"Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678)
10/07/2019 at 10:13 • Filed to: None
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"Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678)
10/07/2019 at 10:13 • Filed to: None | 11
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I set my sights today on hiking Mt San Antonio (better known as Mt Baldy) which is the tallest peak in Los Angeles at 10,100 feet. There are generally three routes to the summit of which I’ve done one up and another down. There’s also a ski lift that runs halfway up for cheaters but I don’t even consider that one. The route I chose today was of course the hardest possible one with a 5600 foot elevation gain straight from the Mt Baldy visitor center on the “Old Baldy Trail”. Parking there even at 730 when I arrived was pretty tough but thankfully I found a spot, geared up, ate breakfast, and set out to conquer the peak.
Eventually I made it pretty high up and was getting above the tree line moving past 9000 feet with about 2 miles of hiking left to the summit. Unfortunately my prep for this hike has been spending 2 weeks at sea level just doing work, eating junk food, and not exercising preceded also by a month of doing absolutely nothing physical. Soo the altitude got to me and I couldn’t drink enough water to keep me afloat and headed uphill. I decided to call it a day there, hike a small ridge to 9500 feet, eat my lunch, and then head downhill.
It was an exhausting day. I also determined that I would have again run out of water since I got down to zero water right when I reached the car. So it was a good call to turn around. I brought nearly 4L of water this time but chugging it to fight the altitude and just the morning difficult climb certainly explained it. The weather was perfect with a start around 50 degrees and it didn’t get above 70 until I was almost at the bottom again. It was 90 on the way home which made me pine for AC but I’m glad I took the miata anyways since it needed to get driven.
It was cold enough in the morning to run the heat, wear a jacket, and put the windows up. Made me chuckle how I was sweating on the way home. That desert life!
AestheticsInMotion
> Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
10/06/2019 at 22:56 |
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I really want to try this.
How co ld do the higher elevations get down there?
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Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
> AestheticsInMotion
10/06/2019 at 23:49 |
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Well it was ~50 up top and 90 down low. Usually colder up there. Last time I did the hike in May and it was about 40 up there. Winter time there is always snow which is rare for the area in general. Only a few peaks keep snow on them more than a day or two. But yeah that one is one of the serious ones in Socal. Much better hiking in the Sierras though in general. Then it gets really real. Just not really a day trip for me. Next weekend I’m hoping to do something up there although I’ll definitely also try to find a little bit mellower of a hike so that I can backpack it.
VincentMalamute-Kim
> Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
10/06/2019 at 23:50 |
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The line between epic and awesome and stupid and dangerous can be pretty gray. It sounds like you made good decisions.
You’re working with like 1/3 less air at 9000 ft.
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Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
> VincentMalamute-Kim
10/07/2019 at 00:16 |
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Just gives me an excuse to go back at least. There was a river about two miles up the trail so I'll be sure to bring my filter next time too and resupply there going up and down. That should get me that little bit of extra water. Last time was worse since I basically just drank no water the whole way down, at least I was hydrated the whole time here. That lack of oxygen thing is no joke though, it always annoys me but such is life when I live below 1,000 feet and work all day at 0. It makes me wonder if I'll ever be able to handle a 14er since it only gets worse when you pile on more altitude. I also want to look into different hiking boots as the downhill kills my feet in my Timberlands. These are good for easier hikes but no match for backpacking and wildly steep stuff.
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Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
> AestheticsInMotion
10/07/2019 at 00:21 |
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I’m currently torn between going up to Norcal and checking out the Lost Coast, should be a fun drive and good backpacking but it’s far for a three day trip (holiday weekend). My other option is Duck Lake up near Mammoth which should be much easier to get to.
Hoping for some fall colors up there and trying to survive going for a swim.
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VincentMalamute-Kim
> Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
10/07/2019 at 00:30 |
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4L of water is a lot of weight to carry. Which straw type filter? I just saw an article on it. Don’t remember where and which one now.
Being young helps getting from 0-9000ft.
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Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
> VincentMalamute-Kim
10/07/2019 at 10:12 |
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Well 4L wasn't even enough so I'd like to figure out how to carry more lol. And I don't have a straw type filter but a lightweight pumping type that I bought on sale at REI. The ~10% humidity certainly also contributed to the water usage.
mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/
> Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
10/07/2019 at 13:45 |
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Looks awesome out there! I gotta get in a few more adventures before winter and maybe some during haha.
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VincentMalamute-Kim
> Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
10/10/2019 at 18:01 |
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Do you like the filter you got? Do you wish you got a different type?
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Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
> VincentMalamute-Kim
10/10/2019 at 18:17 |
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Have not used it yet actually. This weekend when I go backpacking in Mammoth Lakes will be the first time that I get to try it out. I have only used the tablets before and while those seemed to work (I didnt die) they were certainly inconvenient having to wait ~30 minutes before I could drink the water and it wasnt really designed for use on larger quantities at once. This pump seems ideal and is pretty lightweight so it will just be dependent on reliability to determine if its the right choice. I could probably go for a longer hose on it but this should work fine.