Idlehour/Mt Lowe Overnighter

palmeredhackle · Post by **palmeredhackle** » Sun Aug 19, 2012 8:09 pm

Hey guys,
I'm thinking of going for a quick overnight up either Idlehour or Mt Lowe Trail Camps. I was curious if there were any rules about where to park and if there was any history of crime (ie: break-ins) for cars obviously left overnight down below. Could anyone chime in on that? Thanks!

PackerGreg · Post by **PackerGreg** » Mon Aug 20, 2012 4:54 am

I've never had any problems. If I go by way of the Cobb Estate & Echo Mountain I don't park on Lake Ave, I park half a block or more down Loma Alta so that it looks like the car belongs to a house, but not as far as the school. Plus I park under a street light and I don't leave any clues in the car that I am hiking/camping. Millard Canyon/Sunset Ridge requires an Adventure Pass but they lock the gate below at 8:00 pm and the sheriff deputies usually patrol the parking areas before locking up, so it's relatively safe.

palmeredhackle · Post by **palmeredhackle** » Mon Aug 20, 2012 8:52 am

Awesome thanks for the reply, I appreciate it. Conflicted about heading up that area or going higher and maybe staying at Kelly.

Post by **Hikin_Jim** » Tue Aug 21, 2012 8:17 am

FWIW, I've been going high lately since it's been pretty hot. I was actually too cool Saturday morning where I camped near Buckhorn. I had to bundle up my daughter just a bit.

HJ

palmeredhackle · Post by **palmeredhackle** » Tue Aug 21, 2012 7:38 pm

Jim, I always share your photos of Joyce with my girlfriend. She's in love with your daughter, she's just too cute!

I was up near Buckhorn with the girlfriend actually on Sunday. Drove through to see how it was, and it was not terribly crowded. I was seriously surprised.

Well, I ended up not going the Lowe/Idlehour way and decided to go up IHC to Kelly Camp. Hooked up with my dad, but it seems between the heat and the lack of recently climbing with a heavy pack, he decided he wasn't going to be able to comfortably make it up for the night. We came back down and after parting ways I decided to head up with what little light I had left to Hoegee's for the night.

It was relatively warm but got decently chilly. I had a very jampacked evening of animal life, a fox was on top of the table next to where I had my hammock set up and out past him I could see the glowing from the eyes of his companions up the hill. Some weird growling critter was walking around near me inspecting the area and I do believe my neighbors down by the old cement foundation had a run in with a bear. Could have been something smaller, but it had enough force to pull some heavy sounding stuff off their table. I was glad I was somewhat far away from them and that all my smellies were hanging in the tree!

Post by **Hikin_Jim** » Wed Aug 22, 2012 10:41 am

palmeredhackle wrote: ↑Jim, I always share your photos of Joyce with my girlfriend. She's in love with your daughter, she's just too cute!

Thanks, bro. She's really a sweet little girl. Don't know how we got her; God must have smiled on us.

I was up near Buckhorn with the girlfriend actually on Sunday. Drove through to see how it was, and it was not terribly crowded. I was seriously surprised.

It wasn't 100% packed on Saturday, but it was pretty full. I bet a lot of people had already left by the time you drove through.

Sorry to hear your dad didn't make it to Kellys. Cedar Glen (same trailhead) is nice and is a lot easier to get to.

Glad you got to Hoagies. It's a regular haunt of humans, so I figure it's best to take "critter precautions."

HJ