EISPIRATEN

Hi

I'm looking for a good day hike in San Gabriels somewhere around 15 miles which won't require crampons etc - planning on going this sunday.

On the suggestion of a couple of guys from this forum, I did the Mt wilson from Chantry Flats the other week and it was great - so thanks for that!

I also did Ontario and Big Horn Peaks in the fall.

I'd heard that Mt Wilson was the smallest of five progressively larger peaks in San Gs that people hiked to train for Mt Wilson - I have no idea what the other four are though???

Any suggestions greatly appreciated

Josh

Birdman wrote: ↑I'd heard that Mt Wilson was the smallest of five progressively larger peaks in San Gs that people hiked to train for Mt Wilson - I have no idea what the other four are though???

Baldy, San Gorgonio, San Jacinto, Lukens?

Apologies - my origional post should have read ...five progressively higher peaks that you hike to train for MT WHITNEY.

Hike up - I would argue with you on those four (but I've only been in the area for a few months!)

Birdman wrote: ↑Apologies - my origional post should have read ...five progressively higher peaks that you hike to train for MT WHITNEY.

Hike up - I would argue with you on those four (but I've only been in the area for a few months!)

No worries. Obviously Baldy, Gorgonio, and Jacinto are higher than Wilson. Lukens is not but I often have heard that people train for Whitney using the Stone Cyn. trail up to Lukens because it is relentlessly steep for a few thousand feet although at lower elevations. Then they work their way up to Wilson then the big 3 Saints. There are two typical ways up Baldy (ski hut trail and then the bear flat trail that starts in the village). Then there is the trail from Palm Springs up to the tram and/or Jacinto which would be the most gain (~10,000 feet of gain).

I've always heard that the training in the San Gabriels is focused on total elevation gains and distance more than trying to get used to the altitude. But I don't train for anything so there you go!

Thats great info thanks HikeUp- I think maybe Mt Baldy for this weekend then, Any particular route up recommended? Am i right in thinking there shouldnt be much in the way of snow up there this weekend? I'm sure ive seen a webcam for the summit anyway, so i guess i can check.

Perhaps 'training' is too strong a word for my approach to hiking! Its more to avoid the indignity of turning back half way!
Thanks again

Birdman wrote: ↑I think maybe Mt Baldy for this weekend then, Any particular route up recommended? Am i right in thinking there shouldnt be much in the way of snow up there this weekend? I'm sure ive seen a webcam for the summit anyway, so i guess i can check.

I think this weekend might be bringing in snow - hopefully someone else can chime in who has been paying attention to the weather forecasts.

If you start up Baldy, just go as far as you safely can without needing the crampons, etc. and then turn around. If it's not enough, do it again!

Mt. Wilson from Eaton Canyon Visitor Center is a long hike with lot's of gain (14 miles roundtrip and ~5000' gain) but it is on fire road (not as scenic as from Chantry). Snow unlikely unless this storm is cold.

Okay thanks - there'll be at least two of us, so no solo hiking, but if it starts to look a little hairy then turn round we will!

@HikeUp

...man, my typing is bad! I meant I WOULDN'T argue with you on those four [highest peaks].

I need to read through what I write!

Hike Iron Mt. from Heaton Flat.. there's less snow and in my opinion a tougher hike than Baldy, lots of elevation gain and it's good and steep.

FiveCharlie wrote: ↑Hike Iron Mt. from Heaton Flat.. there's less snow and in my opinion a tougher hike than Baldy, lots of elevation gain and it's good and steep.

Jeez I drew a complete blank on Iron Mt. WTF!!!!

Wow - that looks a good trail.

Fortunately (Unfortunately???) we've picked up company for Sundays hike and i think Iron Mt from Heaton Flat will be a little beyond them. Thats my excuse anyway! Next time its just me and my girl we'll do it - so thanks for the heads up.

Really appreciate the advice i get on the forum btw - being new to LA i dont know my arse from my elbow when it comes to hikes in the San Gabriels.

