EISPIRATEN

Lonnie DeCloedt was an avid hiker who made many trips to the San Gabriel Mountains and beyond. He also enjoyed photography, Disneyland, and grave-finding. He especially loved his pet dog, Ashley. In 2014 he died from a heart attack at the age of 50. He is survived by his brother, Todd, who created a memorial page for Lonnie on Facebook.

Starting in 2004, Lonnie published pictures and reports at his website: www.ldphotography.net. The site no longer exists, but it has been partially archived at the Wayback Machine. Lonnie also used the online pseudonym "Thomas Canty" and posted extensively at the forum Photography On The Net.

On September 30, 2007, Lonnie joined our forum, mere days after its creation. Though he only posted here once, his website served as an online resource for the local hiking community. In particular, Hikeup learned a lot from Lonnie's published material and has requested that we preserve his reports at EisPiraten.com.

I have therefore decided to reproduce Lonnie's old trip reports on this thread, thus storing them in a more accessible and viewable form than what's currently found at the Wayback Machine. Unfortunately, Lonnie's pictures were archived with very low resolution, and many only as small thumbnail images on a gallery page. Thus, for our purposes here, I will use only the full-size photos and relevant captions, which means that the following reproductions are incomplete. To see what is missing, you will need to peruse the available content at the Wayback Machine.

This project will take many months, perhaps years. Lonnie wrote dozens of reports and took hundreds of pictures over many years. I'll start with his adventures in the San Gabriels from 2001 and continue chronologically from there.

Cooper Canyon Waterfall
June 6, 2001

By Lonnie DeCloedt

I had heard of this waterfall and went looking for it previously, but didn't realize it was downhill from the trail and couldn't find it that time. I came back on this date to try again, armed with a little more information on where, exactly, it was.

The hike started at the Burkhart Trailhead in the Buckhorn Flats Campground.

A natural table made of rocks.

Wild flowers.

A tree across the trail.

The trail makes a sharp turn here. If it weren't for this sign, a person could easily miss it and keep heading straight ahead.

The creek.

Nearing the waterfall.

The waterfall.

Another shot of the waterfall.

And another.

And another.

Yet another. I kept backing up further away for more shots.

These people showed up shortly after I arrived. They didn't stay very long.

Another shot of the waterfall with the other hikers. These were the only people I saw all day.

After climbing back up the hill to the trail, I turned around for one last shot of the waterfall.

Out of the tree cover, on the upper section of the trail.

That red thing is called a Snow Plant.

A lizard, sunning himself on a rock.

Another waterfall. This one was a little smaller.

Sean, I can only imagine how much Lonnie would be pleased.

From my perspective, Lonnie's TR's are what inspired me to explore the San Gabriels. Sure, Robinson's Trails of the Angeles is what first got me started in hiking, but it was the likes of Lonnie and Dan Simpson (Dan, who, if I recall correctly, has himself actually refered to Lonnie's TR's - forgive me if my memory fails) who wrote TR's in such a way that it gave me the courage to actually get out there and do things that I was afraid I couldn't do. Mind you, these hikes aren't extreme for the most part, but with me being a not so fit guy from the lofty states of Louisiana and Texas, the elevation gains of the 100 hikes (as well as the Sierra Club's HPS peaks) were intimidating. These are real guys in not ridiculously uber-fantastic physical shape who did these hikes with 750-1000+ ft/mile gains and made it sound fun! In Louisiana, at these grades I'd reach the high point after walking about 100 yds.!

Lonnie did these hikes solo (except for his wonderful canine sidekick Ashley), which is exactly how I personally enjoy(ed) hiking. Also, his TR's were almost always (if not in fact always) completely accurate in all respects (parking, mileage, elevation profiles, etc.). Just try and get that kind of reliable info from the likes of Modern Hiker. This is not any special or unique info that can't be found from numerous other sources, but his TR's are special because of the personal experiences he wrote about so simply and eloquently (IMHO).

I had always hoped to run into and talk with Lonnie personally to thank him, but it never happened. My loss. It is because of this that I mentioned his website to Sean as I recognized Sean's passion for the San Gabriels and his agility with all things www.

Thanks.

I remember him, we used to have a Yahoo hiking site and I think he posted there. I definitely saw his write ups, the dog stuck out. While we're at it shout outs to old timers who had great hiking sites or photo galleries such as Roy Randall, Tom Chester (site still up), Wingding, Snownymph, and the originator of the hunt for old aircrafts, Joe Idoni. Another great group was the South Bay hiking group lots of strong fun hikers who were very welcoming. I met most of them at one time or another and also met Chris Brennan who was about to do a rappel and asked me if I wanted to join and I politely demurred.

Mount Islip
September 28, 2001

By Lonnie DeCloedt

Hike stats from GPSr:
Distance: 6.62 Miles
Starting elevation: 6,780'
Lowest elevation: 6,780'
Highest elevation: 7,960'

This was my third time to the summit of Mount Islip (8,250'). I consider this my favorite mountain, because it is the one that pushed me to get into shape. I started this hike at Angeles Crest Highway mile marker 65.5, where the Little Jimmy Trail Camp access road meets the highway.

I followed the access road about a half mile uphill until I came across the Little Jimmy Trail on the left.

About halfway up the road.

Still a little further to go before I get to the trail.

The Little Jimmy Trail.

I don't know if this was the first picture I took of this tree trunk, but I've since taken several. It's my favorite (I have a lot of "favorites" on this mountain). It's hollow. The only thing left of the tree is five or six feet of bark.

Another shot of Little Jimmy Trail Camp.

A sign post at Little Jimmy.

I headed up the Mount Islip Trail at the west end of the campground. I hadn't yet discovered the Windy Gap Trail at this point.

There are a couple more camping spots just a little further uphill from the main campgrounds.

Another fallen tree cut from the trail. This one looked pretty recent.

I adopted Ashley the previous summer and got her started hiking right away. She loves it!

And there's the recreational area near the lake.

