What's the hardest hike you've ever done?

JMunaretto · Post by **JMunaretto** » Wed Jun 04, 2008 8:42 pm

And why was it the hardest?

For me (so far), I guess its between the 2nd day of the Inca trail and Iron mountain. I think Iron mountain was harder. But we did do all the elevation gain in that one day on the Inca trail, I'm not sure but around 4500 - 5000 ft. And the thing was it was a lot of steps, so it was steep, and a little different mechanics. Plus I needlessly was carrying about 40 lbs! And though I stayed at 11,000 ft for a days, I was definitely slowing down as I was getting to 14,000 ft.

With Iron, it wasn't that it was terrible going up, but going down was bad. First hike I've ever been sore on.

I'm not sure how Whitney will compare to these? What about C2C?

Post by **Taco** » Wed Jun 04, 2008 8:59 pm

I only really notice easy ones, I guess.

I thought Snow Creek was going to be really hard. It ended up being super-easy. I attribute this to the great company, being able to talk to everyone, and mooch off of them for food.

I was really out-of-shape, but it was still easy with everyone there. Felt just dandy all the way back to the tram, and drove home that night. Slept well.

I guess my worst hike I can remember that comes to mind and whatnot was Rattlesnake Peak in February. it was 80 something degrees a year or two ago. I had a 50lb rucksack (US Army ALICE pack - get one and sympathize), was carrying a rifle, and some gear for the rifle (oh noes, a rifle... oh no... oooh... oh noes). About 80lbs total. I did NOT bring enough water. I went up what I named the "secondary" route, past the end of Shoemaker Canyon Road, and up the east ridge to the summit. That sucked. I wasn't in mountaineering condition back then, as it wasn't my primary focus (was training to stay in Army shape), and suffered. I met some folks atop the summit who were headed to South Hawkins, but did not make it. They were three guys, and they were very friendly. I also met a woman who had come back form Kilamanjaro. I overheard her talking crap about how I had a rifle, which apparently is a fire hazard (seeing as I have fired many thousands upon thousands upon thousands of rounds out of many many many weapons, and never caused a fire...).

Anywho, ran out of water before the summit, took the ridge down, and was hallucinating, alone. I was very happy to hit the dirt road (Shoemaker), and get back to my car and get water in me.

That was difficult. I was not prepared. Nothing else seems difficult if you're prepared, even if you're out-of-shape.

This last hike where He219 and I set off for Mt Langley, I had been sick all week with some weak stomach thing. It kicked in near the end of day one, and I was insanely nauseus and had a migraine (runs in the family... wonderful). Being sick sucks far more than mere physical pain, like a ton of bleeding blisters in ill-fitting footwear. You can power through pain to get home, but being sick saps more of your willpower and everything.

Tis' my best.

Post by **HikeUp** » Wed Jun 04, 2008 9:55 pm

JMunaretto wrote:And why was it the hardest?

The hikes that became my hardest became that way because I was not well prepared for what I ended up doing: bit off too much for what I was capable of doing (i.e. out of shape), not enough water, improper gear selection , not hydrating or eating properly, etc. (i.e. an EPIC, going beyond your normal limits in order to get back to the car, fighting off imaginary dinosaurs).

For example: Rose Peak (Bay area) - blue jeans, t-shirt, steel toed work boots, no food, and 1 liter of water is no way to do a 20 mile/4500' gain roller coaster hike. Only thing that I did right was to be in shape before I did this, 21 years ago. I was certainly seeing things the last uphill portion.

The hardest hikes I've done where I did everything right but was really tired and sore afterwards (i.e. a good pain, just slightly pushing up against the limits) was San Gorgonio via Vivian Creek or Baldy up and back via Bear Canyon.

Tim · Post by **Tim** » Wed Jun 04, 2008 10:17 pm

TacoDelRio wrote:You can power through pain to get home, but being sick saps more of your willpower and everything.

Yep, totally agree! When your mind and spirit checks out, it's game over.

