South Hawkins ridge 3/6-unplanned bivy (18 pictures)

[AW~]

Started off good, getting to the bridge to nowhere in 1 hour 30 or 8:30am. Up the ridge ending at approx 11:30 am..good views all around. I could either continue up to the ridge a few hundred feet with some bushwaking to see pk 6327 or make an attempt at the Iron Fork. It would be the latter that put me in an awkward position.

First, losing elevation after sometime was a major hell bushwack. I ended up exactly where I need to be at 1-1:30 pm...except for the Iron Fork raging mad water. It was slow going and I got to the San Gabriel river at about 5:00 pm.

After a couple of river crossings, I knew I wasnt going to make it in the dark..the water was simply too much without sight. I was able to sneak into the most minimal shelter, and passed the inital downtime playing cell phone games and reviewing my pictures.

I was able to sleep for an hour at a time, thankfully. It was raining and cold. The next morning, a slow transition to mobility and off down the river. When I got to the crux of the narrows, I was in some kind of trouble since I was missing about 2ft of getting a handhold in the rock. I let go of my backpack, then tried to close the distance. I didnt make it since it was too slippery, but a wave pushed me up and back where I needed to be.

I kept both eyes out for my stuff, but it was gone. Got back to the car after all the new people going to the bridge, including a group of like 40 people.

Islip canyon, burnt in the Morris fire


SG river, after the bridge


up


more up


bridge below


Iron Mtn(or part of it) with Airplane Flats lower left


Looking up canyon towards Pine Mtn


dude came back to check me out


SG river/Narrows


up(although there is a goat trail)


big bad pk 6327


Copter ridge left, Ross Mtn right


Ross pk 5995


Looking up on the way down to Iron Fork(dangerous)


Iron Fork


San Gabriel river(and sadness)


next day, BTN canyon


Iron Mtn

[HikeUp]

Jeebus.

[Sam Page]

Sounds miserable, but perhaps retrospectively pleasurable.

I didn't understand this:

"When I got to the crux of the narrows, I was in some kind of trouble since I was missing about 2ft of getting a handhold in the rock. I let go of my backpack, then tried to close the distance. I didn't make it since it was too slippery, but a wave pushed me up and back where I needed to be."

[AW~]

Sounds miserable, but perhaps retrospectively pleasurable.

I didn't understand this:

"When I got to the crux(narrowest and most technical part) of the narrows, I was in some kind of trouble since I was missing about 2ft of getting a handhold in the rock. I let go of my backpack, then tried to close the distance. I didn't make it since it was too slippery, but a wave pushed me up and back where I needed to be."

Heres the video of the crux during normal highwater
http://tinyurl.com/y9ywm8q
In this case however the water was about 2-3ft higher. There are fingerholds in the rock that allow one to monkey across, but there is one stretch in particular that its kind of a reach if the water were to be too high. One of the straps on my pack had snapped from going down to the river from the ridge, thus with the lower part of my body in the water and the backpack creating a big force to pull me down, I had to let it go. What I should have done is try to bypass the crux completely. Theres a path thats gains height just before and at worse have given me a rappel to deal with.

The overnight could have went better, but almost everything I had was wet. I had a neatsheet which was icky wet, but not soaked so that it still blocked out the rain,wind, and cold. The inside of my nomex/kevlar jacket was still dry so it was generating a lot of heat. Only problem was my legs, which would cramp up every hour of sleep from being cuddled in to me.

A couple of videos of the fork
http://www.flickr.com/photos/13833920@N03/

[Ze Hiker]

you crazy

[edenooch]

now epics like this is what i like to see. Great report.
That river looks roarin

[Zach]

Navigating the narrows during rainy season?!! You'd be better off with a kayak. You got balls of steel!

[realshafer]

I've always been curious how to get up out of the canyon near the bridge to nowhere. At what point did you start climbing the ridge? Is there a trail? Also, how did you get back down into Iron Fork? Trail? Bonzai? Thanks.

[AW~]

I've always been curious how to get up out of the canyon near the bridge to nowhere. At what point did you start climbing the ridge? Is there a trail? Also, how did you get back down into Iron Fork? Trail? Bonzai? Thanks.

No, this ridge is climbed to before the bridge to nowhere, not after it...by going down to the river downstream of the bridge and then across to the burn area.There is no 'trail', just a use path and it doesnt go straight up.

Forget about the part of going down to the Fork,the ridge is scenic enough in San Gabriel standards and so the rest of my trip report ruins that unfortunately.

[realshafer]

Thanks, next time I go there I'll look for that "burn area."