The summit cabin ruins.

I've since been to the summits of every mountain that can be seen from here, some several times, and can identify all of them. I didn't sign the summit register the first time I came here because I didn't know there was such a thing. I couldn't find it the second time. Third time's a charm! I also hadn't yet heard of the Hundred Peaks Section yet.

Mount Mooney, Devil's Peak and Vetter Mountain
October 6, 2001

By Lonnie DeCloedt

Hike stats from GPSr:
Distance: 5.80 Miles
Lowest elevation: 5,080'
Highest elevation: 5,760'

A rather ambitious hike for me at the time, I decided to attempt three summits in one day. I started by parking along Angeles Crest Highway, near the entrance to Charlton Flats.

I headed up this dirt road to a saddle between Mount Mooney and Devil's Peak.

The saddle. Mount Mooney is to the left, Devil's Peak is to the right, and straight ahead is a road that makes a long sweeping circle around Chilao and back to Charlton (I'll do that some other day).

Oh yeah, Ashley was with me on this one, too.

I headed for Mount Mooney first. It's a short hike up this hillside.

About halfway to the top.

Almost there.

I left Mooney and headed up the closed observatory road at the saddle, in the direction of Devil's Peak.

Ashley on the road to the observatory.

The Stony Ridge Observatory, on the way to Devil's Peak.

A marker on the side of the observatory.

Another look at the observatory's dome.

A shot of Vetter Mountain, my next goal, from about halfway up Devil's Peak.

And looking back at Mount Mooney.

Ashley, working her way to the top of Devil's Peak.

There's another shot of Mount Wilson. I got a lot of pictures of that one, because it was the one I could most readily identify, due to the antenna farm on top of it.

I've long since forgotten why I took this picture.

The Devil's Peak summit register. Devil's Peak, for reasons I don't understand, is not on the Hundred Peaks Section list.

I left Devil's Peak, walked down the road and back to my car, then drove the mile or so down to the end of Charlton Flats, where I would pick up the Vetter Mountain Trail. I really should have walked that instead of driving it...

A trail intersection.

There is plenty of shade from the oak trees on this trail. I think oaks are probably my favorite kind of trees.

The Vetter Mountain Trail crosses this road twice on the way to the top.

Ashley, crossing the road.

Near the summit, the trail looks more like a wash.

I'm starting to add to the list of mountains I can recognize.

The Vetter Mountain summit register. Three peaks in one day. Quite an achievement for me back then!

If I remember correctly, this shot is looking north(ish) from the fire lookout tower on the summit of Vetter.

Winston Peak
October 17, 2001

By Lonnie DeCloedt

Hike stats from GPSr:
Distance: 1.32 Miles
Starting elevation: 6,720'
Lowest elevation: 6,720'
Highest elevation: 7,180'


This hike started here at Cloud Burst Summit, on Angeles Crest Highway.

I actually took this picture when I got back to the car after the hike. The people in the van were just getting ready to head out on the trail. I don't know if they were going up to Winston Peak, or down to Cooper Canyon.

The trailhead.

Another shot of the trailhead. I don't remember why I took two different pictures of it.

The trail is nice and wide at first, almost like an old road. It narrows down to a normal trail before long.

Mount Islip in the distance.

A couple old burned logs, remnants of some long ago fire.

Almost to the summit.

The summit is just around that bend.

The rocky summit block of Winston Peak.

I've never been able to find a summit register up here, even on subsequent trips.

A view north to the desert.

An old fallen tree just below the summit.

The same shot, zoomed out a little. I don't remember why I kept taking duplicate photos on this hike. I guess I must have been trying to fill out the image gallery since it's such a short hike.

The end of the hike. About halfway back down I passed a naked hiker on his way up the mountain. Why are the naked hikers always male?

Found this pic I took in 2009 of his register entry on Sugarloaf.

Haggard Peak
May 28, 2002

By Lonnie DeCloedt

Haggard Peak (approx. 2,990')
Distance: 6.44 Miles
Verdugo Mountains

I'm not sure if this summit has an official name.* I refer to it as Haggard Peak because the first time I went there was with my best friend Steve Haggard, back in 1979 or 1980 when we were in high school.

The trail starts at the end of the road in Wildwood Canyon, in the foothills above Burbank.

At first, the route follows a dirt access road that goes to some water towers. My goal for the hike became visible as I rounded a bend in the road.

A little closer and a slightly better shot of my goal.

Grafitti covered water towers at a sort of saddle on the road. I left the road here and headed up a rather steep, short trail to the top.

Nearing the radio tower at the top.

The radio tower.

Mount Lukens to the north, with its own antenna farm on top. Lukens is the highest point within the city limits of Los Angeles.

Once I made it to the top of Haggard Peak, there was a dirt road I followed east toward Glendale, toward a couple other radio tower installations.

This road heads down into the Tujunga area to the north.

Haggard Peak is the first tower behind the trees on the left side of this photo. The second one, toward the center, is slightly higher in elevation.

The third tower along the road. This is as far as I went on this trip.

There are a few more tower installations along the ridge as it makes its way toward Glendale. The San Gabriel Mountains can be seen in the background.

A yucca in bloom.

Someone stuck this flag in the fence on Haggard Peak. I started seeing these fairly often after September 1, 2001.**

Me in front of the radio tower on Haggard Peak.


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* I'm not aware of an official name for this summit. I believe some locals call it West Peak.

** Lonnie probably meant September 11, 2001, referring to the terrorist attacks on America.

San Jacinto Peak
September 19, 2002

By Lonnie Decloedt

San Jacinto Peak (10,804')
Distance: 15.40 Miles
San Jacinto Mountains
(San Jacinto Wilderness)


After doing [San Jacinto] the week before, a coworker of mine named Danny decided he wanted to do it also. So, I took him and his girlfriend Jana up to Humber Park in Idyllwild to attack the Devil's Slide Trail again. A short way up the trail we found this little deer mouse. It was a bit loopy, running in circles in the middle of the trail.

