Let me preface this by saying, I'm the sort of hiker who is attracted to going off the beaten path, quite literally. I am attracted to obscurity, and finding one's own route: I am drawn to the unnoticed and the untrodden. The first hike I ever went on was 4 years old crashing into the Maine woods to find the Easter Bunny and the rest of the holiday icons my parents said lived on this unnamed hill I could see from my bedroom window. That experience of stepping into the woods not knowing what might be ahead and wondering if I would come across Santa Claus waiting out the summer in a cabin is the dragon I've chased ever since.
The trail up from the Colby Camp camp was what I have become accustomed to - an obscure and underused, underfunded, overlooked corner of the mountains where few others have interest in going or know exists. My kind of place.
But then the Strawberry Peak trail, and the use trail ascending the west ridge to the summit, was very different. I've never hiked anything like the west ridge of Strawberry Peak before - an unofficial use trail, traversing very difficult (and very fun if you are up for it) class 3 scrambling along an exposed ridge line. What was really unique is how many people were up there doing it - on a chilly, blustery sunday in November we came upon like 20 people doing this thing. They were a remarkable diversity of ages, races, body types, etc. There were trail runners without shirts, teenagers with their friends, asians with go-pros strapped to their heads, Korean retirees, latin americans, etc. I have no idea how much experience any of these people had, as I didn't ask them. All going up this informal use trail with sustained class 3 rock scrambling. It was a unique experience for me, and I'm not sure how many routes are out there like this in Angeles and beyond.
I'm going to focus on a particular group of women who were hiking together. Must have been 8-10 of them. In their 40s and 50s, maybe older, variety of body types, variety of clothing and gear. They were speaking Spanish to each other, so probably latino of some kind. I haven't really seen a group like this out on a serious mountain before, and CERTAINLY not on a route like this one. They were moving quite a bit more slowly then me, and I bushwhacked around them. Not going to lie, at the time I was questioning "wether they should be there" in my mind. Of course I didn't say anything, but I did think it. They *must* be in over their heads. Didn't realize what they were getting themselves into. They could hurt themselves, etc etc. They will have to turn around, which will be dangerous as well. What a zoo this place is. The dangers of 'viral' instagram routes...
I make it to the summit after some pretty intensive class three scrambling. It was no joke, serious climbing. I eat lunch, chill with JeffH, nerd out identifying peaks, etc.
30 minutes later, guess what?
The whole group of women arrive at the summit. I was surprised and impressed, and wished them congratulations.
In fact all of the diverse people we encountered on the way up summited.
Its a good reminder that the gatekeeper mentality when it comes to the outdoors, often cloaked with the word 'safety', is real and can effect any of us. A safe and capable hiker crushing challenging routes doesn't need to be a slender white guy in technical pants who uses CalTopo. An Ice Pirate can be anyone who loves exploring the mountains. Its only a question of who they are, not what.
I'm glad on Sunday I uncharacteristically took the road more travelled, staying on the beaten path, to be reminded of it.
Peace!
