EISPIRATEN

if you had to spend a night outside in our local mountains...
with a 4 year old and 11 year old who can hike/backpack

id like to try a new place besides mt.baldy
any suggestions

id like to be somehwere up high preferably off trail

im kinda interested in the twin peaks area

any suggestions ?

Well, Mt. Waterman (8000'+) comes to mind. There's a trail to the top, but the top is pretty wide open and you can get easily off the trail if you want to find a place to camp out. No water though.

Little Jimmy and Cooper Canyon trail camps are nice but those are right on the PCT.

Over by Baldy, you can go up Icehouse Canyon to Cedar Glen, Comanche, or Kelly Camp trail camps. Those all have water if you know where to look. Comanche is in a beautiful area and is less visited.

Twin peaks is aweful nice, if they're OK with it. I might actually choose the Crystal Lake area, since it's closed, so it's kinda got a cool air to it, plus there's water and shelter.

TacoDelRio wrote:Twin peaks is aweful nice, if they're OK with it. I might actually choose the Crystal Lake area, since it's closed, so it's kinda got a cool air to it, plus there's water and shelter.

Hey, Taco, how about the saddle between Twin and Waterman? I seem to remember that as a good place to camp albeit no water. That might be a bit much for a 4 year old.

Crystal Lake might be a bit much too. You'd drive to Islip Saddle, hike to Windy Gap, and then descend to Crystal Lake. Be discreet. I don't think you're supposed to be in there.

friendowl wrote:if you had to spend a night outside in our local mountains... . . somewhere up high preferably off trail .... ?

A paranoid friend challenged me to pre-plan my get-away hide-out, just in case some Hollywood-style excitement should enter my life. (I must admit, while hiking I've found a lot of beautiful places to hold out, and it would be tough to choose just one.)

The saddle between Waterman and Twin is nice too.

I knwo you're not supposed to be in the Crystal Lake area, but everytime I'm there and I see someone, they either just wave, or ask what I'm doing. (Funny thing is, folks seem to know who I am)

Another good place is the peak on Pleasant View Ridge between Pallett Mtn and Mt. Williamson. Again no water, but shady and plenty of flat spots. It's quite a ways out of the way. I'm pretty sure you'd have the place to yourself. It's a bit rough once you pass the named summit of Mt. Williamson, but it's a neat area with a lot of solitude. Still no water.

http://mapper.acme.com/?ll=34.38003,-11 ... tains%20CA

I have never seen a ranger off the highway in the Angeles Crest areas. My guess is that you would never see any ranger type person in Crystal Lake area. And I predict I will NEVER see a ranger anywhere around here. I say stay out of the closed areas for two reasons. 1. Because they are closed. 2. This is the more important reason. Because you have your child with you. To me to stand at the border of a restricted area with your child, and then knowingly enter it because you want to is teaching the child to break laws. It is symbolic to me. Sorry if my views are unpopular. If a ranger comes to Crystal Lake when you are camping there and tells you to leave, what kind of message did you send your child? These are the years to be a good parent. There are plenty of areas that are not closed. Go to those. I thought these message boards were supposed to encourage people to stay within the permit system. come on you guys!

Good point.

My tactial point of view is, DON'T GET CAUGHT!