EISPIRATEN

Setting: Gorgonio Wilderness from Forest Falls to - Fri 9pm to Sun 1pmish.

My last TR was pretty wordy. Let's see if I can just break it down to the fine points.

- Left trailhead parking lot around 9pm Friday after one of the strangest experiences of my life at Golden Donuts Inn in Redlands on the way over

- Mill creek crossing was a piece of cake

- Switchbacks seemed much shorter with someone to talk to on the way up...were mostly clear of snow due to sun exposure

- passed a few blokes in the dark camping/setting up camp as we passed along the Vivian Creek campsites. Snow coverage close to 100% at this elevation in the valley.

- set up tent around 7400 feet along the trail, dug small snow pit under vestible with new BD transfer 3 (very happy with this small shovel) No wind, so no guys needed. Had snow anchors, but didn't need them. Snow was hard enough for aluminum stakes to hold.





- in the bags around 1130pm, woke up quite late (my friend wasn't big on the early starts, so we were just taking it easy. As I advised, we'd pay for this later)



- left the main trail towards Gorgonio around 7450 feet and headed up towards Dobbs Peak summit, with plans to camp on the slight saddle just east of the summit

- as we progressed, temperatures rose and the slush-fest began. So much energy was wasted battling the slush VS just climbing. My kingdom for the 4am start...



- slope seemed to average about 35 degrees...was not as bad near the Vivian Creek trail, was steeper in spots closer to 10,000 feet





- as we approached campsite at 10,300 feet, the snow was hard crusted from the wind and easier going.





- Matt was sick and exhausted, so he took a rest on his pad while I dug a big pit, set the tent up in the direction I thought made sense (no wind at this point, observed markings in snow instead), and started melting snow for us both (two stoves rockin yeah!).





- he was in the bag by 530pm feeling funky, I was dehydrated from the last leg of the ascent (of course), ended up throwing up dinner in the pot I boiled the water in. Nice! Was a nice half liter frozen disc of water/Buffalo Chx in the morning - had to slam it against a tree in the morning to shatter it.

- the wind was upset we didn't invite it for the chicken hurl, so it showed up anyway and tried to break my MSR Dragontail in half. We woke up to howling gusts and fine ice raining down on us through the screen above.

- Turns out I set it up perpendicular to the wind in error. Wind had to be gusting at 50 mph, blowing old snow in my vents and sifting it through the upper screen. Pushed snow out and closed the vents, then tried to get some sleep.

- one of the tensioners came undone on the guy line...side facing the wind. I'm amazed at the abuse my tent took, at times I'd wake up and think a train was bearing down on us. Too cool/scary.

- I wanted to summit Jepson or Gorgonio the next morning, but Matt was not feeling so hot.



- We settled for a picture on the ridge (I'm smiling, he's not. That kinda sums up the trip)



- Camped was packed up, and we headed back down the way we came. We went slower than I would have liked, but I should slow down and enjoy the view anyway.







- as the sun warmed the snow, we decided to take off the crampons for a standing glissade. Worked well except for the post-hole into a bush here and there. This is a fast way down, but really burns your quad muscles.



Things learned this trip:

1. The Osprey Variant 52 is such a badass pack. I would make out with it if I could. Very functional.

2. Best 29 bucks ever spent - thermarest z-lite small pad. Weighs nothing, insulates from the snow, great seat on the snow while pumping water or resting.

3. EARLY EARLY EARLY.

4. Going solo is more dangerous, but allows you to do exactly what you want, which is nice. You do miss out on the chit-chat, though.

5. MSR pocket rocket/whisperlite are really just 3 season stoves (without some major windshielding or something) Looking into MSR reactor if I win the lottery, took forever to melt snow/boil water in the cold and wind.

6. So happy with my tent. We set it up in just about the worst possible spot on the saddle, with the wrong angle to the wind, no real snow wall to block wind, guy line came untied, and it still told that crazy wind to go to hell. Only complaint is you have to be careful not to forget the vents if they are positioned poorly with respect to the snow blowing around.

Nice trip report Burchey. We just had occasional strong gusts where we were camped. I am glad it wasn't like at your camp! Though someone in our group had a windscreen and a pair of gaitors blow away during the night, luckily the gaitors were found a short distance away.

Good to hear your tent held up, I guess you don't know till you get to use it in crazy weather how good it is. About the vents being open, I had the pockets of my pants open when I went to the summit and they were half full of snow when I got back down.

Burchey wrote: ↑Left trailhead parking lot around 9pm Friday after one of the strangest experiences of my life at Golden Donuts Inn in Redlands on the way over

Well, i'm glad you love your tent so much and that it worked well, sorry about the up-chuck and the summitless trip, but pleaseeeee, i can't take the suspense about the Golden Donuts experience??? Do tell...

About the vents being open, I had the pockets of my pants open when I went to the summit and they were half full of snow when I got back down.

I can imagine, it was windier than a beast out there. Is windier even a word? More windy? Anyway, without goggles and a scarf, I wouldn't have gone anywhere above where we camped that day.

Well, i'm glad you love your tent so much and that it worked well, sorry about the up-chuck and the summitless trip, but pleaseeeee, i can't take the suspense about the Golden Donuts experience??? Do tell...

Have you been there before? It's the one right off the 10 on Orange. I really can't describe it, let's just say it involved a few ex-cons, some rancid coffee, a grumpy Asian lady with a bluetooth ear piece, and some (suspected) drug use in a makeshift bathroom.

Good God.

Nice work Burchey and (I'm not smiling), thanks for the great TR and pictures.