Danny and Jana at Saddle Junction.

Danny near the federal/state wilderness boundary where we stopped for a short break.

The Salton Sea could be seen to the east. I didn't see that the previous week. The skies seemed a little clearer on this trip.

A slightly closer view of the Salton Sea.

Jana makes it to Wellman Divide.

And so does Danny.

We made it to the hut just below the summit. I added to my register entry from the previous week.

I thought this register entry was pretty humorous.

Danny was feeling a little dizzy and nauseous from the altitude and stayed at the hut while Jana and I continued up the rocks to the summit. We had a nice, clear view of Hemet Lake to the south from the summit.

Jana on the summit. This is one of my favorite pictures from all of my hikes.

San Gorgonio Mountain on the other side of the pass.

Another shot of Jana on the summit.

Just as I was arriving back home after the long drive back from the desert, I saw these missile trails in the sky to the west and got out to take a shot. The military was test firing a missile off the coast. The reflection at the bottom of the picture is from my car's roof, which I was using as an impromptu tripod for this picture.

Bridge to Nowhere
January 23, 2003

By Lonnie DeCloedt

Bridge to Nowhere
Hike stats from GPSr:
Distance: 10.90 Miles
Starting elevation: 2,071'
Lowest elevation: 1,784'
Highest elevation: 2,806'
Total elevation gain: 1,194'

In a bit of a departure for me, I decided to head to The Bridge to Nowhere this week, instead of some mountain summit. Though this is one of the most popular hikes in the L.A. area, I didn't see anyone else at the bridge on this day.

I started this hike here at the East Fork Road, near the fire station.

This hike took me into the Sheep Mountain Wilderness. This is the only entry point in this wilderness area that requires a wilderness permit. They are available at a self-service station just below the fire station.

[T]he actual start of the trail [is] at the north end of Heaton Flat, a little more than a half mile past the East Fork Road closure.*

If you decide to go on this hike, wear a pair of old boots that you no longer care about (preferably waterproof), because you WILL be getting wet! The trail crosses the river about a dozen times.

There isn't actually any one trail that goes to the bridge. The trail branches off several times, and even seemed to disappear completely at times. As long as you keep heading in the right direction, keeping to a trail when you can, or what's left of the old road bed ... you'll eventually end up in the correct place.

At [a] river crossing, I found ... supports for another bridge which no longer exists. There are usually rocks or logs you can use to help cross the river, but many times they are a couple inches below the surface of the water ... [A] little foot bridge sure looked rickety, but it felt pretty sturdy when I crossed over it.

The old road bed and the Bridge to Nowhere cross through private property, but access is allowed as long as you stay on the trail.

The famous bridge, stranded about five miles north of the nearest currently existing road.
(Three images combined with Smoky City Design's Panorama Factory)

It is located in the lower elevations of the Angeles High Country of the San Gabriel Mountains, near The Narrows. The Narrows, the deepest gorge in Southern California, rises about 5,500' in about 1.5 miles. Now, that is STEEP!

The bridge and road were built in the 1930's, in an attempt to connect the San Gabriel Valley with Wrightwood and the desert beyond. Large sections of the road were washed downstream in the devastating flood of 1938, and the entire project was abandoned when it was decided the hillsides were just too unstable to attempt to rebuild the road. Very little of the road is left. The only tangible evidence still in existence is this bridge, out here all by itself.

The bridge appears to have shifted about two inches across the center over the years, probably due to earthquake damage. It also seemed to me like it was leaning a bit to the south. Considering the fact that it has been here, completely neglected, for 65 years, it's in pretty good shape, but I have to wonder how much longer it will really last. Part of the railing was missing in a couple places.

I continued on the trail toward The Narrows for a short while, but when I saw it was heading back down to the river, I decided to call it a day. I didn't really feel like wading across the river any more, and I still had about a dozen crossings to go on the way back.

Going by one of the Curve Fire burn areas on my way back, I passed [some] charred plants. I'm not sure what they [were]. They look[ed] like a cross between a palm tree and a yucca.

I took a different path on the way back, following the river instead of the high road I took on the way in. I found [a] motorcycle in the river near the area where that rickety foot bridge I saw on the way in was. Judging from the condition of the bike, I'd say it was abandoned here a LONG time ago.

I don't usually see manzanita this large. Normally they look like small bushes, not trees, like this one.


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* The Wayback Machine archived only a few full-sized images from Lonnie's gallery for this trip. I have included and slightly modified some captions from missing photos in order to preserve the essence of his report.

Turtlehead Peak
December 24, 2003

By Lonnie DeCloedt

Turtlehead Peak (6,323')
Hike stats from GPSr:
Distance: 5.41 Miles
Starting elevation: 4,300'
Lowest elevation: 4,258'
Highest elevation: 6,322'
Total elevation gain: 2,321'
La Madre Mountains
(Red Rock Canyon, Nevada)

Computer and car problems kept me offline and out of the mountains for a while, but the car is fixed, and I now have a new laptop, desktop and PDA, so it was time to get back to hiking! So, I headed to Nevada's Turtlehead Peak for another try.

My brother and I decided to spend Christmas in Las Vegas and stayed here at Luxor. The view outside my hotel room window.

That's Excalibur. You can also see one of the New York, New York towers behind it.

Looking down toward the casino floor from my room on the 13th floor. This is the world's largest atrium.


That's Turtlehead Peak, with the clouds starting to roll in, as seen from the parking lot at the Sandstone Quarry, where the trailhead is located. It looked like it was about to start raining any second, but actually the rain didn't come for another day.

Turtlehead Peak above the sandstone.

Soon after I passed this area, I lost the trail and decided to head straight up the ridge. This put me in some class three rocks.

Almost there.

After scrambling over the rocks for a while, I noticed a couple guys below me on the trail, so I cut back across and picked it up again near where they were.

The clouds opened up for just a few seconds, giving me a brief view of the canyon floor, 1700' below me.

