EISPIRATEN

Took Lucy the hiking dog up Register Ridge starting at 1 PM sharp.

Made the Summit of Harwood right at 3:30 PM wind was slighlty strong when we started, calmed down for about an hour + then came in again with a vengence at the ridgeline near the summit. Does anyone know of a site that can give wind speeds on summits? Wanted to know what the gusts were clocked at between 3:30 and 3:45 PM. It's the closest I've come to being knocked over by the wind in all my days of hiking - I was guessing 60 + mph?

The gust were so strong that it lifted Lucy off her feet twice completely - she is just under 40 lbs. Two seconds later my eye glasses and hat went for a ride - so I decide not to continue onto the Summit of Baldy - just touched the summit of Harwood and got the hell out of there.

The snow is melting fast - didn't need crampons until the last 100 yards below the junction with Devil's Backbone Trail and Register Ridge Trail. Some very icy sections at this point but plenty of ways to avoid the snow and ice so I didn't bother putting them on - the summit was mostly clear of snow.

Want to thank all those who gave me information on the Register Ridge route and will post pictures tomorrow - still have a Red Shift going on with my point and shoot camera - it's making all the snow look pink or red.

Made it back to the car before dark settled in at 5:30 PM - views of Catalina, San Clemente Island were fantastic - thought I could see an even smaller island further south but do not know what it's name is?

Enjoy, lilbitmo

lilbitmo wrote:...- views of Catalina, San Clemente Island were fantastic - thought I could see an even smaller island further south but do not know what it's name is?

I don't know of any Islands south of San Clemente except maybe Isla Guadalupe. Galapagos ( ) ???

Probably the Coronados, only 32 k from San Diego.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coronado_Islands
At one time (~1986 or so) there was an attempt to swim from then from Coronado CA but winds and currents ruined it. I knew some who tried.

Ya learn something new every day around here.

The Palos Verdes Penninsula, Catalina, and San Clemente are large, lined up pretty much north-south, and pretty evenly spaced. The Coronados are tiny, a lot farther away, way off to the east, and (I believe) pretty well blocked by the Santa Ana mountains. (From Baldy, they should be in the direction of Santiago Peak.) They are south of San Clemente, but they're a lot further east of San Clemente. They're about as far from San Clemente as San Clemente is from Baldy. Anyway, my eyes are not good enough to see them from the San Gabriels.

Patrick - Didn't somebody tell you it'd be windy up there? 8)

The wind was pretty bad on Saturday also. I hope you had Lucy on her leash tied back to you so she wouldn't fly too far. Dogs generally work better with all four paws on the ground.

Did you get a chance to do your section of the PCT on saturday?

!EnFuego

1) Whatever Island (knob, Atol, Dot) it was, it was very far away, the sun was casting a silhouette just enough to make something out. Not sure what it was, just mentioned it becuase I was only able to make out the two larger Islands on past trips up to the top of Baldy on clear days.

2) Unlike most dogs on the mountain Lucy is always tied into me - 6 foot leash with bungie type springy material in it to give her some play in tight corners without putting to much pressure on her neck.

3) The Weather Channel (online version) indicated that the winds would taper off to 9 miles an hour by 3 PM - obviously I don't trust that completely but wanted to get out anyway.

4) The guy going with me on the PCT had to go out of town at the last minute and the other guy I was supposed to hike with was throwing rocks down a chute at Taco and practicing his "Resue Skills" with Alex.

But it was a great hike - anytime I can get out is a good day no matter what - Lucy's great company, she doesn't complain about the trail I choose, how long we are on the trail, what food I bring, how dark it's getting, and what time we start - like me, she just wants to be out there.