Awesome, a trip report and gear review all rolled into one. I've been looking at that Variant 52 for a while now. The price is coming down quite a bit, and I need a winter pack.

dude, i loved your TR! i literally laughed out loud when i read the line about yacking the buff chix back into the bowl, classic!

mmm...donuts.

Cool.

Dig that video of the wind beatdown.

Love the videos. Totally entertaining trip report. Had a great mental picture of you trying to pry frozen puke out of a pot.

Thanks for all the kind words, guys. I enjoy mixing a little current conditions with lessons learned with humor and stories of stomach unrest. It's the spice of life.

Variant 52 - I'm an Osprey pack guy, and this is my favorite so far. Every part of it has a purpose, and the size is perfect for a weekend of alpine climbing. My only complaint is that I miss the little zippered pockets on the hip belt that my Atmos 50 had, but it is leaps beyond the Atmos in every other way. More durable, better options (crampon/shovel pocket, ax attachments, etc), super compressible. Got mine here for CHEAP - medium size fit perfectly, and I'm 6'2". No tax, maybe no shipping.

https://www.alpenglowgear.com/gear/inde ... 2rdirpssm4

Wind - The wind in that video was pleasant - I wish we had crawled out of the bag to tape the middle of the night. Ridiculous. THere's something nice about being out in that and a little scared, it reminds you that you're alive, I think.

Chicken Hurl - It was so horrible and awesome at the same time. We're sitting up with legs in sleeping bags, trying to eat this Mountain House Buffalo Chx and some tortillas. My stomach feels off, I take a couple quick last bites, set it down in the pit, zip up the door get down in my bag, INSTANTLY try to jump back out while unzipping the door...looked around at all the gear in the snow pit, and decided it was time for my poor little aluminum pot. It's so dented up now from banging it on the tree, but I think I'll try to hammer it out and keep it. I've had it for 5 or 6 years, we've got a history.

Beautiful... now my desktop picture, nice.

outwhere wrote: ↑Beautiful... now my desktop picture, nice.

Thanks. I really like this one two, same general area, different trip

Nice TR, Burchey! I got a good laugh.
Consider a waterproof bag cover to keep your down sleeping bag dry from condensation or driving snow.
Cheers.

He219 wrote: ↑Nice TR, Burchey! I got a good laugh.
Consider a waterproof bag cover to keep your down sleeping bag dry from condensation or driving snow.
Cheers.

Thanks Jackson, I appreciate the tip on the cover. I'm torn, though.

I've had my Big Agnes Storm King for 6.5 years now (zero degree bag supposedly) and it's been great, but the cover is not wind/water resistant or proof, and the extra room that I love inside is also tough to keep warm sometimes.

I'm considering upgrading to another bag, maybe smaller in the cut, with a shell that is already wind/water resistant/proof. Those bags get pretty expensive pretty quick, though. Big Agnes/MH/etc make them, but are they worth the dough?

GOtta win that lottery.

What a fun trip, I grew up in Forest Falls my whole life so those mountains are my backyard. It was fun to see your photos and recognize my old haunts. I should move back there... Have you looked into a jetboil? My brother has one and with a windshield I had boiling water in 2 minutes during a very windy and very cold and drizzly day in Jtree... And you won't have to win the lottery to afford it either

Nice trip; nice TR!

Very motivating. I need to get off my lazy butt and get out the winter gear and get out. Now, we just need some winter.

Re the Pocket Rocket stove, yep, that's pretty much a three season, fair weather stove although there are tricks like putting the canister in a pan of water to keep the fuel vaporizing. Be really freaking careful if you use a wind screen with one. A windscreen can turn an upright canister stove into a hand grenade. It'd be uglier than buff chx hurl!

Re the Wind Pro stove (I think you called it a Whisperlite, but that's a Wind Pro in the photo), it's actually a more capable stove in the cold if you invert the canister. I've been doing a "Stove of the Week" series here on the Forum. At the urging of members of this forum, I'm going to focus on four season stoves for the next several weeks. I'll make sure to post on the Wind Pro and perhaps its sister the Rapidfire.

If you're serious about wanting an MSR Reactor, I've got one for sale. It's basically brand new. I picked it up at an REI parking lot sale. Looks like someone just got "buyers remorse" and turned it back in. I can knock fifty or sixty bucks off MSRP. Lemme know.

HJ

cool blog Jim, interesting and helpful....and I love the matching headlights.

bluerail wrote: ↑cool blog Jim, interesting and helpful....and I love the matching headlights.

Yeah, my daughter thinks that old beat up headlamp is the neatest toy ever. It ranks right up there with Wa-wa her little toy doggie and Usagi her little toy bunny.

Glad you like the blog. I've got several more weeks of posts coming up on four season stoves. Hopefully, some of what I'm writing will at least get people to thinking about the dynamics of stoves in the backcountry and maybe result in people that are better prepared and have trips with less hassle. When it's 17 out and the wind is blowing, the last thing you want is to realize that you brought a stove that can't handle it.

Schedule of four season stove posts:
1. Coleman Xtreme (for 1/22/2011)
2. MSR Simmerlite (for 1/29/2011)
3. MSR Wind Pro (for 2/5/2011)
4. Borde stove (for 2/12/2011)
5. MSR XGK II (for 2/19/2011)
6. MSR Reactor (for 2/26/2011)

That takes us up through the end of February. If anyone is seriously thinking about getting a four season stove on my list and it's still a couple of weeks out, let me know, and I can re-arrange things a bit; no problem.

HJ