It also meant that logistics of getting to the mountain became quite involved. For starters -- there was a very large possibility that snow chains were going to be required. And according to glamisking's TR it was impossible to move past the gate at Manker's without snowshoes.
It was a bit of challenge to quickly procure both chains and snowshoes in time for the weekend but it all came together by Saturday afternoon. I spent Saturday night test fitting the chains and the snowshoes and by night we were ready to go:
Of course we didn't need either! But if I hadn't gotten them I am sure we would have
. We left LA at 5:54 and were at the Maker Flats at 7:30am -- most of the time was spent stuck in traffic around the Baldy Village area where the road was pretty much occupied by the snow chain installing motorists. CHP also had a road block right at Mountain Ave/Mt Baldy Rd. juncture and when our turn came up CHP officer quickly glanced at our all terrain tires, asked if we were going all the way to the top and waved us through without asking anything else -- I guess we didn't need chains. The road was peppered with sand and salt and pretty much was bone dry all the way to the village. But at the village it all changed -- there was a lot of sleet, long lines of motorists mounting chains and dense traffic caused by it all.
We hit Manker's parking "lot" at 7:30am with temperature reading 28F! Gearing up took almost 30 minutes -- it's a real PITA to strap poles, snowshoes, axes and crampons to the pack -- the snow-pack felt very firm and I was doubting we'd need the snowshoes but we decided to bring them along just in case and then if conditions prove we didn't need them we'd just bury them somewhere on the trail marking location with GPS.
Fire road was beyond recognition:
so was the rest stop before the gate:
as we moved further in we were floored by the beauty of the landscape in front of us:
Recognize this place? And can you distinguish what's protruding underneath the snow?:
That's right it's a truck!
The fire-road is pretty much gone -- the only thing that's left is a fairly narrow trail:
It also got pretty icy around this area and we strapped on our crampons (so far no need for snowshoes).
Here's what the register box looked like:
And finally the Ski Hut trail (quite a different from what we are used to
There were a lot of skiers and they had a blast judging by their tracks:
Ski Hut Trail has changed quite a bit since the last time we were there -- it's a little more "direct" now
Looking back:
Wonderland:
Taco Sauce:
Got snow?
maybe a bit too much?
I had a permanent grin attached to my face all day long
Break time:
Heading down:
Quick note: bring a helmet -- we were under constant bombardment by the rime ice falling from the trees and some of the chunks are HUGE! I took couple of hits on my helmet and I was really glad it wasn't my head.
The fun ended right after we arrived back at the Manker Flats -- it was a complete and utter debacle -- I have never seen so many people there and they were all going wild. Police towing cars, tickets issued, stuck vehicles, traffic and pure chaos:
There were cars everywhere -- no parking left, and more and more people kept pouring in! The same picture was unfolding in the Village:
Finally we are out and here's a look back at the wonderland:
I am ready to go back! It was awesome (minus the traffic of course).
