afraid of me . probably cuz I was about 100 ft from it. And since we lived near each other he was probably well acquainted with ...

Very cool, man. Glad you got it done. I suggest building something there, like a little shrine. https://eispiraten.com/images-archived/gallery.myff.org/gallery/1986075/cross.jpg There was another one that is RIP...I didnt hang out to see if someone was actually buried there. I think the whole thing...

For those of us who don't have a vehicle this shuttle sounds like an awesome idea! I know the bus routes can drop you off at the base of the road towards Chantry flats, but it's a hike in itself to get from the bus stop to Chantry! I'm trying to save my energy for a nature hike, not a 3 mile long ma...

I always liked using Iodine tablets. With the taste neutralizer tablet, there's no bad taste to deal with! Of course this means I carry less bulk and less weight. Often, I drink water straight from the flowing stream. I don't recommend it, but I've never gotten a bad experience, like getting sick. I...

One of the reasons we relocate rattlers is because we have city people come to camp a few times a month and many of them are amazingly clueless about life in the mountains...we have to keep those kind of people safe, just like our little cat.

2days back we found one of our cats cornering a rattlesnake in the bushes beside an occupied trailer. Now, our camp policy is to catch and release all rattlers away from our area where we work and live. Our cat that cornered the snake is the younger of the two and doesn't know it can be killed by th...

That's a wild idea! Allowing certain canyons or areas to grow pot. It could host new problems while resolving present ones. I am pro marijuana myself for medical use. But illegal grow sites can be occupied by dangerous people and running a cross them in the peace of the forest is pretty sad. I'm con...

No smell or smoke plume today. The winds are in our favor!

Yesterday the mountains had a haze over them. And I was told that the Rey fire plume could be seen from highway 33 as you drive up the road. That was at sunset. Today, In the morning you could smell the fire distinctly; we had an easternly wind blowing this morning. The fire is still far away, its b...

So I've been staying just off Maricopa hwy, 30+ miles up the mountains from Ojai, and we decided to go hiking. Now the nearest trailhead is like 10 miles away so of course we just walked up the nearest ridge and followed it uphill. We headed up on deer trails sometimes on all fours! The deer paths s...

Pine mtn is a beautiful area. I go up there and car camp about once a month. I was up there for 2weeks last months. About 3mi from the fire lines on private property. At the 4600 ft level.

I saw the back end of a mountain lion in Millard campground. It was clearly visible in my flashlight as a feline with a long tail. Definitely not a bobcat. I think more animals are visible cuz of populating successfully thanks to conservation efforts and the inevitable encroachment of MAN.

Is it possible to proceed into dark canyon from the CCC ridge road? Didn't the road at one time, lead into dark canyon? I hiked up dark canyon from oakwilde once and found it to be a beautiful stream filled little canyon. I'm sure it's bone dry now. In dark canyon I found a road filled with bushes w...

A year or so back I stayed in hoegee's camp and the year before that. Both times I had a bear encounter. The bear was not much bigger than me, 280lbs. the bear at hoegees is nowhere near 600lbs. I assume its the same bear based on territory. The first time was in the middle of the afternoon. The bea...

It was a nice, but hot time. I was on private property so there was no one around except my man, Damon. I set up my tent under the trees and had peace and quiet. No strangers allowed on a 30 acre sprawl. As well as camping, I worked to make trails more defined and scratched out primitive campsites u...

I really like night hiking. I don't use a headlamp so I can see shadows better when I'm angling my flashlight around. I also like to duct tape my maglite onto my walking stick. Without the head cover the maglite is like a torch and lights up alot of area. Not just a single spot.its great yall should...

I think maybe old fashioned population growth in our metropolis, too.

I've done this hike too, like, 20 years ago. I won't want to ever do it again. Just not worth the risk, a second time. I agree it should be destroyed by ANF or something.

Thanks for the quick help.