My first time up Whitney was the hardest because of altitude issues. I did it as a solo day hike, so I had no company for encouragement and not much time to acclimate. My body felt fine but my head was totally hammered above 13,000 ft. Along Trail Crest I was stopping like every 50 feet because of the headaches. I was really close to giving up and turning around. I was worried that this would turn into HACE or HAPE and I'd have to get rescued. In my mind, it's a disgrace to be rescued for something I could have prevented. I was disappointed with myself since I thought I had prepared so well. The summit was just a few miles away. I evaluated my situation and decided that if I stopped more often and the headaches eased, then I would continue. I managed to summit. I stayed up there for an hour and felt fine. But the return trip down the switchbacks was also bad. More headaches and now I was starting to get nauseous. I knew I just needed to get lower. Below 10,000 ft, everything went back to normal except my feet were in enormous pain. I even stopped and literally laid down on the trail a couple of times. Never done that before.

I did C2C after Whitney and it didn't seem as hard. There were no altitude issues to deal with, though. But then again, the more pain you've been through, the easier everything that comes later, seems.

FIGHT ON · Post by **FIGHT ON** » Thu Jun 05, 2008 6:48 am

For me.

#1.HARDEST. C2C. Because I was not hydrated when I started and it was a hot day. I drank over a gallon of water at the tram and still didn't start to pee until over an hour there. And it is over 20 miles. And the gain is like over 10,400 feet in 16.5 miles. I thought I was never gonna recover.

#2. Whitney first try. Because I got a lung infection the week before the hike and I was walking fast (like 2.5 mph) and passing everybody up and not breathing deeply.
I got within one mile of the top and could not go on. I was so pissed. So pissed that I came back the next week and completed it. This time I slowed down and really breathed deeply on every step. EVERY STEP I TELL YOU! REALLY DEEP, ALL THE WAY IN AND ALL THE WAY OUT. LOL. and had no problem. It's not steep, just a little steeper than the Mt. Wilson Toll Road and two miles longer.

#3. Gabrielino Trail. Because it is 28.5 miles. It's the longest I have ever hiked in one day. Not steep at all overall but 28 miles is 28 miles.

#4 Vivian to Gorgonio. Because the elevation gets me near the top. And it is long and hard.

#5. Bear Flat to Baldy. Because it is like 1,000 feet per mile in 6 miles going up.

#5. Iron. Tied with Bear flat because it is less steep overall with the same gain at 2,000 feet lower elevation.

#6. Skyline. Is really hard but you get to take the tram down.

Haven't done many other trails but I bet Rabbit Peak is gonna be up there.

I believe I have found THE hardest hike in Southern California. THE SILVER MOSSASIN TRAIL. It has to be. I can't find another "officially named" trail that starts and ends in So. Cal. that even comes close. 53 miles dude. TWO MARATHONS! (does the ac 100 count?) The John Muir Trail is the only other one that I can find in California that starts and ends in California that's longer but that is out of the question for a day hike. Like over 200 miles. The Silver Moccasin Trail may not be a day hike but I am gonna try my best to make it one!
Oh yeah, just to make it easier I want to do it from Chantry Flats. And to make it even easier I want to carry all my water and food. No stashed supplies. And above all. NO DRUGS, NO GU, NO RED BULL, NO ENERGY DRINKS, NO STEROIDS, NO CHEATING. AND NOOOOOOOOOOOOO CAFFEINE!!!!!!!!!

AlanK · Post by **AlanK** » Thu Jun 05, 2008 8:25 am

FIGHT ON wrote: #5. Iron. Tied with Bear flat because it is less steep overall with the same gain at 2,000 feet lower elevation.

Iron has over 7000' in about 7 miles. The net gain is 6000', but there is a lot of up and down. No way it's not as steep as Bear flat! And the hard part is a lot tougher than anything on Bear Flat.

AlanK · Post by **AlanK** » Thu Jun 05, 2008 8:36 am

My son and I have debated which hikes are the hardest. Having done most of the local ones a bunch of times, the order changes for various reasons. Some contenders, in approximate order, starting with the hardest.

Baldy 9 Peaks: Up Bear Flat, W. Baldy, Baldy, Harwood, the 3T's, Ontario, Bighorn, and Cucamonga, down Ice House Canyon. About 31 miles and 12000' gain/loss.

