Little Jimmy, first backpack trip in 25 years...

[yobtaf]

Last time I went backpacking was in The Boy Scouts. That was about 25 years ago. In the 80's I first heard the Sex Pistols and well my life was a train wreck. Years of playing in bands and touring and drinking took its toll on me. A few years ago I saw a picture of my dad and my brother on top of San Jacinto, as soon as I saw that I knew what I wanted to do. Well it has been a long road full of injuries and a bad back. I was determined to hike and backpack. Im got down about 35lbs and Im feeling good, still have some more lbs to go, but Ill get there.

Fast forward to Fathers day weekend.
My wife has never been backpacking. I told her for our 10 year wedding anniversary I wanted us to both go backpacking. So we spent a little money on some gear, rented some gear, and headed out. My little one had her last day of kindergarten on Friday then my folks took the girls and we were off. Turned off cell phone about 10am. We were on the trail coming out of Islip saddle by 1:30pm. The trip in was uneventful other than quite and beautiful sights. When we got to Little Jimmy we were the only ones there until 7pm 8) About that time two guys came in and one was very excited that his favorite spot was open. I never heard the F word so many times
The wife and I were in our tent sleeping when they showed up but it was all good. Turned out to be really nice guys. We both fell back to sleep and got up about 7am on Saturday. I got the giga power (thanks Hiking Jim blog) fired up and we had breakfast then ran the rest of the food up the tree.
We headed out to Mount Islip by 9am and passed 2 guys on the way down. Once on top we had the place all to ourselves for about 45 minutes. I signed the log, tried to find a geocache, but no luck, then headed back down towards windy gap. When we got to windy gap Mt Hawkins had us wondering what was up there. So we gave in to it calling us. I went back to the spring and filled up our water bottles then we headed up. Passed lots of trail runners. One group said they started in Wrightwood and was heading to Islip saddle Absolute monsters!
The hike up to Hawkins felt long due to the fact that we only had breakfast and a few snacks. I was hungry but determined to make it. Not really sure what time it was when we got on top, but I was bummed to find the registry was gone. We looked at the views for 15 minutes or so then headed back to the spring and back to camp. We were back at camp by 3pm. We spent a lot of time looking at the views and studying the map of the area on our day trip.
At camp we made dinner and chatted with our f'n neighbors Turns out they are both from Covina, where I am from, and one now lives in Apple Valley, where I now live. I wish I could remember both of their names (too much brain fog from the punk rock days). One guy just finished the High Sierra trail. He was full of knowledge.
After dinner it was an early bed time again. I normally get up at 330am everyday. So in bed early and sleeping in, is AWESOME! We got up about 6am and had breakfast, then hit the trail. We were back at the car about 930. My beautiful wife did trip on the way out and fell, she scraped her leg, but mostly hurt her ego. I felt so bad She is ok. We got home and didnt turn on our phones till about 1pm 8) We hiked a total of 14 miles
Awesome weekend thanks to the TR's here and the helpful people here. We rented an REI half dome, really nice tent, kinda heavy. I rented a trekker 1.75 foam pad, didnt work for me. Still a bit fat, and back didnt like it. I will ask questions in the gear forum for suggestions. This was my first time with a internal frame pack. I got a Gregory Z55 from the Rei discount page, and it was awesome. I still have my REI external frame pack from the 80's. The wife used the REI flash 50. She is very short and this pack worked great. We bought a Gregory Deva XS but it was just over 5lbs for a XS pack So we took it back and kept the flash.

Ok onto the pics!
Hot spot!

Almost there

I saw this sign on my first trip when I was 14 or so.

Yummy water, we did use a steripen, but we were told its safe to drink

Dinner hydrating, waiting to make some hot chocolate

Making breakfast, still a little tired

heading out to Islip



Where is that geocache...

That is one ugly dude!

This sign makes it look as if Vincent gap is past Crystal lake, maybe Im cazy

Ok Mt Hawkins I hear ya...



Made it

heading back down

Back at little jimmy and the boy scouts have arrived

Heading home



still ugly, just not as plump

Mt Islip

You know you honk too

Hwy 2

Home... for now!


What a great trip! We didnt see any rattle snakes but we heard a few people did. They make me scream like a little girl.
Until next time! Cheers!

[Uncle Rico]

Nice! Congrats on a great trip.

[shreddy]

Great pics and fun trip report. The trail runners up there were training for the Angeles Crest 100 mile Endurance Run in late July. That water at Little Jimmy's is so good I bottled some up on Sunday to take home. It's in my fridge waiting to be enjoyed! Nice to hear you had a good time and congrats!

[jfr]

Nice TR! It's always good to see someone (re-)discover backpacking.

I camped at Little Jimmy once myself, about ten years ago, and that water was truly excellent. I'm thinking of heading back there soon, just to bag some peaks and day-hike around, just like you did.

And I hope you can join me in becoming one of those rare men who have a wife/girlfriend that actually enjoys camping and backpacking. It seems like most guys have to go camping with their "buds" and end up leaving a grumpy wife back home, or else they have to go by themselves, and it becomes more and more difficult to get out there; eventually they don't go camping at all, which is sad. Do whatever it takes to keep her enjoying it, even if it means carrying an extra 10-15 pounds. You'll be glad you did. When you were in your planning stages I wanted to post this link, but I couldn't find it at the time: Intro Backpacker Advice. Of course I just found it, now that it's too late.