The Turtlehead Peak register.

The peak was named for its obvious resemblance [to] a turtle, poking its head out from its shell.

Me on the summit of Turtlehead Peak. It was a little chilly up there, but still pretty muggy.

The view south from the summit.

If it had been a clear day, this shot would show the Sandstone Quarry in the canyon below. I'd imagine you could see the large hotels/casinos on The Strip from here on a clear day.

Heading back down, I broke out of the clouds a couple hundred feet below the summit. Here's a view of the canyon.

That's the Sandstone Quarry down there. You can also see part of the 13 mile loop road that winds through Red Rock Canyon.

Looking back at Turtlehead Peak from the canyon floor.

Figures, now that I'm back down the clouds would clear away from the summit.

Getting closer to the old Sandstone Quarry.

The Calico Hills, just behind the Sandstone Quarry.

Even closer to the Calico Hills and Sandstone Quarry.

One more look back at Turtlehead Peak.

This hill looked like some sort of Star Wars creature to me.

I showed it to some friends, and one said it looked like a woman giving birth. Now I can't look at this picture without seeing that. Thanks a lot, Robert!

The Calico Hills near the Sandstone Quarry.

Those little tiny dots on the side of that hill are people climbing it. [Here is] the same view, zoomed in a little so you can see the people a little clearer.

One final look at Turtlehead Peak from the Sandstone Quarry.

You can see some of the quarried blocks in the foreground.

So I've added a few more of Lonnie's trip reports for hikes he did in '02 and '03. The Wayback Machine did not archive many of his full-sized images, and my effort to locate copies elsewhere has failed, so for now I'm only reproducing his reports when I can find decent images to go with the preserved captions. I still have a few more years worth of Lonnie's hikes to go through. I'll take a break and get back to them hopefully sooner than later. Below are some bonus photos plus the captions from Lonnie's Facebook page.


"The old cabin on the summit of Mount Islip in the San Gabriel Mountains. This was the first mountain summit I reached (in May 2000)."


"Me and my favoritest, bestest little girl on the summit of Mount Baden-Powell in the San Gabriel Mountains. Wow! That was TEN years ago?!? Where did the time go?" Posted to Facebook in 2013, Lonnie took the photo in 2003.


"Three Least Chipmunks at Buckhorn Campground in the San Gabriel Mountains. There were a dozen or so playing on this log but every time I tried to get close enough to take a picture they ran away. So, I put my telephoto lens on the old Olympus C-4040Z, sat down on a tree stump across the road and waited. After about 15 minutes, these three came back to see if the coast was clear." The photo is stamped with the year 2002, which corresponds with his "Switzer Falls and Buckhorn Campground" gallery from May 15, 2002.

Wait. Is this the "LD" that used to post here? His posts on this forum stopped in 2011.

dima wrote: ↑Wed Dec 27, 2023 6:17 pm Wait. Is this the "LD" that used to post here? His posts on this forum stopped in 2011.

I doubt it. LD was more advanced.

Oh yeah. Lonnie actually does have an account here. With a single post about how he doesn't post.

Mount Baden-Powell
June 11, 2004

By Lonnie DeCloedt

Hike stats from GPSr:
Distance: 8.24 Miles
Starting elevation: 6,647'
Lowest elevation: 6,647'
Highest elevation: 9,347'
(Normally it's much more accurate than this!)
Total elevation gain: 2,556'
I noticed Angeles Crest Highway was open again, so I decided to head back into the Angeles High Country for a short hike [to Vincent's Cabin] before I had to go back to work Friday night.

A look at the collapsed chimney behind the cabin.
While checking out the cabin, I decided to hike Mount Baden-Powell, too. It was getting late, though, so I had to come back and do that the next day. This shot shows the trailhead at Vincent Gap.
The road that leads to the mine and the cabin is just to the left, where that gate blocks access to vehicles.

This vista at one of the switchbacks near the beginning of the hike has a bench for those who want to sit down and take in the view.
Ashley, on the trail.
Her feet were so sore last week after doing Mount Baldy that she couldn't walk for two or three days. I've had these boots for about a year or so, but just never put them on her. I decided it was about time to get her used to them. She wasn't too crazy about them at first, but didn't seem to mind after a short while.

This rock almost looks like it was cut clear of the trail.
That would take a heck of a powerful chainsaw.

A couple miles up, at this switchback, is an intersection.
Heading straight at this point for a quarter mile would take me to Lamel Spring. I've never followed that trail, but want to check it out some day.

Another shot of Ashley.
I got a lot of pictures of her on this hike. These boots did their job, keeping the pads of her feet from getting sore, but she had some difficulty walking in them. On our way back down, she kept catching the tips on the ground and tripping over herself, planting her face in the dirt. I saw that happen once, but it apparently happened frequently. It seemed like every time I turned back to look at her, her snout kept getting darker from all the dirt she was grinding into her face... Poor dog...

These signs are located at a few random switchbacks to let you know how you are progressing, giving the altitude, mileage and switchback number (there are 41 total).
Unfortunately, the signs are old and the lettering is wearing off most of them.

Snow.
There wasn't much up here, just two very small drifts; this one, and another slightly larger one about a tenth of a mile further up the trail.

Almost to the top.
The Wally Waldron Tree, a 1,500 year old Limber Pine believed to be the oldest living tree in the San Gabriel Mountains, is on the ridge on the left.

The summit.
The monument to Lord Baden-Powell can be seen up there.

I should have brought a new notebook with me. This was my seventh time on this summit, and I only remember there being a decent register book up here once. A couple times there was nothing at all. This time I only found three or four loose pieces of paper. Oddly enough, there was about a dozen pens in there -- plenty of those...

Ashley and me at the monument on the summit.
One more shot of the monument.
A triangulation marker on the summit.
I found one up here before, but this isn't it. The one I found last time gave the mountain's name as "North Baldy". I couldn't find that marker this time. Instead, I found this one with the correct peak name of "Mount Baden-Powell" on it.