A couple of years ago, I attended a Mt. Whitney first-timer's presentation at REI in Arcadia. As part of the presentation, we were given a list of "training" hikes that were intended to prepare you for some aspect of a Whitney main trail ascent. We only did about half of the hikes before going to Whitney and didn't have any problems, but the list was pretty useful nonetheless. The first hike was supposed to measure your base fitness level for a Whitney ascent. If you couldn't complete it in 5 hours, the recommendation was to work on getting in better shape and shoot for another year. We did it like good little soilders, but it wasn't particularly exciting. Here's the list:

Malibu Creek Backbone Loop
Mt. Lukens via Stone Canyon
Mr. Wilson via Chantry Flat
Mt. Baden-Powell via Vincent Gap
Mt. San Jacinto via Tramway Trail
Cucamonga Peak via Icehouse Canyon
Mt. Baldy from Manker Flat via Devil's Backbone
Mt. Wilson Toll Road
Mt. Baldy from Baldy Village via Bear Flat
Mt. San Gorgonio via Vivian Creek
San Bernardino Peak via Angelus Oaks

About a month before our reservation date, we ran up to Horeshoe Meadows and day-hiked the Cottonwood Lakes Trail to New Army Pass. That gave us some good distance and elevation and the switch-backs up New Army Pass gave us a bit of feel for the 97 switchers on the Whitney Main Trail.

Hope this is useful.

Lots of things can get you into shape for Whitney but the most important is to get out and hike. I also think it's important to go on a couple of long hikes so you get used to being on your feet for 12-15 hours during the day.

Other opinions for local peaks:
http://www.everytrail.com/guide/socal-six-pack-of-peaks

A couple of years ago a co-worker told me she wanted to tackle Whitney so I made up a list of longer hikes to do, about every three weeks. My grand total for the official training program was 100 miles, but I expected to do some walking in between those. She only made one of them so didn't attempt Whitney.

I hike Whitney every year and actually last year I had only done a lot of smaller/shorter walks like Claremont Hills Wilderness Park every week - and it turned out I made my best time ever.

When I was training for Half Dome, I did Baden-Powell from Crystal Lake and it was awesome. Like 18 miles or something? I forget. I loved it though and have always wanted to do it again (but alas, have not been in need of an 18 mile training hike lately). After that we did the Narrows in Zion, which required a very different kind of training

Anyway, it'll be snowed under right now, but something to keep in mind for later. Optional side trips to Islip and Hawkins. And in between Windy Gap and B-P you're likely to see pretty much no one.

Baden Powell from Islip Saddle was one of my favorite training hikes for Whitney. I think it's about 16-miles round trip, closer to 18 if you bag all of the peaks in between.

Since I live in Burbank, I would also hike the "Vital Link" trail from Wildwood Canyon Park to the radio towers once or twice a week. It's about the same elevation gain and mileage as the 97 switchbacks, though at an admittedly lower altitude.

Driving up to Horsehoe Meadows and hiking to Cottonwood Lakes is a nice way to acclimate once you arrive in the Whitney area. Your vehicle does all of the work getting you to 10k' and the hike to the lakes is very pleasant.

Depending on which way you try Baldy this weekend, you could run into some real trouble without a little special gear. I did Harwood yesterday via Register Ridge in my normal trail runners. But I had to start cross-country around 8200 feet in order to avoid increasingly troublesome snow/ice on the use trail.

Harwood to Baldy was a no-go. Too dangerous-looking. Heading down to the Notch via Devil's Backbone was treacherous crossing the headwall of Manker Canyon. The trail was buried in compacted snowdrifts. On one section I had to chop footholds with a rock and faced a several hundred foot slide into the canyon if I fell. Routes could improve, though, with the warmer weather forecasted for the next couple days. I would try Bear Canyon from the village.

As far as training for Whitney, last October I ascended the Mountaineer's Route and came down the Main Trail. If you're attempting only the Main Trail, then you should be able to do two specific hikes:

1. Bear Canyon Trail from the Village to Baldy in under 4 hours. I make it in about three. This tests your conditioning.
2. Any 20+ mile hike with about 6000 feet of gain. This tests your endurance and lower body health. Try Cobb Estate or Eaton Canyon to San Gabriel Peak and back. Eaton Canyon is prettier and more interesting.

Focus on those sorts of hikes and you should be good for a Whitney Main Trail dayhike. While training for the Mountaineer's Route, I also did the San Bernardino 9 Peaks Challenge to see how I functioned under great stress above 10k feet for many hours. But I think that hike was harder than Whitney.

Baldy Bowl seen from Register Ridge


Devil's Backbone below Mt. Harwood


Backbone Trail buried in snow along Manker Canyon's headwall

"As far as training for Whitney, last October I ascended the Mountaineer's Route and came down the Main Trail. If you're attempting only the Main Trail, then you should be able to do two specific hikes:

1. Bear Canyon Trail from the Village to Baldy in under 4 hours. I make it in about three. This tests your conditioning. "

Yeeesh, I don't know about that. It took me about 5 last year and I breezed up Whitney.