So, where is your next trip going to be?

[Elwood]

Congratulations on a successful backpacking trip in a beautiful area of the San Gabriel's.

[Hikin_Jim]

Nice trip, bro! Way to go on getting it together and pulling it off!

HJ

P.S. Nice stove.

[JeffH]

Great story, nice pics too.
It's good for all of us to get out more...

[yobtaf]

Uncle Rico: Thanks

shreddy: that is one heck of a run, I just looked it up. We also have a bottle from the spring in the fridge 8)

jfr: Im glad I rediscovered backpacking! My wife really enjoyed it, other than the fall, and she cant wait to go again. And thanks for the link you posted.
Next trip? Lets hear some suggestions, close by with water. 8)

Elwood: Thank you!

Hikin_Jim: Thanks Jim! I made a kite screen but forgot it at home Could of used it on Sunday morning.

JeffH: Thank you, it was very good to get out. I get too wrapped up in work and I need to find a better balance. Nice way to recharge and see that work is just work.

Any suggestions for my next trip would be great. Im thinking Wild Horse Creek below Sugarloaf would be cool.

Alvederzane!

[Hikin_Jim]

Hikin_Jim: Thanks Jim! I made a kite screen but forgot it at home Could of used it on Sunday morning.

If you use it, let me know how it works out. It looks really effective; I just haven't been willing to fool with it. I looks like the perfect solution for canister stoves since you wouldn't have the danger of overheating that you get with a metal windscreen placed close to the stove.

Any suggestions for my next trip would be great. Im thinking Wild Horse Creek below Sugarloaf would be cool.

Good one. That's a nice spot.

In the San Gabs:
Hoegees is nice and not too far albeit quite popular.
Cedar Glen is nice. We had it to ourselves on a Friday night about a month ago.
Switzer is a super easy walk in.
West Fork via the Shortcut Trail is nice, and the camp was in pretty good shape when I visited recently. I came in from Mt. Wilson, so I don't know what kind of shape the Shortcut Trail is in.
Cooper Canyon is nice, especially the sites farthest away from the PCT which have better shade.
Mount Lowe is nice although it's about 5 miles in

San Gorgonio area:
Johns Meadow is nice if it's open. There were some concerns about potential deadfall.
Fish Creek is a nice and easy one if you don't mind the dirt road drive in.
Tons of other great spots if you don't mind a bit more of a hike

HJ

[yobtaf]

Hikin_Jim: Thanks Jim! I made a kite screen but forgot it at home Could of used it on Sunday morning.

If you use it, let me know how it works out. It looks really effective; I just haven't been willing to fool with it. I looks like the perfect solution for canister stoves since you wouldn't have the danger of overheating that you get with a metal windscreen placed close to the stove.

Any suggestions for my next trip would be great. Im thinking Wild Horse Creek below Sugarloaf would be cool.

Good one. That's a nice spot.

In the San Gabs:
Hoegees is nice and not too far albeit quite popular.
Cedar Glen is nice. We had it to ourselves on a Friday night about a month ago.
Switzer is a super easy walk in.
West Fork via the Shortcut Trail is nice, and the camp was in pretty good shape when I visited recently. I came in from Mt. Wilson, so I don't know what kind of shape the Shortcut Trail is in.
Cooper Canyon is nice, especially the sites farthest away from the PCT which have better shade.
Mount Lowe is nice although it's about 5 miles in

San Gorgonio area:
Johns Meadow is nice if it's open. There were some concerns about potential deadfall.
Fish Creek is a nice and easy one if you don't mind the dirt road drive in.
Tons of other great spots if you don't mind a bit more of a hike

HJ

Hey Jim, thanks for the info here. Most of the San Gabriel spots have water ?

[Hikin_Jim]

Everything I've listed has water fairly close by. The only tricky one is Mt. Lowe. You have to go to either a water tank behind the camp or up the canyon you cross to get in and find water in a small water tunnel.

HJ

[yobtaf]

Everything I've listed has water fairly close by. The only tricky one is Mt. Lowe. You have to go to either a water tank behind the camp or up the canyon you cross to get in and find water in a small water tunnel.

HJ

Thanks!

[Hikin_Jim]

No problem, bro. Enjoy -- and post pix!

HJ

[hillbasher]

The one thing I noticed, (and others probably did also) that was missing from your TR, pictures of the wife. What is up with that? Nice pics though.

[yobtaf]

The one thing I noticed, (and others probably did also) that was missing from your TR, pictures of the wife. What is up with that? Nice pics though.

I don't normally put pics of my wife or kids on the internet. She was the one with the camera most of the time. And I look like my avatar.

[hillbasher]

Well, it looks like she enjoyed herself as much as you did. As others have said here, it is nice to see people getting outdoors and enjoying themselves. I have been packpacking, hiking, and just camping for over 40 years, much of it in the local mountains, and always think it is great when people sort of discover, or in your case, rediscover, hiking and such. Glad that you both had a good time, and especially glad to hear that the two of you will be doing more in the future.


P.S. And I completely understand being hesitant about posting pictures of ones loved ones on the internet. In most cases, not a bad idea.

[Hikin_Jim]

She looks like a natural. 8)

HJ