I photographed Ashley as she followed me around the summit.

[Note: Lonnie captioned a few lost photos with peak identifications. I'm preserving the identifications he made.]

Peaks visible looking west: Throop Peak, Mount Burnham, Mount Lewis, Waterman Mountain, Winston Peak, Pallett Mountain, Will Thrall Peak, Pleasant View Ridge, Pacifico Mountain and Mount Gleason. Mount Emma and Old Mount Emma [might also be visible], but I'm not too sure about those ones. Also looking west, and slightly more south: Middle Hawkins, Mount Hawkins, Throop Peak, Mount Burnham, Waterman Mountain, Winston Peak, Pacifico Mountain, Mount Gleason and Mount Wilson with the rest of the peaklets on its ridge.

East: Wright Mountain, Pine Mountain, Dawson Peak, Mount San Antonio (Baldy), West Baldy, Iron Mountain and Ontario Peak.
San Gorgonio Mountain can be seen in the distance on the left, and San Jacinto Peak is barely visible between Dawson and Baldy.

Blue Ridge.
When you watch the news and see the weatherman show a view "from the Blue Ridge cam", it's down there somewhere. Wright Mountain is on the right side of the shot, and San Gorgonio Mountain is in the distance.

The white area down there is the Devil's Punchbowl, in the desert.
[Note: Below are more preserved identifications for lost photos.]

[To the] west, South Mount Hawkins. Copter Ridge is the lower peak in front of it. Mount Wilson, et al, is in the background to the left of South Hawkins.

[T]he Baldy Traverse [goes] from Iron Mountain to West Baldy and Mount San Antonio (Baldy). Ontario Peak, in the Cucamonga Wilderness, is in the background.

Pinyon Ridge [is] to the north, with the Mojave Desert beyond.

I went back to Vincent Gap and ended the hike. My car was the only one in the parking lot when I arrived there before the hike.

Cirque Peak Attempt
August 11, 2004

by Lonnie DeCloedt

Hike stats from GPSr:
Distance: 10.0 Miles
Starting elevation: 9,963'
Lowest elevation: 9.910'
Highest elevation: 12,023'
Total elevation gain: 2,186'

Sierra Nevada Mountains
(Golden Trout Wilderness)
It had been a while since I'd been in the Eastern Sierras, so I took Ashley up there to try to pick up Cirque Peak via the Cottonwood Pass. From the top of the pass, I mistakenly tried going around an intervening peak instead of over it. This put me in quite a bit of class 2 and class 3 rocks that I wasn't expecting, and I ended up looking at a cliff I couldn't get up. The rocks were wearing us out, so instead of backtracking and trying the correct way, I decided to call it a day and come back some other time for this mountain.

The trailhead at Horseshoe Meadows.
This trail soon branches off into the Trail Pass and Cottonwood Pass trails. After entering the Golden Trout Wilderness, this is where the trail branches.
The Trail Pass Trail is to the left of this tree. I was headed straight ahead, to Cottonwood Pass.

The first couple miles of this hike were on fairly level terrain.
This creek runs through the meadow.
I had to cross it twice as I entered the trees.

A cabin hidden in the trees near the first creek crossing.
I wonder how many people pass by here without realizing it's there.

Heading up to Cottonwood Pass, I finally started to encounter some elevation gain as I headed up the switchbacks.
Near the top of the pass I turned around to get this shot of Horseshoe Meadow down there in the distance, about three miles away.
After I got to the top of the pass, I headed cross-country, up this steep and rocky mountainside.
I headed around the peak in a counter-clockwise direction, scrambling through the rocks as I climbed uphill. I later discovered this was a bad choice of direction.

The view north.
I think that's Mount Langley on the far left, but I'm not completely positive about that.

As I made my way around the peak I was scrambling up, I came upon a sheer cliff that I had no way of getting up. I should have headed straight up this peak from the top of Cottonwood Pass instead of trying to go around it. The class 2 and class 3 rocks that I hadn't anticipated were wearing Ashley and me out, so I decided to call it quits here.
I stopped for lunch before heading back down.

The view east from where we stopped.
The dry Owens Lake bed can be seen in the distance.

One last look north before we head back down to Horseshoe Meadows.
A cool rock formation near the top of Cottonwood Pass.
Ashley taking a break at the top of Cottonwood Pass.
As we headed back down to camp, some dark and ominous looking clouds started rolling in. I never did see any rain, but after we got back to Horseshoe Meadow, I heard a very loud, close thunderclap while I was getting my dinner ready.
I decided to stop at the cabin near the creek on the way back. I stumbled across this cabin about a year ago when I was up here wandering around to kill some time the day before my Mount Whitney climb.
Inside the cabin.
Barbed wire and the remains of an old bed outside the cabin.
Me and Ashley in front of the cabin.
Whoever built this thing must have been very short. I'm not all that tall, but I had to duck to get through the door. The crossbeams inside were just as low.

Making our way back through the meadow.
The Trail Pass Trail can be seen heading across to the other side.

Mount Langley Attempt
August 24-25, 2004

by Lonnie DeCloedt

Hike stats from GPSr:

Leg 1 (Trailhead to Cottonwood Lake Four)
Distance: 5.95 Miles
Starting elevation: 10,030'
Lowest elevation: 10,030'
Highest elevation: 11,110'
Total elevation gain: 1,240'

Leg 2 (Cottonwood Lake Four to Mount Langley and back):
Distance: 7.49 Miles
Starting elevation: 11,164'
Lowest elevation: 11,078'
Highest elevation: 13,473'
Total elevation gain: 2,821'

Leg 3 (Cottonwood Lake Four to Trailhead):
Distance: 5.85 Miles
Starting elevation: 11,164'
Lowest elevation: 10,040'
Highest elevation: 11,185'
Total elevation gain: 271'
Total elevation loss: 1,115'

Sierra Nevada Mountains
(Golden Trout and John Muir Wildernesses)

I've been wanting to give Langley a try for a while now, but the reservable permits were already gone, so I decided to head up there, camp at Horseshoe Meadow, and dayhike to the Cottonwood Lakes to check the area out. As I arrived in Lone Pine, I decided to stop at the ranger station and see if there were any walk up permits available. There were, so I was able to give Langley a try after all. Ashley and I hiked to lake four and set up camp, then the next day climbed Old Army Pass and headed up Langley. We didn't make it to the top, though. I was following a use trail that put me in the wrong place, and wound up in some rocks we just couldn't navigate through. We'll be back to try again soon!

