Posted: Sat Apr 21, 2018 5:12 pm Post subject: Hiking
So I am on a hiking kick lately and have discovered it is its own subculture.
I like being out in nature and getting a workout at the same time. My mode is to leave super early (i.e. daybreak or just after) and be out on the trails before the crowds.
I am amazed at how much my stamina has improved on the tough hikes in a relatively short time.
I am hiking mostly local spots here in San Diego County...by far the hardest hike I have done is called El Cajon Mountain, that was a tough one and I was hurting.
One goal of mine is to do a thing called the "Coast to Crest Trail" which goes all the way from the ocean in Del Mar to Volcan Mountain, a total of 70 miles.
I am looking at eventually doing Mount Whitney, I could likely get through it now in one day but not enjoyably and I want to kick tail on it and not be hurting.
Do any of you hike? If so, what are your favorite local hikes in your own area and the best ones you have done out of state or out of country? _________________ Love, Laker Lanny
Last edited by LakerLanny on Sat Apr 21, 2018 5:19 pm; edited 1 time in total
i am a big hiker. The greatest investment made was the MIR weighted vest. If you can only do a quick 5-6 mile jaunt this thing will burn you. Get a 40lb max and start at 15.
Love hiking. Did all of the Trans Catalina Trail last year with my son. Only done about 120 miles of the JMT (still need to set aside a couple weeks to finish the southern half). Done all of the local peaks... San G, San J, Baldy, Saddleback, etc. Did Whitney with crampons and an ice ax (one of my favorite days ever!).
All the rains last year made the local hikes pretty awesome. Waterfalls gushing. Planning on some hikes in Nevada this year, but my boy hurt his knee and is rehabbing it so that probably is off the table. We'll see.
Love hiking. Did all of the Trans Catalina Trail last year with my son. Only done about 120 miles of the JMT (still need to set aside a couple weeks to finish the southern half). Done all of the local peaks... San G, San J, Baldy, Saddleback, etc. Did Whitney with crampons and an ice ax (one of my favorite days ever!).
All the rains last year made the local hikes pretty awesome. Waterfalls gushing. Planning on some hikes in Nevada this year, but my boy hurt his knee and is rehabbing it so that probably is off the table. We'll see.
Awesome, I love Yosemite when it is wet and the waterfalls are crazy.
I had never heard of the Trans Catalina Trail until your post above, it looks so cool and is exactly the kind of challenging hike I want to do.
Trans Catalina has a lot of up and down. You wouldn’t think it because there are no huge peaks but it’s a tough one. Thankfully, only needed to carry about 30 pounds on the pack. Saw one hiker in over her head and she had to call for the rangers, but they probably didn’t do any training. Some beautiful stretches. Scariest part was navigating around and through a herd of 35-40 buffalo that were mating. They’re no joke when they’re like that. Tricky part of this one was getting all the campground reservations in place for the exact days we needed.
I like Baldy. Hiked it three times. It has a tough stretch where I felt a little old when my 14-year-old son asked if he could go ahead me one time, lol. But not bad. (Got a killer pic of him perched on this rock with the mountain dropping off below him. Mom wasn’t too thrilled about that ... but one of my all time favorite pics of him).
I just recently started getting into the outdoors and taking my kids hiking.
We have family in Washington and have done a bunch of trails up there....
Out here, we only have done a few of the same ones. (I live in the 626) Monrovia Canyon has a very small waterfall at the top. We've also hiked in and around Azusa Canyon.
Saw a few snakes and a bunch of deer at Monrovia Canyon.
I'm up for checking out more spots... but my kids are fairly young, so not sure how much I want to push them. _________________ "Dread it, run from it... destiny arrives all the same."
I love hiking but not locally. There's some fun stuff in Alta Dena and Santiago Canyon however. Idyllwild has some cool stuff too.
I am really into hiking in the trees. Kern river is awesome because its a) only 3 hours or so b) got a great fishing/tubing river and c) SNF is just 30 mins further up the road. If you're into backpacking the golden trout wilderness is amazing without the crowds of some of the national parks a little further north.
