EISPIRATEN

just put a trip report up on my blog. we got out to mt wilson trail yesterday. conditions are solid - mudslides are all cleaned up, tons of water flowing at the usual parts, and temps were in the high 60's all the way up. the mt wilson toll road had some damage from the storm, with a couple HUGE trees blocking it in parts, but overall the day was fun and the trail is more than usable. i posted the pics and specs here:

http://pasadenahiker.wordpress.com/2011 ... rra-madre/

Thanks for the TR. Any snow or ice left in the shady parts up high?

good to know. i'll probably head up there tomorrow

Thanks for the TR. Any snow or ice left in the shady parts up high?

Not so much. A little bit on the north side of Wilson road (the part where you can see Baldy clearly) but nothing that is difficult to pass.

Have fun tomorrow, Ze, and let me know how your hike goes. There were like 20 or 30 guys in orange suits clearing out the brush around the antennas. I'd be curious to know if they're still up there and how that all looks tomorrow. Seemed like a big operation.

Your Garmin readout states that the elevation gain is close to 6000'. Do you feel this is correct?

The reason I ask is that I recently did a hike near Idlehour with someone who also had a Garmin and that read 6200' gain where the guidebook stated 4100'.

Hey Terry-
I think my Garmin is calculating elevation gained is not just ground to summit... but also includes when the trail goes down and then back up again. This way, there'd be approx a bit over 4,000 feet of the actual elevation change plus the up's and down's on the trail (which certainly has some good ups and downs). What do you think? Does this sound accurate?

The elevation of the trailhead in Sierra Madre is at a bit below 1000' and the summit (say, the gazebo) is just over 5700'. So, the net gain is between 4700' and 4800'. A GPS provides total elevation gain/loss, which is greater due to ups and downs in the trail. This particular trail is pretty relentless, so there is not too much downhill on the way up or vice versa.

I looked at TOPO! traces from a few of my Mt. Wilson Trail hikes. Elevation gain/loss varies because I sometimes wander around on the summit. But generally, the total gain/loss on my traces is about 5000'.

That said, I have occasionally had my GPS report unreasonably large elevation gain/loss. One cause is spurious points on the track. For example, if your GPS has a point that is down a cliff, you will see a bunch of extra elevation loss without the corresponding bruises and broken bones.

Good call, Alan. I bet you're totally right. 5000 vertical definitely seems more accurate to me, especially judging by how my knees felt the following day