I've gone looking for [an] arch in the Alabama Hills near Lone Pine several times with no luck. This time, with a little help and a map from Snow Nymph, I was finally able to track it down. Mount Whitney, Mount Muir, the needles and Lone Pine Peak can be seen inside the arch.

After visiting the arch, we drove to the Cottonwood Lakes trailhead near Horseshoe Meadows, loaded up and started on our way. [We entered] the Golden Trout Wilderness. A sign [was] stapled to the side of a tree next to the trail just inside the wilderness. There were a number of stream crossings to negotiate on the way to the lakes. Two of the streams had log bridges over them. [We passed the] Golden Trout Educational Camp, [then left] the Golden Trout Wilderness and [entered] the John Muir Wilderness.
Ashley, heading to the log bridge on another stream crossing.
These dark clouds were blowing in as I made my way to the lakes.
Just like two weeks earlier, I never saw any rain, but I did hear some thunder later in the night. It must have been raining somewhere nearby.

The trail split. The trail to the left [headed] to New Army Pass. I kept going straight ahead, toward the Cottonwood Lakes.

I [watched] Ashley at another stream crossing. She's not too good at using the rocks to keep out of the water. Sometimes she tries, but eventually ends up plodding right through the water.

Cirque Peak is ahead on the left.
Mount Langley in the distance.
I saw a lot of marmots up here. Most of them were pretty skinny, too. Not the fat, chubby ones like I'd seen last year on White Mountain Peak.
Cottonwood Lake One [was] mostly dried up.

On the door of a cabin next to lake three, someone scratched "Cook Wanted." Mount Langley [was] in the background at lake three.

As near as I can determine, I [saw] a Gunnison Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus minimus). There were two of them wandering around my camp site. They weren't very skittish, either. I [was able to get very] close for [a] picture.

I [had a] view of Cottonwood Lake Four from my camp site kitchen.

My camp.
I just bought this new tent last week. I really like it for its small pack size and light weight, but it has a serious condensation problem.

Sunset at Mount Langley.
[Note: Unfortunately I could not locate archived files for the rest of Lonnie's trip. Only portions of the first leg appear to have been saved.]

San Bernardino Peaks
October 6, 2004

By Lonnie DeCloedt

I hadn't been in the San Gorgonio Wilderness for a little while, so I headed up there to take the Forsee Creek trail to San Bernardino Peak East (10,691'), San Bernardino Peak (10,649'), and if I had time (I didn't) Anderson (10,840') and Shields (10,680') Peaks. The weather was great, I had the wilderness all to myself (well, almost) and I had a good time.

[Note: While several of Lonnie's photos from this trip were preserved, the full captions were not. I've included his partial captions for some photos. Other captions could not be retrieved, not even in partial form.]

I added four of Lonnie's TRs from 2004. The WayBack Machine saved partial content for a few other hikes that year, but not enough to create a satisfying reproduction of Lonnie's gallery-based reports. After I'm done with years 2005-08, I will reconsider the miscellaneous material and possibly publish it piecemeal.

Manzanita Mountain
February 1, 2005

By Lonnie DeCloedt

I know it may seem like we haven't been hiking much lately, but Ashley and I have been keeping ourselves busy with our usual after work hikes in Griffith Park, the Verdugo Mountains and Runyon Canyon. I just don't document those since we do them so often. This morning I decided to head to Placerita Canyon instead. We'd been there a few times before, and had even explored part of the trail we would take today before. This time I wanted to find out where it goes to the end, so I brought the camera along to make a record of it.

[Note: Lonnie's full captions could not be retrieved.]

Echo Mountain and Mount Lowe
February 3, 2005

By Lonnie DeCloedt

This hike took us through some of the Los Angeles area's history as we climbed Mount Lowe, passing through Echo Mountain, the Mount Lowe Trail Camp and Inspiration Point. All of these sites were made famous by Professor Thaddeus Lowe, who built a railroad to carry visitors from the San Gabriel Valley to the resorts he built in the mountains. I had been there twice before, each time via a different route. This was Ashley's first time.

[Note: None of Lonnie's captions could be retrieved.]

Rabbit Peak #1, Granite Mountain #1, Round Top and Iron Mountain #3
April 6, 2005

By Lonnie DeCloedt

I've created a monster! Well, that's what my track looks like when plotted on the map, anyway... I had originally planned to hike Mount Emma and Old Mount Emma again, adding a couple more peaks to Ashley's HPS list. But after almost 20 miles this week in Griffith Park and the Verdugo Mountains, her paw was bugging her too much to hike. So, I decided to solo on a hike she'd already done before. This is one of my favorite hikes, but it's definitely one you don't want to do in the full heat of summer. There is almost no shade at all, except for a brief respite on the summit of Granite. The temperatures during this hike averaged about 80 degrees, but it felt about ten degrees warmer at times.

[Note: Lonnie's full captions could not be retrieved.]

Mount Wilson
April 14, 2005

By Lonnie DeCloedt

I was sick most of the past week so Ashley and I didn't get any local conditioning hikes in until the day before. She was still a bit slow on that four-mile trek through Griffith Park, so I decided to do another main hike without her, and I headed to Sierra Madre to pick up a second route to the summit of Mount Wilson. It turned out to be a bit more strenuous than I was anticipating, but nothing I couldn't handle. I need that intense workout anyway. Hopefully I'll be able to get Ashley back up to speed enough to accompany me on a decent hike next week.
[Note: Lonnie's full captions could not be retrieved.]

