Hastings Peak & Jones Peak: 02-21-2009

Post by **HikeUp** » Sat Feb 21, 2009 4:59 pm

Hiked up to Hastings and Jones Peaks under high clouds and ugly skies. Moderate temps kept it comfortable though and it was still great to get out on the trails.

Zé is contemplating ascending the south ridge of Hastings Peak so I took some pictures. I really couldn't tell if there was or wasn't a use/game trail but the pictures do give a pretty good idea of how steep this ridge would be. It certainly would not be the fastest way to the top!

Kept my eye out for a solo hiker with short, spiky hair and an orange pack (Liz!), but saw no such person. A pair of hikers that made it to the toll road indicated that there were a lot of rock slides on the road. Not sure what that meant (impassable? annoying? etc.) but they turned around having no plans to go on to Mt. Wilson due to the snow up higher.

Sunrise over San Jacinto...

Notch in south ridge of Hastings...

Looking down south ridge from just below summit (can you see my house?)...

Helicopter heading towards the city. Came from somewhere to the north but east of Mt. Wilson...

More pics.

Liz · Post by **Liz** » Sat Feb 21, 2009 5:25 pm

Hi Hikeup! You didn't see me, b/c I did something very unusual and bailed on my hike today. I went out last night, stayed out laaaaate and didn't sleep a wink. So, I laid low today. I'll be out hiking on Tuesday and for sure next Saturday. Cheers!

Ze Hiker · Post by **Ze Hiker** » Sun Feb 22, 2009 11:23 am

Thanks!

Maybe I'll do it in 2 weeks, not feeling up to dealing with a lot of brush right now. Notch looks formidable.

lik2hik · Post by **lik2hik** » Sun Feb 22, 2009 5:11 pm

Hikeup:
I was coming down the toll road from Mt. Wilson and it was recently plowed. Wasn't sure why until I arrived at this repair just up the road from Yale Peak.

Looks like they have had some problems up there from the rains

Post by **HikeUp** » Sun Feb 22, 2009 10:04 pm

Wow, thanks lik2hik! That explains the comments the pair of hikers made.
So you were able to cross this slide area?

On a side note, they are supposed to be fixing up the Toll Road below Henninger Flats. I have noticed in the past 6 months or so that they had been doing some repairs to the road above and below the major slide that blocks the road down near the bridge across Eaton Cyn. This appears to be a major setback.

Post by **HikeUp** » Sun Feb 22, 2009 10:07 pm

Liz wrote:Hi Hikeup! You didn't see me, b/c I did something very unusual and bailed on my hike today. I went out last night, stayed out laaaaate and didn't sleep a wink. So, I laid low today. I'll be out hiking on Tuesday and for sure next Saturday. Cheers!

Heh! Not that I've ever done that!

No worries. Hope to see ya out there eventually.

lik2hik · Post by **lik2hik** » Sun Feb 22, 2009 10:46 pm

Hikeup:

The area shown was about half the normal width. It is interesting how they use those pre-cast concrete bones to build up the slide area. Kind of like concrete lincoln logs!

Here is the toll road just below Martins camp - recently plowed

There was an awful lot of rockfall in other areas too.

Did you see this guy on Hastings?

Made me pick my pace right up.

Post by **HikeUp** » Mon Feb 23, 2009 7:32 am

lik2hik wrote:Did you see this guy on Hastings?

Zoiks! Fortunately I didn't see the skunk. Only thing I've seen in this area is deer.

Liz · Post by **Liz** » Mon Feb 23, 2009 8:59 am

Hey Hikeup! I'll be back to my usual Saturday hiking routine this Saturday. In fact, I'll be out on some trail tomorrow. Oh, and I saw a skunk on the Sturtevant Trail, heading up Wilson on 2/14. That was my first skunk sighting in our local mountains. I'm glad the little guy didn't send me home with a stinky souvenir!