Here's my trip report for bear canyon: http://calitrails.com/2012/06/04/bear-c ... ldy-trail/

bschmalz wrote: ↑Yeeesh, I don't know about that. It took me about 5 last year and I breezed up Whitney.

Very entertaining trip report with great pictures. Thanks! However, I think you could have made better time if you didn't have a slight hangover from the night before, started your hike in the early morning with more favorable temperatures, and remembered to eat to avoid bonking. You might also get along with less than 5 liters of water if you fully hydrate before starting. But maybe not considering the midday heat.

Howdy

I concur with Sean about the snow on Devil's Backbone and want to add a caution about wind. Went up Reigster yesterday (Wed) and used micropikes. The wind picked up significantly when we crossed the snow-covered DBB. Rather than take the "trail," we headed up to Harwood to stay on the top of the ridge. It was difficult to stay upright from Harwood down to the Harwood saddle due to a steady 40+ mph wind.

Once we reached the exposed second saddle before the climb up to Baldy, I could feel the wind trying to lift me off the ground. We retreated into a pile of rocks and discussed options. Even with our crampons and axes, we were concerned about being lifted the backbone ridge by the wind. Donned crampons and axe and headed back to Register ridge along the DBB -- one heck of snowy slope.

This is only the third time the wind has driven me off Baldy. The first two times were on Bear Canyon.

Miles of smiles,
Ellen

Sean wrote: ↑

bschmalz wrote: ↑Yeeesh, I don't know about that. It took me about 5 last year and I breezed up Whitney.

Very entertaining trip report with great pictures. Thanks! However, I think you could have made better time if you didn't have a slight hangover from the night before, started your hike in the early morning with more favorable temperatures, and remembered to eat to avoid bonking. You might also get along with less than 5 liters of water if you fully hydrate before starting. But maybe not considering the midday heat.

Thanks Sean. I checked out your blog and am enjoying it too. Who invented the cucamonga 50, and how many people have done it? Maybe my dog could be the first haha.

You're totally right about your comments regarding my Bear Canyon hike. I was just commenting that setting the bar for being able to do Whitney at being able to do Bear Canyon in 4 hours isn't quite accurate, in my opinion. Everyone reacts differently to altitude so there is no perfect science obviously.

bschmalz wrote: ↑Who invented the cucamonga 50, and how many people have done it? ...

Everyone reacts differently to altitude so there is no perfect science obviously.

The Cucamonga 50 was my idea. It's sort of a fastpacking self-challenge of mine. But I thought others might like it, so I created the website. First attempt will be in April or May during full moon.

Regarding our Whitney discussion, the altitude definitely can be a problem. Even if it doesn't make you sick, it can suppress your appetite, which happened to me. I had to force myself to eat along the way. Remembering to drink wasn't an issue, because there are all sorts of lakes and streams that function as reminders.

How hard you train for Whitney depends on your goal. I was reaching Baldy in 3 hours and doing 25-mile hikes without much foot/knee pain. In ideal conditions, Whitney took me 14 hours roundtrip (including an hour lunch at the summit). If Baldy takes someone 5 or 6 hours, I would imagine that they're looking at 20+ hours on Whitney, assuming they have no health issues. My goal was to finish before dark, which didn't happen. I was an hour in the dark. But if you don't mind hiking (perhaps for hours) in the dark, then you don't need to make Baldy in 4 hours. And if you go midsummer with a predawn start, you might even make it back before sunset.

Backbone Trail buried in snow along Manker Canyon's headwall
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that section is scary when it ices up in the afternoon...

I've only done Baldy once from the village and it took me a good 5 hours. However, I still dayhike Whitney every year, reaching the summit most of the time.
I like the idea of Baden Powell, from Vincent Gap it's got a great steady elevation profile.

JeffH wrote: ↑I've only done Baldy once from the village and it took me a good 5 hours. However, I still dayhike Whitney every year, reaching the summit most of the time.

I'm curious: how long did you take for Whitney roundtrip?

In 2012 I did the round trip in about 11:40, including about 30 minutes on the summit before it started snowing August 31. It has taken me as long as 15:30 in previous attempts. Maybe because it was darker last year (earlier start to beat the storm) so I didn't take as many pictures.