Old Mount Emma and (new) Mount Emma
April 20, 2005

By Lonnie DeCloedt

Ashley was finally ready to tackle a decent hike, so we headed to the Emmas, a couple desert peaks near Palmdale. I had done these two before, but they were new to Ashley. To make things a little different for me, I took a different route, this time heading mostly cross-country up the steep northeastern slope of Old Mount Emma before heading across the ridge to Mount Emma.

[Note: Lonnie's full captions could not be retrieved.]

Turtlehead Peak
May 4, 2005

By Lonnie DeCloedt

Hike Stats from GPSr:
Distance: 4.67 Miles
Starting elevation: 4,352'
Lowest elevation: 4,206'
Highest elevation: 6,299'
Total elevation gain: 1,849'
Total elevation loss: 1,958'
(Those numbers don't add up! The difference between the lowest and highest elevations is 2,093', but I covered that in only 1,849'???)

On Christmas Eve 2003, I climbed Turtlehead Peak in Red Rock Canyon, about 15 miles northwest of the Las Vegas Strip. The weather that day was heavily overcast and threatening to rain (it did rain later in the evening), and the summit was socked in by clouds, ruining any view I might have had from the top. I figured the view of the city was probably pretty good from up there in better conditions, and wanted to come back for another look. I was afraid it wouldn't work this time either. Rain and clouds had been forecast for this day, but it turned out the weather couldn't have been better. The rain failed to show up this time, and the clouds were too high to interfere.

La Madre Mountains
(Red Rock Canyon, Nevada)
This hike starts at the Sandstone Quarry parking lot.
I arrived here shortly after the park opened and had the area all to myself. I knew that wouldn't last long, though. You can see Turtlehead Peak in the background on the far right.

A rabbit hiding in the brush near the trailhead.
He was actually pretty brave and didn't mind me being near at all. After taking a few pictures, I turned the camera off and the whirring sound as the lens retracted spooked him. That's when he ran off.

In the early days of Las Vegas, blocks of sandstone were carved out of the hillsides here [at the Sandstone Quarry] and carted into town where they were used to build the hotels and casinos.
That looks like some kind of yucca, though the ones I'm familiar with grow right out of the ground, not on a small trunk like that.

There were several flowers here and there along the trail, but the ground was not carpeted like I saw in Death Valley a few weeks ago. I wonder if this area was like that back then too.
These purple flowers were growing on top of some small barrel cacti.
The flower was about the same size as the cactus.

More wild flowers.
I think this is lupine. My Olympus camera has a hard time focusing in macro mode, so I had it in manual focus for the flower pictures here. I didn't quite get the focus right on this one, though.

[There was a] pile of rocks [that] almost look[ed] like someone tried to build a small cabin [on a] hill.

When I was here last time I thought this hill looked like some sort of Star Wars creature.
I showed a picture of it to some friends and one of them said it looked to him like a woman giving birth. So, now I call it Birthing Rock.

More wild flowers.
This looks like a Desert Gold, but I'm not sure if this area has the same varieties of flowers as in Death Valley.

Another look up at Turtlehead Peak, looming a couple thousand feet above the sandstone Calico Hills.


A scraggly tree growing in the sandstone.
The trail winding up to the peak.
More wild flowers.
Another of those trunked yuccas.
Last time I was up here I lost the trail a short distance beyond this point and tried going up the ridge ahead. That put me in some rough class three rocks that were difficult to get through. When I saw a few other people below, I cut back down into the wash where I picked up the trail again. I kept losing the trail this time also, since it is very faint in places, but at least I knew which way I was supposed to go now.

Turtlehead Peak, backlit by the rising sun.
It gets a little steep here.
Nearing the saddle, I turned around to look back at what I had just climbed.

This looks like some sort of miniature agave.
Another shot of the backlit peak.
These short, gnarled trees have a lot of tiny white blossoms on them.
[After] arriving at the saddle, the hike gets much easier from this point onward.

A lizard [was] basking in the morning sun next to the trail. [There were] picturesque dead trees near the summit.

I made it [to the summit]. Again. [To the] south, that's the Sandstone Quarry, where I started the hike. The valley and mountains [are] to the south. You can see the thirteen mile scenic loop road that circles through the canyon. Looking northeast toward the Strip, I was able to identify several of the big casinos/hotels. This is the view I [went] back to see. This peak was enveloped in clouds last time I was [there] and I couldn't see anything. The Stratosphere and Wynn are easily identified by their unique shape. The bright red dome of Circus Circus' Adventuredome was reflecting the sun. Using those three as landmarks, I could pinpoint the others near them. I was also able to point out most of the resorts further to the right, like the distinct shapes of Mandalay Bay, Excalibur, New York New York and Rio.

My entry in the summit register.
I was hoping to find my entry from the last time, but this mountain is just too popular. There were three very thick notebooks in the register can and all of them were half full and from this year only. The one I signed in 2003 is long gone by now.

Me on the summit of Turtlehead Peak.
Looking down the steep south face of the mountain.
More wild flowers.
Time to head back to the Strip and relax.

San Jacinto Peak
June 8, 2005

By Lonnie DeCloedt

After reading Wingding's report on the San Gorgonio Backcountry Bulletin Board about her hike to San Jacinto Peak the previous weekend, I decided to go up there myself. There was a little more snow there than I was expecting, but that just made the trek an even better workout.

[Note: Lonnie's full captions could not be retrieved.]

Tahquitz Peak (8,846')
July 14, 2005

By Lonnie DeCloedt

Hike Stats from GPSr:
Distance: 8.77 Miles
Starting elevation: 6,593'
Lowest elevation: 6,466'
Highest elevation: 8,818'
Total elevation gain: 2,038'
Total elevation loss: 2,248'

I really wanted to head into the San Gorgonio Wilderness to finish off this week, but the reports I'd been hearing said there was still too much snow there (which I have since found to be incorrect), so I settled on a short, easy hike instead: Tahquitz Peak in the San Jacinto Wilderness. This was my fourth time to the summit of this mountain, but to spice it up a bit, I took a different route than usual. My other three trips were all via the South Ridge Trail. This time I took the Devil's Slide Trail to Saddle Junction, then the Pacific Crest Trail across to the peak.

