EISPIRATEN

Hiked up to Mt. Williamson (as marked on USGS maps - i.e. 8214') from Islip Saddle after an initial half-hearted attempt at getting to Mt. Islip. Too much steep snow on the way to Islip but the trail to Mt. Williamson was much more negotiable.

Microspikes made crossing the snow patches relatively easy. I bypassed a really large and steep patch of snow by heading a couple hundred feet straight uphill to reconnect with the trail on Williamson's south ridge.

The PCT is in great shape when not covered by snow. Wind made it kind of chilly, but otherwise it was a perfect day in the mountains.

Pics.

Lots of snow still...


Looks like a helicopter landed on top recently...

Nice views. I love that area. ACH is open to Islip Saddle without any conditions, right?

TacoDelRio wrote:ACH is open to Islip Saddle without any conditions, right?

Not exactly.

ACH is closed from La Canada to Red Box (the turn off to Mt. Wilson).

You have to go up Big Tujunga to Angeles Forest Highway (AFH), north to Upper Big Tujunga (aka 9 mile road?), turn right to get to Angeles Crest Highway (ACH) then east on ACH to Islip Saddle (turn west to get to Red Box/Mt. Wilson).

ACH is currently closed between Islip Saddle and Vincent Gap (the normal winter closure).

Newcombs Ranch parking lot was packed to the max with motorcycles today.

Long friggin drive.

Nice area. One of my favs. Nice to know that one can get back in there albeit by a tortuous route.

HJ

I was up there Saturday night attempting to do an overnighter on Williamson but was turned back after encountering a large patch of snow right before the saddle. We made it past the first patches of snow. I wish we had brought our microspikes. On an interesting note, we bumped into PCT's Billy Goat along with 4 others camped out when we got back to Islip Saddle!

Wow, the Billy Goat. He's supposed to be quite the character. I wonder how many freakin' times he's going to do the PCT.

HJ

taktical wrote:I was up there Saturday night attempting to do an overnighter on Williamson but was turned back after encountering a large patch of snow right before the saddle. We made it past the first patches of snow. I wish we had brought our microspikes.

I'm guessing the patch that stopped you was the one I bypassed by heading straight up a scree slope, hoping I'd intersect the trail again as it gained the south ridge - fortunately it did. Even with Microspikes I wouldn't have attempted to cross that particular snow patch - there was no end in sight and it was rather steep.

Camping up there sounds like a great idea - anywhere along Pleasant View Ridge would be an awesome place to camp I think.

Hikin_Jim wrote:Wow, the Billy Goat. He's supposed to be quite the character. I wonder how many freakin' times he's going to do the PCT.

HJ

Unfortunately, I didn't get to ask the Billy much since he was already getting ready for bed in his bivy. According to 2 others who was camping with him, it was his 9th time up the PCT. Their main concerns were bypassing the burned areas of the ANF and the lingering snow in the local mtns. and the Sierras.

HikeUp wrote:

taktical wrote:I was up there Saturday night attempting to do an overnighter on Williamson but was turned back after encountering a large patch of snow right before the saddle. We made it past the first patches of snow. I wish we had brought our microspikes.

I'm guessing the patch that stopped you was the one I bypassed by heading straight up a scree slope, hoping I'd intersect the trail again as it gained the south ridge - fortunately it did. Even with Microspikes I wouldn't have attempted to cross that particular snow patch - there was no end in sight and it was rather steep.

Camping up there sounds like a great idea - anywhere along Pleasant View Ridge would be an awesome place to camp I think.

Yeah. We bypassed a few early on and broke trail on a few others, but the one you bypassed to hit the south trail sounds like the one that stopped us. To think about it, I agree with you. I wouldn't have done it even with my microspikes. The down slope was really steep.

One of the nicest XC loops in the San Gabriels starts at the west Mt. Williamson trailhead, heads up to Williamson, then curves along Pleasant View Ridge to Burkhart Saddle, takes the High Desert Trail to the PCT, follows the PCT to Eagles Roost, and then finally follows the PCT east back to the west Mt. Williamson trailhead. Here's a map. There's a good campsite (quite a few actually) on the un-named peak between Pallet Mountain and Mt. Williamson at point "G" on the map. There's no water of course, but if there's snow, then lack of running water isn't as big of an issue.

The problem with the loop is that the section of the PCT from the High Desert Trail to Eagles Roost is closed to protect some frogs (Points "M", "N", "O", and "P",), but with a relatively short car shuttle, you could come out at either Buckhorn ("T") or Cloudburst Summit ("Y"). If you do come out at Cloudburst Summit, skip the first section of the PCT after Cooper Canyon Trailcamp and just take the dirt road ("U", "V", and "W"). The PCT is stupidly routed through here. The upper section of the PCT isn't too bad ("W", "X", and "Y").

Cooper Canyon Falls is a really nice spot, by the way, although it's a scramble to get down to the base of the falls.

HJ

Hikin_Jim wrote:One of the nicest XC loops in the San Gabriels starts at the west Mt. Williamson trailhead, heads up to Williamson, then curves along Pleasant View Ridge to Burkhart Saddle, takes the High Desert Trail to the PCT, follows the PCT to Eagles Roost, and then finally follows the PCT east back to the west Mt. Williamson trailhead. Here's a map. There's a good campsite (quite a few actually) on the un-named peak between Pallet Mountain and Mt. Williamson at point "G" on the map. There's no water of course, but if there's snow, then lack of running water isn't as big of an issue.

The problem with the loop is that the section of the PCT from the High Desert Trail to Eagles Roost is closed to protect some frogs (Points "M", "N", "O", and "P",), but with a relatively short car shuttle, you could come out at either Buckhorn ("T") or Cloudburst Summit ("Y"). If you do come out at Cloudburst Summit, skip the first section of the PCT after Cooper Canyon Trailcamp and just take the dirt road ("U", "V", and "W"). The PCT is stupidly routed through here. The upper section of the PCT isn't too bad ("W", "X", and "Y").

Cooper Canyon Falls is a really nice spot, by the way, although it's a scramble to get down to the base of the falls.

HJ

Thanks for the recommendation and 411! Gotta definitely attempt this or a variation of this. Much thanks!