Baldy Notch water?

[Bill]

Ok. I shelved the idea of hiking from Westfork San Gabriel through Crystal lake to Baden Powell, and on to Wrightwood for now. (area closures)
A future hike might include the components of the "Silver moccasin" trail outlined in the Trails of the Angeles 8) I think maybe next June.

But for now, the current plan is a 3 day 2 night hike, starting from Middle fork Lytle creek to Icehouse saddle, and the 3 T's. Then proceeding to Baldy notch, devils backbone, and on to Mt Baldy. From there proceeding north to Dawson, Pine, and Wright, finishing in Wrightwood. (Probably mid September) One last hike before cold weather sets in!
Water will be an issue.
Is water available at Baldy notch?
I know there are some streams along the way, but from previous experience, it's pretty darn dry from Baldy to Wrightwood.
Thankyou in advance for your input!

[FIGHT ON]

Ok. I shelved the idea of hiking from Westfork San Gabriel through Crystal lake to Baden Powell, and on to Wrightwood for now. (area closures)
A future hike might include the components of the "Silver moccasin" trail outlined in the Trails of the Angeles 8) I think maybe next June.

But for now, the current plan is a 3 day 2 night hike, starting from Middle fork Lytle creek to Icehouse saddle, and the 3 T's. Then proceeding to Baldy notch, devils backbone, and on to Mt Baldy. From there proceeding north to Dawson, Pine, and Wright, finishing in Wrightwood. (Probably mid September) One last hike before cold weather sets in!
Water will be an issue.
Is water available at Baldy notch?
I know there are some streams along the way, but from previous experience, it's pretty darn dry from Baldy to Wrightwood.
Thankyou in advance for your input!

How many miles is that anyway? How old are you? Are you hiking this alone? I'm sure there is water at Baldy Notch. Have you been on any sections of this trip before? What kind of shoes do you wear? Is that a picture of your baby and did he just see HikeUp for the first time? (I had the same reaction!) How fast do you hike? Do you complain while hiking? Do you kick ducks/cairns down when you come across them? Ever heard of Rick Kent? What parts of the smt have you been on? Why did you abandon yur westfork wrightwood hike?

[HikeUp]

Is that a picture of your baby and did he just see HikeUp for the first time? (I had the same reaction!)

That's me farting in your general direction!

[Taco]

It's dry from Baldy to Wrightwood. The only watersource I've used in between is down in Dogbone Canyon, east of Dawson. AFAIK, you're outta water as soon as you leave Lytle Creek, unless you go to Columbine Spring or something.

A hike like this would be easier in the winter during a normal week without exceptional weather. Just melt some snow, and you're good to go.

[Bill]

I'm a lot older than I appear in the photo, but not much taller! Actually I'll be fifty in January, and being technolgically challenged like I am, that was the best I could do(Never seen hikeup).
I do enjoy hiking though, and have recently been exploring many of the trails around the Wrightwood area where I live. Recently some friends and I did the Eastfork to Vincent Gap hike, as an over-nighter. (Butt whooper!) Not at a blazing pace, but I would say moderate.
I have a pair of Keens that I like alot, prior to that I tried Merrells which were OK. I mummble quietly to myself as I hike.
I did the hike from Blueridge to Baldy via the other devils back bone some years ago.
According to my Mapsource program, the hike from the Middlefork of Lytle creek to my door is 18.4 miles. I'll be hiking with the same two guys that did the Eastfork hike.
I can pick up some water along the first few miles along the stream, but it looks dry until Baldy notch. If I can fill up there, looks like it is pretty dry the rest of the way in.
Winter probablly would be better, but....
How far is that Dogbone canyon water source from Dawson?
Thanks for the input.

[Taco]

Going into Dogbone means descending Dawson Peak. It's not really an option, unless you're in an emergency. Some rappelling might be required depending on route. It's an emergency source.

Good point on the Notch, as I did not think about the restaurant/etc.

[FIGHT ON]

(Never seen hikeup)

I did once. Wanna see em? OK, He's on the top of that hill over there.