C2C: Everyone ranks this one high.

San Gorgonio 9 Peaks: Up Momyer, over to San Bernardino, then pick off the peaks in a line, heading down Vivian Creek. About 28 miles and 9000' gain/loss. The first time it seemed harder than C2C, but now it seems about the same.

Iron Mountain from Heaton Flat: The downhill's the worst.

Baldy, Dawson, Pine, Wright from Wrightwood via the Acorn Trail and "The Real Backbone." Plenty of steep up and down.

Bear Flat and Vivian Creek seem rather easy when done alone after doing them as portions of longer hikes!

Actually, the John Muir Trail is harder than these but, as mentioned elsewhere, it is not a day hike. Same for the High Sierra Trail.

Our longest day hike ever was the second day of the JMT. We went from Tuolumne Meadows to Mammoth -- about 35 miles. A nice long day but not as hard as the 9 Peaks hikes.

Whitney? Done alone, it may be easier than Iron Mountain. Certainly easier than the 9 Peaks hikes or C2C.

FIGHT ON · Post by **FIGHT ON** » Thu Jun 05, 2008 9:01 am

Maybe I rank Bear Flat close to Iron because that was the first "hard" hike I had ever been on. The only other hike I had done before that was the Toll Road. So being out of shape and experiencing that east facing slope was very humbling to me. I will never forget it not only was it hard but I did not finish it because I started so late and there was snow. Now that I am in a little better shape and hiking up Iron doesn't feel that much different to me. J, you know how you say that Iron was the first time you felt tired? That's how tired I was on Bear Flat. Maybe worse.
Alank maybe I put too much into the elevation difference. 2k difference may mean too much to me as far as how much it effects available oxygen. Does it make that much difference? How do you measure that? I didn't take into account the downs on Iron as having to go back up them as total elevation gain. I just take the start and the end.

and the mileage. Iron is harder , because of the last part and the downhill, but for me my first time up Bear Flat was as hard. Can't imagine if I had hiked that one instead of Bear Flat.

Now after thinking about it I would rank it down lower.
I have done some of that 9 peak hike, from Icehouse to the 3ts to Baldy and down to Manker. That was hard.
J is asking for what is the hardest hike, which could include more than one named trail? I guess that is true for the Silver Moccasin Trail too. It includes lots of named trails. Interesting how trails get names.

FIGHT ON · Post by **FIGHT ON** » Thu Jun 05, 2008 9:07 am

AlanK wrote:
FIGHT ON wrote: #5. Iron. Tied with Bear flat because it is less steep overall with the same gain at 2,000 feet lower elevation.
Iron has over 7000' in about 7 miles. The net gain is 6000', but there is a lot of up and down. No way it's not as steep as Bear flat! And the hard part is a lot tougher than anything on Bear Flat.

I haven't been on Bear Flat in almost a year. It has to be easier now for me than last year. Well I sure hope so!

AlanK · Post by **AlanK** » Thu Jun 05, 2008 9:24 am

The first time I went up Bear Flat, it was awfully hard. Now I just like it.

My son's perspective is even better. Back in 1999, I took him up San Jacinto from the tram. It was the longest, hardest, highest hike he had ever done. It wiped him out -- well, at least he slept well that night. Of course he was 9 years old. Now, we get to the tram from Skyline and the hike to the top and back seems like a piece of cake.

FIGHT ON · Post by **FIGHT ON** » Thu Jun 05, 2008 9:35 am

AlanK wrote:The first time I went up Bear Flat, it was awfully hard. Now I just like it.

You in better shape now. I like anything but the scarry stuff. I don't need the "fall down and go boom" element. I like my heart rate to be elevated because of simple physical activity, not because I am scared to death I might end up looking like ground up beef. Like a TACO.

But that could change. I am interested in that route at the end of mill creek. I mean if a girl can do it. lol JUST KIDDING!

Tim · Post by **Tim** » Thu Jun 05, 2008 11:39 pm

FIGHT ON wrote:I like anything but the scarry stuff. I don't need the "fall down and go boom" element. I like my heart rate to be elevated because of simple physical activity, not because I am scared to death I might end up looking like ground up beef.

