"Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678)
06/05/2020 at 20:50 • Filed to: None
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"Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678)
06/05/2020 at 20:50 • Filed to: None | 4
| 6 |
I am preparing to section hike the entire backbone trail in the Santa Monica Mountains. The trail from end to end is 63 miles
with 13,000 feet of elevation gain in total. I will be section hiking this in 6 segments doing most of them round trip. This will total nearly 120 miles and likely over 20,000 feet of elevation gain by the end. Tomorrow begins my adventure with segment 1.
I will do this segment by driving up to the trailhead where I plan to end and then bike down to the start of the trail. Since this only gains just under 200 feet in 11 miles, it is a primarily downhill route.
I will then begin my hike which covers 16 miles and 4200 feet of elevation gain. I have hiked/biked all of this section in different chunks/directions so I am pretty familiar with it. That wont make it any easier to actually hike but at least I shouldnt get too lost.
Most of the trail should be easy enough to follow but not much of it is actually signed as “Backbone trail”. And unlike what I grew up with on the East coast, trails out here are never ever marked after the trailhead and maybe a high traffic intersection . I grew up hiking parts of the AT in NJ/PA/NY and got used to the white blazes prominently displayed. I certainly used to get lost more on trails out here until I got used to navigating without markers.
A lot of this hike includes gorgeous ocean views and goes through the most rugged, isolated terrain for the area. For how close this area is to Los Angeles, it is pretty wild how varied and difficult some of it can be to traverse. Theres sections where you could be convinced the rocks were once part of an underwater environment and the plant life is entirely unique. The sun is brutal at times and there is no water to be found anywhere outside of winter. But its all part of the adventure!
Time to get ready to hit the trail dark and early in the morning! We shall see how many weeks it takes me to actually get through the whole thing. Would be fun to do the whole thing in 3 days but thats too much logistics to get back to the start each day and thru hiking has almost no support/camping available.
TheRealBicycleBuck
> Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
06/05/2020 at 21:12 |
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What are you going to do with your bike? Lock it up and hope for the best?
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Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
> TheRealBicycleBuck
06/05/2020 at 22:09 |
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Yeah it should be fine locked up to something sturdy for a few hours somewhere out of sight. Not like my bike is something expensive anyways and I’ve got a decent u lock that requires some level of power tools to break.
jminer
> Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
06/06/2020 at 00:01 |
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That sounds amazing - with only packing day gear that should be doable. I like the plan of splitting it into doable chunks should make it easier than handling the logistics of an overnight while still accomplishing something major.
I’ve done larger through hikes and without water available regularly along the trail they’re brutal.
Good luck with the hike tomorrow!
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Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
> jminer
06/06/2020 at 08:54 |
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Yeah I figure it do it in these manageable chunks first and then I can do it again some time in larger combined hikes. It's relatively unpopular of a trail since it's only recently been completed. There's some popular sections of it for sure but doing the whole thing is rarer. I've read some stories of thru hiking it but most include either failing miserably or just straight up despising it. Mostly due to the lack of legal camping for a 40 mile stretch of it. And needing to go miles out of the way to grab water from a bathroom faucet.
John Norris (AngryDrifter)
> Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
06/06/2020 at 08:58 |
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I’d forgo the bike logistics and lean on a friend to pick you up. Probably good to have someone know where and when you are supposed to be anyway in case you have any issues. Hungry mountain lions and angry ratt le snakes are the only ones sharing some of that trail.
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Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
> John Norris (AngryDrifter)
06/06/2020 at 14:30 |
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I’d certainly not want to get a ride during the pandemic that’s still going on anyways. Today is the only bike logistics day due to the easy downhill link. All other days will be easier to just round trip hike. And after today I’m also done with the real isolated parts. It’s pretty much all popular day hike terrain as I move further East.
This lunch time view ain’t so bad at about 12 miles into the hike as of 1130am. I'm 23 miles in on the day though if you include the bike ride. Just about 5 miles until I reach the car and head home for a well deserved real lunch.