I’ve been eyeing this mountain for a couple of years now, hoping to hike it when conditions were good for a snow climb. With my upcoming move to New Hampshire, I decided that I should hike it now, then maybe try with snowshoes and crampons later if southern California gets a significant snowfall before I move. We hiked from Vincent Gap, … Read More
I joined the S.C.H.P. Meetup group for the first part of my hike. They planned to hike Cucamonga Peak, in the effort to complete the SoCal Hiker 6 Pack of Peaks Challenge in winter. I did not have enough time to hike Cucamonga, so I decided to join them to Icehouse Saddle, then solo hike Bighorn. Some notes on trail and snow conditions: From … Read More
After hours of research and planning, we decided to head up to Mammoth to spend the long weekend snowshoeing. We spent the first day of our trip driving and the second day snowshoeing near Minaret Summit. On day 3, I decided to get some sunrise photos of Crystal Crag, then hiked up to TJ Lake. It was cold and windy (3 degrees F, when I started my … Read More
After hours of research and planning, we decided to head up to Mammoth to spend the long weekend snowshoeing. We spent the first day of our trip driving, but on day 2, we headed out to Minaret Summit and spent a few hours in the backcountry. It was very cold (2° F), when we arrived at the ski area. After a quick breakfast, … Read More
Yesterday (11/29/15), I hiked in the Mammoth Lakes Basin area, starting at the Lake Mary Road Closure near Twin Lakes. I will post a trip report later, but here are my observations regarding snow/trail conditions, as well as some pictures. The section of Lake Mary Road that I walked had decent coverage, except for the area where the road gets close … Read More
Why Buy? I have found myself in situations where I wanted more traction than my MICROspikes could provide, but using mountaineering crampons (ie Black Diamond Contact Strap Crampons) was overkill. Kahtoola K•10 Hiking Crampons seemed to be a good solution. First Impressions An interesting feature of the K•10s is that they will work with many types of footwear. Step-in crampons require mountaineering boots … Read More
I joined the SoCal Hike and Peakbag Meetup for another epic day of hiking and snowshoeing. With the recent snowfall, I was hoping that there’d be enough snow to test my winter traction devices, put in a few miles with my snowshoes and summit one of the 10,000 foot peaks in the San Gorgonio Wilderness. The conditions ended up being the best that … Read More
I brought my wife snowshoeing in 2013 and she was immediately hooked. We rented snowshoes a few times, then decided to buy her a pair. Due to the CA drought, those snowshoes sat unused for a full 2 years. This past weekend, the local mountains were hit by a significant snowstorm. Not wanting to miss the opportunity to finally get those ‘new’ … Read More
My wife and I were hoping to spend some time snowshoeing. There wasn’t enough snow for that, but we manged to make a snowman and give my son his first ride on a sled. After he tired of sledding, my son said ‘No sled, climb the hill,” so I guess we got a little ‘hiking’ in too. I was able to … Read More
With the recent snowfall, I was hoping to finally climb the Baldy Bowl, a goal that has been eluding me for the past 3 years. The Plan I asked members of the California Peaks FB group for conditions regarding the snow level in the bowl. Several responded to my inquiry and I ended up joining a group that was already planning to go. … Read More