When I saw your picture it reminded me of my experience.
Do you have a camera?

Thanks for your answers.
BUT YOU FORGOT SOME!!
Do you kick ducks/cairns down when you come across them? Ever heard of Rick Kent? What parts of the smt have you been on? Why did you abandon yur westfork wrightwood hike?

[Bill]

Actually, no I don't kick em' down. One time on a hike to Whitney from the Cottonwood lakes /horseshoe meadows side I followed some of them up a scree field to a small scramble trail down to the Whitney trail. (saved my butt) otherwise I have no use for them.
No I never heard of Rick Kent.
I have'nt abandon the Westfork to Wrightwood hike, just shelved it. I do like a challenge, but that one needs more research. Another time.
I don't know that I have been on any part of the Silver moccasin trail, other than Baden Powell and I worked at Chilao flats when I worked as a fire suppression aid for LA co FD in the 80's. Looked like a formidable test as described in the 100 hikes of the Angeles (badge or no badge)
Heck of a picture of Hikeup.

[HikeUp]

Heck of a picture of Hikeup.

Why thank you good sir.

By the way...never ever listen to Fight On...he's delusional.

Sorry for the thread drift.

[Taco]

Dude, Fight On, can you be serious for a bit, please? I know you're not trying to be a bother, but he wants help.

[Bill]

Hey! I'm just happy to get a response!
For awhile there, all I was hearing was the sound of crickets!
Good info, all of it. You guys are interesting and entertaining if nothing else.
Keep up the good work,
Bill

[Hikin_Jim]

Hi, Bill,

Water shouldn't be too much of a problem along the Middle Fork of Lytle Creek. Not sure how many miles per day you plan to do, but Comanche Camp is a beautiful spot and is the closest camping area to Icehouse Saddle.

A mile or so west of Icehouse Saddle there is very reliable water at Columbine Spring. There is one spot to camp near there, but probably too small for 3 guys, and someone rolled a log into the middle of the site; you'd have to remove that.

Water will be available at the restaurant at the notch. You might call and confirm just in case they plan to shut off the water on the day/at the time you plan to be there. Not sure if water is available after hours.

There's no water from the Notch to Wrightwood, although you could cache some in advance somewhere along Blue Ridge.

Alternatively, there is a trail that leads down from a bit north of Dawson to Fish Fork. There's typically water available at Fish Fork, and you can camp there. In the morning, you'd hike to Lupine and then up the road to Blue Ridge and take the trail down Acorn Canyon. There's sometimes water about 10 minutes up the canyon from where the Acorn Canyon trail crosses the drainage after descending from Blue Ridge, but by then you're so close to Wrightwood that you might as well walk into town for a beer. I know I would.

Hope that helps,

HJ

PS Sounds like a really good hike.

[Taco]

If you're gonna cache water, you might as well cache beer. 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8)

[Hikin_Jim]

I was looking at my maps last night. You've got your work cut out for you going up from the Middle Fork of Lytle (~4000') to Baldy (~10,000').

The lack of water en route may dictate a lot of your planning.

You've got a couple of options after summiting Baldy: Going straight down the ridge over Dawson and Pine to Blue Ridge (~22 miles total for 3 days) or dropping down to Fish Fork for a good campsite and water (~30 miles for 3 days). The Fish Fork option adds around 8 miles but is a beautiful and (to my mind interesting) area.

You could hike all the way to the notch on your first day -- about 5000' of gain since you have to go over Telegraph (~9000') and something on the order of 11 miles. That's a pretty tough hike with a full pack, and the notch isn't exactly camper's paradise, but it does have water. The next day you could hike to Fish Fork (about 10 miles), camp there, and then on day 3 hike out to Wrightwood (about 9 miles). In this way, you wouldn't have to carry a lot of water, and you'd get to see some nice country.

