Steadfast in Stead Canyon
Posted: Mon Nov 18, 2013 12:55 pm
Mt. Baldy locals, including Pavel the Keg-Carrying Giant, refer to the place as Wet Spine Canyon. But on his maps Tom Harrison labels it Stead Canyon, presumably named in honor of long-time Baldy fire chief William Stead. I simply call it a fun time.
If you ever find yourself on Sugarloaf Peak, look across San Antonio Canyon, and you'll have a superb view of Stead.
Our group of six started from the large turnout about a half-mile beyond Icehouse. After walking down the dry San Antonio creekbed for 0.1 miles, we reached the mouth of Stead and turned right. Old flags occasionally marked the route, but it was a fairly simple matter of following the boulder-lined wash.
Looking back, we had a great view of Sugarloaf.
Around elevation 5780' we encountered a lush, stream-filled section of the canyon, making it a challenge to keep the shoes dry.
At one point the water audibly flowed under this rock-filled slope.
Fallen trees provided fun obstacles.
And a sheep was kind enough to let us borrow its horns.
At 5900' the water ended, and more serious bouldering began. Some noggin-protection was in order.
We faced a class 3 dry waterfall at approximately 6280', with an easier bypass on the right.
Navigation above the wall proved to be a bit confusing. Some side gullies looked appealing, and GPS wasn't exactly reliable. To remain in the canyon proper, stay as far left as possible. And if you use the bypass around the class 3 section, you then need to cut left back into the main wash.
We ended up in one of the minor gullies that comes in around 6800'.
While in this steep side-gully, one of us decided to climb up some more enticing rocks.
But another of our party took a nasty headfirst tumble off a log. Sans helmet, her head received an ugly beating from the rock upon which she landed. The wound did not spurt, but slowly oozed some blood every couple seconds, as if her scalp were a ketchup packet being gently squeezed. On top of that, she also banged up and cut open her lower leg.
These were injuries that later required professional patching. A staple in the head, and two stitches in the leg. As first responders, we did our best and managed to stop the bleeding.
Steadfastly marching on, we contoured back over to the main canyon,
where we saw a nice campsite around 7500'.
We took a quick snack break and enjoyed a view of Icehouse Canyon with the clouds rolling in.
Back in the main canyon, the remaining climb was relatively easy for 700 feet.
Then around 8200' we exited Stead via a slope on the left and climbed another 200' up to the Bear Canyon Trail.
The trip up Stead covered 2.1 miles with 3250' of gain. All together we had one bad foot, one bad back, one cracked head, and one torn shin. Nobody seemed on the verge of death, though, so after some discussion we voted to continue up to Baldy.
And we were all glad we did.
Even Michelle was glad, despite the fact that her first summit of San Antonio included a staple in the head and two stitches in her leg.
If you ever find yourself on Sugarloaf Peak, look across San Antonio Canyon, and you'll have a superb view of Stead.
Our group of six started from the large turnout about a half-mile beyond Icehouse. After walking down the dry San Antonio creekbed for 0.1 miles, we reached the mouth of Stead and turned right. Old flags occasionally marked the route, but it was a fairly simple matter of following the boulder-lined wash.
Looking back, we had a great view of Sugarloaf.
Around elevation 5780' we encountered a lush, stream-filled section of the canyon, making it a challenge to keep the shoes dry.
At one point the water audibly flowed under this rock-filled slope.
Fallen trees provided fun obstacles.
And a sheep was kind enough to let us borrow its horns.
At 5900' the water ended, and more serious bouldering began. Some noggin-protection was in order.
We faced a class 3 dry waterfall at approximately 6280', with an easier bypass on the right.
Navigation above the wall proved to be a bit confusing. Some side gullies looked appealing, and GPS wasn't exactly reliable. To remain in the canyon proper, stay as far left as possible. And if you use the bypass around the class 3 section, you then need to cut left back into the main wash.
We ended up in one of the minor gullies that comes in around 6800'.
While in this steep side-gully, one of us decided to climb up some more enticing rocks.
But another of our party took a nasty headfirst tumble off a log. Sans helmet, her head received an ugly beating from the rock upon which she landed. The wound did not spurt, but slowly oozed some blood every couple seconds, as if her scalp were a ketchup packet being gently squeezed. On top of that, she also banged up and cut open her lower leg.
These were injuries that later required professional patching. A staple in the head, and two stitches in the leg. As first responders, we did our best and managed to stop the bleeding.
Steadfastly marching on, we contoured back over to the main canyon,
where we saw a nice campsite around 7500'.
We took a quick snack break and enjoyed a view of Icehouse Canyon with the clouds rolling in.
Back in the main canyon, the remaining climb was relatively easy for 700 feet.
Then around 8200' we exited Stead via a slope on the left and climbed another 200' up to the Bear Canyon Trail.
The trip up Stead covered 2.1 miles with 3250' of gain. All together we had one bad foot, one bad back, one cracked head, and one torn shin. Nobody seemed on the verge of death, though, so after some discussion we voted to continue up to Baldy.
And we were all glad we did.
Even Michelle was glad, despite the fact that her first summit of San Antonio included a staple in the head and two stitches in her leg.
I think your forum name should be "Prince Charming" for the way you know how to show a gal a good time. 