San Jacinto Mountains
(San Jacinto Wilderness)
The trailhead in Idyllwild's Humber Park.
Lily Rock.
Entering the wilderness area, getting the hike started.
Suicide Rock to the west.
One of these days I need to go there (and Lily Rock).

A little chipmunk next to the trail.
The bush that had the little flowers on it.
Another look at Suicide Rock.
Diamond Valley Lake can be seen in the distance on the left.

The view through a natural window.
Saddle Junction.
Someone was camping here despite the signs that say camping is not allowed at Saddle Junction.
The Pacific Crest Trail heading north.
This is the trail I would take if I were going to San Jacinto Peak.

Tahquitz Meadow is down the trail on the left and Tahquitz Peak (where I was headed) is up the trail on the right.
Red Tahquitz to the east.
A helicopter was circling the area for a while, like they were searching for someone.
I left the Pacific Crest Trail here as it veered left toward Tahquitz Meadow.
I headed up the trail to the right, toward the summit.

This little guy was sure making a lot of noise.
The small saddle below the summit.
The South Ridge Trail heads downhill from here, and the summit is on the left.

The fire lookout tower on the summit of Tahquitz Peak.
The remains of the outhouse on the east side of the summit.
It was still standing (barely) the first time I came here, but it had fallen over by my second time to the summit.

Mount San Antonio (aka Mount Baldy -- 10,064') and West Baldy (9,988')
July 28, 2005

By Lonnie DeCloedt

Hike Stats from GPSr:
Distance: 13.20 Miles
Starting elevation: 4,499'
Lowest elevation: 4,499'
Highest elevation: 10,046'
Total elevation gain: 5,108'
Total elevation loss: 5,061'

I had planned to hike the Vivian Creek Trail to San Gorgonio Mountain last week, but Hurricane Emily brought some thunderstorms into our mountains and deserts, so I decided to play it safe and avoid the mountains. Instead, I went to Disneyland. I intended to reschedule that trip for this week, but then the monsoonal flow returned, bringing the storms back. I wasn't about to stay out of the mountains two weeks in a row, so I just changed my plans. Instead, I headed to Mount Baldy, hoping the storms wouldn't make it that far west, or that I could at least get an early start and stay ahead of them. Also, I wanted a bit of a challenge, so I took the Bear Canyon Trail from Baldy Village. I had a nice little surprise in the saddle between Baldy and West Baldy, too.

San Gabriel Mountains
Last time I did this hike, I parked in the church parking lot, about a quarter mile down the road from here because the small parking lot at the trailhead was full. This time I arrived early and was able to park here, next to the trailhead register.
I wanted to arrive early so I could start as soon as possible, hoping to avoid the afternoon thunderstorms I expected to form at the summit. I began hiking as soon as it got light enough for me to see the trail.

The trailhead register.
This stream runs along the road and trail for the first 1.5 miles of the hike.
As near as I can determine from the topo map, it's called the West Fork Bear Canyon Creek.

The wooden footbridge where the road ends and the trail begins.
Last time I was here I mentioned how the boards in the bridge were rotting away. Since then they've apparently broken away and someone has placed sheets of plywood across the missing sections.

Looking back down toward Baldy Village, from about a half mile into the hike.
Since Baldy Village sits in this canyon with tall mountains immediately to the east, the morning light arrives here later than Claremont, in the valley just south.
The upper end of the creek, as I arrive at Bear Flat.
Bear Flat.
The trail here is very overgrown with ferns, but only for a short distance. On the other side of Bear Flat, the trail becomes much steeper.

[The sun rose] over Ontario Peak to the east. Sugarloaf Peak is in front of it on the left.

In the more alpine-like conditions, the tree cover is pretty light, and there is very little shade on this trail. That's another reason why I wanted to get as early a start as possible. The lower half of the trail can be very hot once the sun comes out in force. It was also extremely humid on this day. The weather wasn't really bearable until I got up to about the 9,000' level.

I thought I recently bought a book to help me ID the lizards I see on the trails, but apparently I didn't. I have one for insects and spiders, one for mammals and another for birds, but nothing with reptiles. I guess I need to go back to the book store...

[There was a lizard that had] recently lost his tail and [was] in the process of growing a new one.

[At sunrise I noticed] some new construction at the mouth of Icehouse Canyon. There is far too much construction going on around here.

Remember this view from my last hike on this trail?
That's Mount Wilson in the middle of the two rock spires.

The view west without the rock formations in the foreground.
Looking down into Cattle Canyon.
Last time I did this hike I noticed some kind of big yellow box down there in Cattle Canyon. It's still there. I wonder what it is.

A few wispy clouds were starting to blow in.
I would keep a very close eye on them as the hike progressed.

The clouds get bigger, but they still aren't dark.
This one actually blew apart shortly after I took this picture, but it soon reformed again and hung there for the rest of the day, growing in size and darkness.

As I neared Baldy, this helicopter was buzzing all over the area.
From my vantage point it looked like he landed on the summit for a few minutes, too.

The summit of Mount San Antonio (aka Mount Baldy).
The summit sign is in the middle of the picture.

Mount Baden-Powell [was seen] to the west and the Blue Ridge in the northwest. When I hiked Baden-Powell a couple weeks ago I noticed that smog line in the sky after I had gotten back home and looked at my pictures on the computer. This time I definitely noticed it while on the peak. It kind of look[ed] like the building storm clouds were having trouble penetrating down below it, too.

Only three days away from August and there [was] still snow in the San Gabriel Mountains. That's unreal!

[Note: Only partial captions could be found for the remaining photos.]