Lately I feel like doing hikes that are more than just a physical challenge. On trailed hikes, there really isn't much thinking involved. You just put one foot in front of the other and follow the trail. Your mind goes on autopilot. This isn't necessarily bad because it's actually pretty relaxing and I even daydream or think about other stuff when I'm in that mode.

But now I'm leaning more towards doing unusual routes where I have to do route finding/boulder hopping/scrambling/Class 3, etc. I like having to think through what my next move is. I like being a little scared too because it wouldn't be an adventure unless there was some fear.

I admire you guys who do monster hikes like the SMT or 9 Peaks. Man, that's pushing the limits of human endurance. I kind of want to try those hikes but then when hikes get that long it becomes work to me and not much fun anymore. But this is just me.

The hike that I had the most fun (yet) was thru-hiking the Narrows in Zion National Park. It wasn't a huge physical challenge but the sense of adventure was through the roof. Imagine being dropped off in the middle of nowhere by a shuttle van, then hiking down a river that goes deeper and deeper into a canyon with 500 ft high vertical walls closing in on you to within 20 feet. You never knew what you would see next. Every time we turned the corner there would be an even more spectacular canyon. We would wade through the river, climb the river banks or scramble up a big boulder to scout the best route. It was awesome.

Angels Landing is also a close second for fun factor.

Funyan005 · Post by **Funyan005** » Fri Jun 06, 2008 12:09 am

I loved the narrows, you're 100% right about coming around every corner, and being amazed and awe struck by the view of the canyon in front of you. Walking in water from ankle depth to chest deep was awesome, swimming in it, was a lot of fun.

However, my dad slipped on a log on the way back, cracked his head open, required 9 stitches(when we got back). Needless to say, carrying his pack, and my pack for 2 1/2 hours through the same ankle/chest deep water, wasn't quite as fun! Though, the looks other tourists gave us as we passed them, with his hat completely bloodied, and the right side of his shirt bloodied, was awesome! I think we may have put some of them on the cautious side.

Tim · Post by **Tim** » Fri Jun 06, 2008 6:14 am

Dang, sorry to hear that Funyan005. The rocks got more slippery the further we down the river and I fell a couple of times too, even while using a trekking pole. Ended up trashing it because it was bent out of shape after being used so hard. That river was a challenge and not without risk. But that's why I like it

JMunaretto · Post by **JMunaretto** » Fri Jun 06, 2008 5:46 pm

It's just interesting to see the different interpretations of what 'difficult' is. I remember thinking one Monrovia peak hike was a big pain because it was steep and had to deal with a lot of brush. The brush just makes the perception lean to more difficult.

And altitude probably affects everyone differently. If I just looked at gain/mile numbers, I would think Iron would be higher than Vivian Creek or Whitney, but obviously those two go up to higher altitudes. I've been up to 14k ft but that was after a few days of acclimatizing at 11k, so the highest I've been without adjustment is Baldy. I feel pretty good at the top of Baldy (although a slight twinge of headache), so I'm interested in seeing how I feel at Gorgonio, and Whitney.

I'm doing Gorgonio tomorrow, and Whitney in 2 weeks. Will be interesting to see how these fit into my future rankings. I still think Vivian creek will be easier than Iron Mt.

FIGHT ON · Post by **FIGHT ON** » Fri Jun 06, 2008 6:15 pm

JM. I am excited for you to hike Vivian Creek. Its about 700 feet per mile which is way less than Iron but more than Whitney. If you can try to push it all the way up to see if the altitude gets to you. It got to me about a half a mile from the top last year. Dizzy head. Just remember to breath deeply and exhale all the way out on each breath. Good luck. and oh yeah, FIGHT ON!

Augie · Post by **Augie** » Fri Jun 06, 2008 8:57 pm

My hardest was a route that was a little over 32 miles with 11,000 feet of elevation gain. It started and ended at Icehouse Canyon as follows.

