EISPIRATEN

Saturday morning, I parked at Vincent Gap and headed down the gulch. I hit the trail around 0710 after the longish haul from Simi Valley. A few hikers were headed up Mount Baden-Powell as I got my gear together. Since I didn't know what to expect from the remaining snow, I opted for crampons. These turned out to be quite unnecessary. The trail down the gulch was in good shape, save for a few trivial deadfall bypasses. I cleared as much debris as I had time, patience and leverage for. There was plenty of water flowing down the guts of the gulch and a few of the normally dry side canyons were flowing as well. The stretch of trail from Vincent/Mine Gulch up to Cabin Flat presents some navigational challenges. It's choked in spots with downed trees and brush. The Prairie Fork is flowing vigorously in spots and a little tricky to get across. It is possible to stay on the north side of the fork and make a single crossing before final crossing at Cabin Flat, though this requires some minor scrambling, and lots of climbing over/under/across dead trees. Sad to say, the largest mammals I saw were squirrels. I did see tons of sheep tracks however.




General conditions near the trailhead. I started the morning in crampons, ditching them after around a half-mile.


Everybody's favorite wreck, down in Vincent Gulch.


View up Mine Gulch towards Baden-Powell's summit.


Very typical view of terrain from Vincent Gulch to Cabin Flat, around Prairie Fork.


View of Baden-Powell from Cabin Flat.


Pleasant spot for a Clif Bar and some dried fruit at Cabin Flat.


Now I know for certain where where lady bug has been.


View down Vincent Gulch towards Pine and Mount San Antonio.



Pine's long ridge and San Antonio.


GPS track and elevation plot.

Nice. Been down to where Mine Gulch comes in but haven't gone up to Cabin Flat. I'll have to check that out some time.

HJ

Great shots and TR Elwood (and his not so evil friend Jake), backside of Baldy is looking nice

Thanks for the TR! That's a whole lot of Ladybugs ..

lilbitmo wrote: ↑.. backside of Baldy is looking nice

Seriously, lookin' really nice.

If only, Mine Gulch... gimme some weather.

Really nice. Makes me want to go there! I'm sort of surprised at the lack of snow down in there - I always considered that rather inaccessible in the winter.

Oh Winter, why hast thou deserted us so soon?

Nice photos Elwood! Love that one of the back side of Baldy.

awesome tr, elwood! i feel inspired to get down that way.

Elwood, as always, great photos! You have a good eye. Thanks for posting about a trail less traveled.

Nice report and pics. If were to continue could you go to fish fork and back up to blue ridge ? Are there any streams down there that hold fish ? Thinking about a hike/Fishing trip.

tpfishnfool wrote: ↑Nice report and pics. If were to continue could you go to fish fork and back up to blue ridge ? Are there any streams down there that hold fish ? Thinking about a hike/Fishing trip.

You can go via an old trail from Lupine Campground to Little Fish Fork Camp and Fish Fork. That trail trail down into Fish Fork is pretty followable to the junction of the trail that goes to Upper Fish Fork Camp and the trail that goes up the flanks of Dawson Peak. The trail ceases to be easily followable at that point. If you're handy with maps, it's not that hard to get down to Upper Fish Fork Camp. I haven't tried going up from the aforementioned junction to Dawson Peak in a very long time, but in talking to people, the trail is a little hard to find. Might be fun if you're a good navigator.

Can't comment on fish. I've never seen any. The water in Prairie Fork has a lot of white crap in it, making the water a milky gray. Not sure how many fish would live in it.

HJ

Thanks Jim.. Getting to know that area. Love it.