Joined: 24 Sep 2001 Posts: 8188 Location: Eagle Rock
Posted: Mon Apr 23, 2018 8:30 am Post subject:
The San Gabriel mountains are beautiful! For a short hike with a huge payoff, do the short 4 mile round trip to the top of Mt. San Gabriel from the Mt. Wilson road. Over 6,000 feet of elevation and a nice 360 view of everything from the top. Sheer granite drop off over over 1000 feet, reminds me of the Sierras.
Echo Mt. and Mt. Lowe are awesome with the ruins of the white city and the chalet. Huge old growth engleman oaks and big cone douglas firs, feels like you are in real mountains, not next to a city of millions of people.
Henninger flats to Mt. Wilson is an ass kicker, but very doable in one day.
Also Cucamonga Peak and Mt. Baldy a little further east are amazingly beautiful and covered in snow for a lot of the year.
Switzer falls and Colby canyon off of the 2 are riparian jems with big waterfalls and you can go up further to Waterman peak which looks like Joshua Tree on top with giant granite monoliths.
Outside of the San Gabriels The Pinnacles near Lake Arrowhead is my current favorite hike, its only 4 miles, but it takes you to another planet when you get to the top. _________________ R.I.P. Doc Buss
the trails near Yucaipa Regional Park is a nice one to try for anyone looking for a hike that doesnt take much time or special equipment but still get a little bit of a challenge.
I'm not a hiker by any means but was in near peak physical shape years and years ago when I tried it on whim and failed. (me and some friends were riding through and wanted to check out Yucaipa Regional park when the worker said we have to pay by the head to walk in but we are welcome to hike through the trail to get in for free... we had to turn around as those steep inclines tired us out very quick and it was too hot). Came back more prepared and completed it... a small but memorable moment of accomplishment for me. _________________ (bleep) Kawhi
Joined: 04 Dec 2008 Posts: 1454 Location: East Los Angeles, CA
Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2018 5:22 am Post subject:
PLATNUM wrote:
I just recently started getting into the outdoors and taking my kids hiking.
We have family in Washington and have done a bunch of trails up there....
Out here, we only have done a few of the same ones. (I live in the 626) Monrovia Canyon has a very small waterfall at the top. We've also hiked in and around Azusa Canyon.
Saw a few snakes and a bunch of deer at Monrovia Canyon.
I'm up for checking out more spots... but my kids are fairly young, so not sure how much I want to push them.
You should check out the Chantry Flats area to Sturtevant Falls. It's like a bigger version of Monrovia Canyon Falls. Shaded the majority of the way, very green and a waterfall at the end (probably just a trickle at the moment).
Joined: 04 Dec 2008 Posts: 1454 Location: East Los Angeles, CA
Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2018 5:31 am Post subject:
Dr. Funkbot wrote:
The San Gabriel mountains are beautiful! For a short hike with a huge payoff, do the short 4 mile round trip to the top of Mt. San Gabriel from the Mt. Wilson road. Over 6,000 feet of elevation and a nice 360 view of everything from the top. Sheer granite drop off over over 1000 feet, reminds me of the Sierras.
Echo Mt. and Mt. Lowe are awesome with the ruins of the white city and the chalet. Huge old growth engleman oaks and big cone douglas firs, feels like you are in real mountains, not next to a city of millions of people.
I've done Echo Mountain probably about 20 times. Haven't hiked it in at least a year now. I love that hike.
Anyone done the Bridge to Nowhere hike? I've done it once by myself. Got a little lost so it was longer than it should have been. Also, only came across like 2 other hikers the whole way.
The San Gabriel mountains are beautiful! For a short hike with a huge payoff, do the short 4 mile round trip to the top of Mt. San Gabriel from the Mt. Wilson road. Over 6,000 feet of elevation and a nice 360 view of everything from the top. Sheer granite drop off over over 1000 feet, reminds me of the Sierras.
Echo Mt. and Mt. Lowe are awesome with the ruins of the white city and the chalet. Huge old growth engleman oaks and big cone douglas firs, feels like you are in real mountains, not next to a city of millions of people.
I've done Echo Mountain probably about 20 times. Haven't hiked it in at least a year now. I love that hike.
Anyone done the Bridge to Nowhere hike? I've done it once by myself. Got a little lost so it was longer than it should have been. Also, only came across like 2 other hikers the whole way.
Great input sickside, that Echo Mountain hike looks really cool....I am going to put it on my To Do list!
I found these details on it for those who may be interested:
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