Alternatively, you could hike to the flats on the W face of Timber the first night and camp there (~6.2 miles). You could either carry your water from the Middle Fork of Lytle Creek (yuck), make a 2 or so mile side trip to Columbine Spring for water, or you could hike in from Icehouse Saddle some time prior to your backpack and set up a water cache in advance. The second day you would hike to Baldy Notch and then climb to the summit of Baldy, camping on top (~8 miles). You'd have to carry your water from the notch or again set up a cache in advance. On the third day, you'd hike out to Wrightwood (~8 miles). You could set up an addtional water cache in advance on Blue Ridge to eliminate some weight.

Note that the above mileages are all taken from the Tom Harrison Angeles High Country Map, 1998 version.

I think it would work better with some water caches, but obviously you'd have to hike them in all in advance which would be a pain.

If you were willing to add a half day on the front end and remove a half day on the back end, you could do:
Day 1 - (half day) Trailhead to Comanche Camp, 3.8 miles, has water
Day 2 - Comanche Camp to Baldy Notch, 7 miles, has water
Day 3 - Baldy Notch to Blue Ridge, 7 miles, can easily drive in a water cache from Wrightwood.
Day 4 - (half day) Blue Ridge to Wrightwood, 4 miles, plenty of water (or beer) in Wrightwood.

[FIGHT ON]

Nah man, you crazy.

What? no Acme Map? Are you really Big Jim? Taco! somthin fishys goin on here. we need a moderator.

This post has been moderated.

[Bill]

Thanks Jim,
I like the idea of camping near Timber the first night. Is Columbine a pretty reliable source of water? What about Kellys camp?
My plan was to camp there, get water at the notch the next day and hike to Baldy. Is Baldy a good spot to camp, or should we head over to Dawson? Good idea on caching at Blueridge. Actually I was thinking of caching at Pine or Dawson a week or so in advance, but am considering the Fishfork option
Thanks again for the input
I think the beer caching is an idea, but I would have to add a couple days to the trip
[/quote]

[Hikin_Jim]

Thanks Jim,
I like the idea of camping near Timber the first night. Is Columbine a pretty reliable source of water? What about Kellys camp?
My plan was to camp there, get water at the notch the next day and hike to Baldy. Is Baldy a good spot to camp, or should we head over to Dawson? Good idea on caching at Blueridge. Actually I was thinking of caching at Pine or Dawson a week or so in advance, but am considering the Fishfork option
Thanks again for the input
I think the beer caching is an idea, but I would have to add a couple days to the trip

Columbine is extremely reliable. I was up at Kellys Camp a month and a half or so ago, and the water was flowing well out of two different pipes. Look for my Trip Report about Kellys. Not sure if they'd still be flowing.

A lot of people have camped on Baldy, so I know it can be done, but I've not done it myself. It's pretty exposed and rocky, but people have built rock walls over time to provide (minimal) wind protection.

I haven't been over to Dawson or Pine-Dawson saddle for a while but I recall tree cover. I can't recall if there were good sites or not. I don't think Baldy-Dawson saddle is good. I remember that saddle as being fairly barren.

The camp areas in Fish Fork are a) right around where the Dawson Pk Trail Meets the trail coming down from the ridge you cross en route from Lupine and b) down the canyon a little bit further that "a" above. These both used to be official trail camps. I don't know what kind of shape they're in now. I day hiked the last time I went through, and I wasn't really looking for sites.

I did crawl out on my belly and looked over the lip of the falls. I saw the water shooting out into space and felt a cool wind coming up the canyon. Pretty cool. The falls are below "a" and "b" (from above).

[Dudley Heinsbergen]

yeah im doing this (and a little farther along the PCT and Silver Moccasin trail)in early april next year because of the limited water. "spring break" (break?)


Lytle Creek to Lake Ave in Pasadena. should be fun.

i might need crampons and an ice axe if it snows this year.

[Dudley Heinsbergen]

i was on Pine Mtn in mid september last year (extremely dry) and i saw a suprising amount of water flowing down the Prarie Fork above Lupine CG

there is also a spring named Columbine on Pine Mtn ridge above Lupine according to my good buddy Tom Harrison

[Bill]

Dude! A worthy challenge for sure! Good luck 8)