Dropped from Icehouse Canyon trailhead to the Baldy Village Trail. Took this trail to Baldy's summit and then descended via Devil's Backbone, the Notch and the fire road all the way down to the Manker Flat Campground along Mt. Baldy Rd. Then, turned around back to the fire road and summitted Baldy a second time via the Ski Hut Trail.

Descended a second time via Devil's Backbone to the Notch. From there, went back up the fire road to the top of Thunder Mountain. Then it was all downhill from there: back to the Notch and down the fire road to Manker Flat and then along Mt. Baldy Rd. back to Icehouse Canyon.

It's known as the Baldy 50K and it's supposed to be one of the toughest 50K's in the U.S. I would tend to agree. Took me 9 hrs. and 43 minutes. I was thoroughly thrashed, especially my quads from all the downhill.

FIGHT ON · Post by **FIGHT ON** » Fri Jun 06, 2008 9:12 pm

Fast. about 3.3 mph. Did you do that solo? and did you run any? details details please! How old are you? What's your mothers maiden name?

EManBevHills · Post by **EManBevHills** » Fri Jun 06, 2008 9:22 pm

Were you taking steroids?

AlanK · Post by **AlanK** » Fri Jun 06, 2008 9:57 pm

Augie wrote:It's known as the Baldy 50K and it's supposed to be one of the toughest 50K's in the U.S. I would tend to agree.

Hard to argue with that! 8)

Augie · Post by **Augie** » Sat Jun 07, 2008 9:07 am

FIGHT ON wrote:Fast. about 3.3 mph. Did you do that solo? and did you run any? details details please! How old are you? What's your mothers maiden name?

O.K. Some details. I did it solo but it was an organized race limited to 75 participants. Actually, 77 started and 67 finished. There were cut-off times at various points along the route which you had to meet to be able to stay on the course and have your time counted. I was 56 when I did it in 2003. I would estimate I ran 85% of the route. The first ascent from the start of the Village Trail to the top took me 2 hrs., 30 minutes. The most suffering I remember was doing the second ascent via the Ski Hut Trail. From the Manker Flat Campground to the summit via the Ski Hut Trail took me 2 hrs. 36 minutes, but of course that was my second ascent.

Descending to the Notch after the second summit I was brutally slow because my toes were screaming with pain and my quads kept cramping up (despite taking in lots of salt and potassium). After ascending Thunder Mtn. from the Notch, it took me 1 hr. 3 minutes to descend from Thunder to Manker Flat via the fire road. From Manker Flat, it was two miles back to the finish at Icehouse Canyon and that took me 27 minutes. It was a very hot July day down at this lower elevation and the Mt. Baldy road with its huge switchbacks and hot asphalt made this last leg very unpleasant. By the way, the winning time was 7 hours something.

JMunaretto · Post by **JMunaretto** » Sun Jun 08, 2008 6:26 pm

Well did Vivian Creek. Don't think it was too bad. Last 1500 ft was quite tough, but otherwise relatively gentle ascent.

I'm interested to see how I deal with the altitude at Whitney. I was satisfied with my performance at 11k on steep terrain, but not with the headache I got after. Who would have that it isn't a good idea to push yourself really hard at high altitudes!?!

I will go slower at Whitney b/c I'll be with a group of unknown levels, and the fact that I don't want to to get any sickness.

But I'm already excited to do C2C. Seems perfect for me, a ton of uphill with not much downhill. But I guess I have to wait until autumn, unless an unseasonably cold front comes in over the summer...

EManBevHills · Post by **EManBevHills** » Mon Jun 23, 2008 5:00 pm

There are a lot of sickos on this board!

I know it is called "The art of suffering", but suffering with bragging rights is a different itune. Speaking of which, did you have music to dull the pain?

My tuffest hike was Mt. Marcy at 40 below. Without the windchill. Gnarly cold. So cold your coffee freezes before it hits the ground if you spill any.
Something we fortunately don't have to deal with in SOCAL.

FIGHT ON · Post by **FIGHT ON** » Mon Jun 23, 2008 5:32 pm

EManBevHills wrote:There are a lot of sickos on this board!.

You just figured that out?

8)

:lol: 8) :? :shock: :x :P :oops:

:roll: :twisted: :evil: