My Facebook friends have seen plenty of images similar to this on my wall. It was taken with my iPhone from the trail to the concrete letter "C" on the mountainside east of UC Riverside's campus, where I work. I've been trying to run there at least twice a week during my lunch hour. It's a great workout, and today was no exception. I broke in my new Brooks Cascadia trail running shoes and they were awesome.
This image was processed with a cool iPhone app called Hipstamatic that my good friend and fellow "Brookie" Larissa Schwartz turned me on to. She's created some amazing images with it. It offers eight different "lenses" and 10 different types of "film," for a ton of interesting effects. (Well, not a ton, I guess. More like 80, but that's a lot!) For the record, this was taken with the Robo Glitter lens and Kodot XGrizzled film. The view is to the northwest, with the western end of the San Gabriel mountains in the distance, where Mount Baldy rises to more than 10,000 feet.
Last year, when I rode my bike to South Fork, hiked to the peak of San Gorgonio Mountain, then rode home (all in one day), most of my friends told me I was crazy. Given that most of my friends are a whole lot smarter than me, I should probably listen to them and stop this nonsense. Not!
This year was no exception as I made it my goal to do the 26-mile Nine Peaks Challenge on my birthday, which conveniently fell on a Saturday and on the summer solstice, the longest day of the year.
The Nine Peaks Challenge is a rite of passage for local Boy Scouts, who usually do it in two or three days of backpacking and camping. My goal was to do it in one day and earn the $4.95 patch they sell at the Mill Creek Ranger Station that says: "I climbed nine peaks." Here are the peaks, in order, from east to west:
Mount San Gorgonio - 11,500' Jepson Peak - 11,205' Little Charlton Peak - 10,696' Charlton Peak - 10,806' Alto Diablo - 10,563' Shield’s Peak - 10,701' Anderson Peak - 10,864' San Bernardino Peak East - 10,691' San Bernardino Peak - 10,649'
Well, I did manage to do the 26 miles in one day, but it's going to have to be recorded as a "do-over" because -- much to my disappointment -- I couldn't find routes to all the peaks. I have the topo map the Forest Service sells and I've been to San Gorgonio and San Bernardino peaks and they're pretty well marked, but I haven't been to all the others. Before I made the trip, I asked the Forest Service ranger who runs the Mill Creek ranger station if the routes to each of the peaks were clearly marked. The ranger's response was, "There aren't any signs, but you shouldn't have any problem finding the route off the main trail."
Unfortunately, I didn't see a single trail to any of the peaks. I almost missed San Bernardino East Peak a week earlier and was able to bag it only because I noticed a pile of rocks with tree limbs poking out of it and climbed it to find the register box.
Weather for the day was absolutely perfect. Low clouds filled the valley, but when I left the house at 5:45 a.m. and drove up Hwy. 38, I was quickly out of the haze and saw clear blue skies above the mountains to the east. I parked my truck at Angeles Oaks and rode my bike back down Hwy. 38 to the Forest Falls turnoff and up to the Vivian Creek trailhead, stopping at the Forest Home Conference Center to fill my three-liter Camelback and two ceramic-lined, aluminum-coated one-liter bottles (bought at Joyce's store in Vancouver -- I love those bottles!). The entire ride, including the stop for water, took about an hour. I changed clothes, locked the bike to a sign post and set out toward San Gorgonio peak at about 7:45 a.m. I would drive back to get my bike after finishing the hike in Angeles Oaks.
Here is a screen shot of the GPS data view of the ride portion of the morning, taken from the Garmin Connect website (click on the image to see a larger version):
I had been only as far as High Creek on Vivian Creek Trail and that was about 40 years ago, so I wasn't sure what to expect, except for steepness: it climbs from 6,000' to 11,500' in 8.7 miles. I made trips up the trail on April 19 and April 26 and had to turn back because of the snow. The only remaining snow on this day was near the peak and the hike was incredible! I recall saying to myself over and over: I am so blessed to be here, to be able to take these steps, breathe this air, hear these natural sounds and see this view.
I told myself I was going to limit my photography to only a few shots because I was venturing onto several new sections of the trail and wanted to make sure I could make the entire 26 miles before dark. I did manage to get off a few shots on the trail (click on these photos to see a larger version), along with a short video from the top of San G.
This is looking south at the Yucaipa Ridge, which looms above Forest Falls:
This is another view looking south with Mt. San Jacinto in the background:
Here is a view of The Tarn, the ridgeback-shaped bump on San Gorgonio that is prominent when you view the mountain from the southeast (e.g., Beaumont). This is also the end of Vivian Creek Trail:
Unlike last year, when I got to the peak of San Gorgonio and it was complete socked in and I got hit with hail and rain, this was the view I was hoping to get. It was incredible! I was also very cold and windy (as you'll see and hear in the video). The mountain behind the flag is Mt. San Jacinto:
At about 11,000 feet my hands got really swollen and I was concerned about edema, so I kept them above my heart, frequently in my armpits to warm them or holding my backpack straps. That helped, but I was still very uncomfortable and standing up in the wind at the peak was not pleasant. I was barely able to move my fingers when I signed the register, but here -- for all posterity -- is a record of my time at the highest point in Southern California on my 59th birthday:
As I left the peak, I scoped out the area to the west where I was headed. The mountain in the far distance beyond the cloud-covered valley is Mt. Baldy. The ridge with three peaks in the near distance (beyond the barren landscape of San Gorgonio) is the San Bernardino Divide. After going over those peaks, I would drop down into Angeles Oaks:
I consulted the map in order to make sure I made it to the next peak, Jepson Peak. It looked easy on the map, but as I went along the trail I saw no sign of a route to another peak, so I pressed on. As I kept moving on the trail, it was apparent that I was passing alongside the other peaks, but saw no route to the top and didn't have time to venture into unmarked areas, hoping to blaze my own trail to the top.
Eventually, I made it to San Bernardino East Peak, which offers a spectacular view. From there, the trail was not very well defined and I lost it on the way to San Bernardino Peak. I've read many books about hiking and what to do when you get lost and I began to feel the sense of panic and urgency set in. I kept my head, noted the direction I came from and crisscrossed the ridge to try to find a hint of a trail, but had no luck.
Finally, I heard the sound of voices and was really lucky that a group of four or five hikers passed along the trail about 100 yards down the mountain from my position. Relieved, I soon found myself on the familiar trail from Mt. San Bernardino to Angeles Oaks. I arrived back at my truck at about 6:30, meaning the hike took around 10 hours and 45 minutes.
Below is the GPS view of the hike portion of the day (click on the image to see a larger version). As you'll see, there is a straight line from San Gorgonio to a place about two miles west on the trail. When I got to the peak of San G, instead of hitting the lap button to mark my time, I hit start/stop and didn't realize it until about 45 minutes down the trail. Garmin Connect's mapping software drew a straight line between the stop and restart points and doesn't include that time or distance. I also question their calorie calculation. I think it was at least twice what they estimate. It sure felt like it!
My time from the parking lot in Forest Falls to the San Gorgonio peak was 3:45, which is more than 2.3 miles per hour -- on a steep climb, no less. I'm really excited to know it can be done so quickly and plan to do it again this summer to see if I can improve my time. I'll return on Vivian Creek Trail in order to have more time for photography.
It was a spectacular birthday and a great way to say good-bye to a beautiful spring and hello to what portends to be an equally splendid summer. Whatever you do, make time to do some of it outdoors!
I realize how redundant it is for me to say this, but yesterday was another perfect day in the San Gorgonio Wilderness. I've ventured up Momyer Trail four or five times this summer and it's become one of my favorites. It offers a little bit of everything in just the three miles before the wilderness boundary: cacti, yucca, a variety of flowers of all colors, thick oak, tall pine and beautiful views of the valley below. It's a steep climb in spots, but the trail surface is good -- much better than the loose rock of Vivian Creek Trail a couple of miles east.
In previous weeks, I've veered to the right after the trail divides and taken Falls Creek Trail to Alger Creek, Dobbs Camp, Plummer Meadow and the trail's end at Dollar Lake Saddle. (Click to view the photos.) Yesterday, I decided to take Momyer Trail all the way to the top of the San Bernardino divide, then head west toward San Bernardino East Peak. (Click to view the photos.)
My friend David Money Harris's books and the trail maps warned me that Momyer Trail is not maintained and there were many spots where I lost it and had to do some searching. There are numerous trees down over the trail and from 8,000 feet to 9,000 feet the brush is thick and long pants are essential to keep the thorns at bay. I wore jeans and still came home wounded, albeit mildly.
Almost without exception, this summer's hiking has been fraught with problems with my footwear. The Salomon trail running shoes I bought at REI last year are really comfortable -- until I get about mile threes into an uphill climb, when the skin on my left heel breaks loose. No matter what I do, I get a blister there. It's the result of a misshapen heel from the surgery I had in the 80s to repair my ruptured achilles tendon.
As a result, I tried wearing my Asics running shoes. They fit great and I never had a problem with the left heel, but I wore a hole in the right shoe that led to blisters between my right toes. The solution? Wear the left Asics and the right Salomon:
This worked great, unti I wore a hole in the left Asics shoe, too; so I took them to the local shoe repair store last week. Because they won't be done until tomorrow (Monday), I opted for the Salomons yesterday, along with a special blister bandage for my left heel. Well, that worked well for the first five miles, then the skin broke loose again. I was tempted to head back, but I put up with the pain until San Bernardino East Peak, where I changed the bandage.
It was definitely worth it because the view from the peak was incredible. The valley was socked in with "June Gloom" clouds, but at 10,691 feet, it was spectacular: a 360-degree view of the area and a beautiful vista from the San Bernardino Divide to the Yucaipa Ridge:
All of this hiking is leading up to next week's big test: the Nine Peaks Challenge. I've been planning on this for a year, so I hope I make it. (If I don't, they'll have to helicopter me out because I'm not taking a sleeping bag.) While I'm still not sure which route I'll take, I'm committed to earning the $4.95 patch they sell at the Mill Creek Ranger station that says, "I climbed the nine peaks." It's 25 miles and I'm hoping to complete it in under 10 hours, but -- as always -- it depends on how much time I spend with the camera.
It will be my 59th birthday and summer solstice will occur at 10:46 p.m. PDT, meaning it will be the longest day of the year in the northern hemisphere. Hopefully, I won't need all that daylight for the hike, but like all good pagans, I'll be celebrating the solstice by doing it outdoors.
Unlike last week, when I snoozed with the cats after breakfast, wimped out and drove to Forest Falls to hike up Vivian Creek Trail, today I saddled up my Litespeed and rode the 17 miles to the trail head. Laden with the customary trunk rack and saddle bags on the bike, along with the Camelback back pack with three liters of water, the ride was really hard, but I made it in under two hours.
I locked the bike to a wooden post behind a sign at the trail head and facetiously asked the Forest Service ranger who was checking for Adventure Passes (the $5 parking permit autos are required to have) if I needed one. He looked at my bike and said, "If you did that after tomorrow, I would cut the lock and impound it. I have to paint those posts tomorrow."
I was nonplussed. I told him the cable was wrapped in plastic and wouldn't damage anything, but he wasn't buying it. "How would you like it if a stranger locked their bike to your front door?" I realized that I was on his turf and did something that he took personally by possibly scratching "his" sign post.
"If you saw my front door, you would realize it wouldn't bother me," I said. He laughed and the ice was broken. He let me slide and said he would look into getting a bike rack. "A lot of people ride up here," he said. "But in my 20 years of working in this area, no one has ever parked their bike and gone into the wilderness." Well, there you go.
Just like last week, the weather was perfect and the hike was beautiful. I hoped to make it to High Creek, but ran out of time and trail -- the snow covered a lot of it at 8,500' and beyond. Maybe next time. The best part was (unlike last week), I didn't have any problems with my shoes. Last week, I got a painful blister about a mile and a half in and it was killer. This week, I opted for my running shoes and they were SO much more more comfortable than the trail running shoes that tore up my heel last week.
I also feel like I got my hiking legs back. I felt so good I ran several portions of the trail. I think next time, I'll cut out the ride, get an early start from Forest Falls and aim for San Gorgonio Summit. I can't wait for June 20 and the Nine-Peaks Challenge. It will be awesome!
Click on the image below to see a few photos from the day:
My goal on this day, Sunday, April 19, was to ride my bike to Forest Falls, lock it to a tree and hike half-way to San Gorgonio Peak via Vivian Creek Trail (about 8.5 miles, round trip). I awoke feeling really good and without any muscle soreness from the big ride to Big Bear and Crestline the day before. I had breakfast, a couple of cups of coffee and read the Sunday newspaper.
After I made the bed, it beckoned me, so I flopped on my back and the cats joined me -- Gracie stretched out across my legs and Suzy cuddled beside me. An hour or so later, I looked at the clock and realized the bike ride portion of the day was not going to happen and ended up taking my truck to Forest Falls. What a wimp.
I had not been very far up Vivian Creek Trail since the 70s, when I pack-packed to High Creek with college fraternity brother Adam Morales (yes, Ruth, your Adam Morales) and slept overnight. A couple of stupid college kids, we lit a campfire (against all the rules) and were lucky we didn't burn down the forest. We froze in our light-weight sleeping bags.
This day, however, was incredible. The weather was once again perfect -- in the 70s all afternoon. There were patches of snow all around, including portions of the trail, which made a few sections a little dangerous where the trail was on the edge of a steep slope. It made for some wonderful photos and video, however. I went about four miles up the trail in two hours -- from 6,000 feet at Forest Falls to about 8,500 feet. The four miles back took about 90 minutes. The first mile after crossing the river is very steep.
Some of the "better" photos from my Kodak pocket camera are available at my Picasa Web site. Below are two short videos I posted on YouTube. The first one shows water striders floating across the surface of a pool of water and occasional bubbles of methane seeping up from the decaying plants at the bottom. The bubbles get quite intense at the end. The second video is of a stream that was mostly concealed by snow, but visible in patches where the snow was melting. Turn up the sound -- it's very soothing and peaceful. No machines!
I was really excited to see two Mourning Cloak butterflies on the trip. When I was a kid, I would watch them as caterpillars feast on mulberry leaves in my backyard, then wrap themselves in their chrysalises under the eves of the house and emerge later as these beautiful, shiny butterflies with golden trim on their wings. I don't see them in the valley anymore, so it was like a visit with old friends.
This was a short warm-up for many hikes to come as I prepare for the Tour of Ten Peaks on June 20. I can't wait for the next one!
Because I've been so busy trying to keep up-to-date with friends on Facebook, I've been remiss in posting here, so here's a brief note about my bike ride yesterday, which was epic. At 127 miles and 19,849' of climbing, it was definitely the biggest day on the bike I've ever had. It was also one of the best -- the weather was absolutely perfect (70 degrees in Lake Arrowhead) and a mild Santa Ana wind made the view of the San Bernardino Valley spectacular.
My friend and Citrus Valley Velo racing teammate Dana Van Stee, who is training for the challenging Breathless Agony ride May 2, joined me for the first portion from Redlands to Onyx Summit. Dana's been getting really good results in his second year of racing this year. It was nice to have some company on the road. He turned around at Onyx Summit and returned to Redlands while I headed into Big Bear Lake and a few points beyond.
There's not much else to say, except to share a few photos (including a GPS-based map view of the route) and say, "What else are you doing to do on a perfect Spring day?"
My Citrus Valley Velo cycling teammate Dick Gentili asked me recently if I was aware that last year I was ranked number one in the State of California for criterium racing in my age category by USA Cycling, the governing body of amateur road racing. I checked, and sure enough, I was. Below is a screen capture I did of the page, which has since been replaced (click on the image to view it full size). I still can't believe it! There are a lot of guys who raced more races and finished consistently higher than me in 2008, but the difference was winning the "big" races. This was the first year I ever won more than one race in a season, but the three I won were all NRC (National Race Calendar) events: The Redlands Bicycle Classic, Garrett Lemire Grand Prix in Ojai and the Brentwood Grand Prix (photo of finish above). Because of their rating by USA Cycling, they were weighted more heavily in the scoring.
It turns out I also ended up tied for fourth in the nation, too (click on the image to view it full size): This is very cool, too, but it's important to note I didn't do it alone. In most cases, I was able to win because of the hard work of my teammates in the field of riders behind me. Cycling is a team sport, and without them I would not have been as successful as I was. Thanks, guys. We're number one! Photo by Leonard Monge
Winter solstice occurs tomorrow at 4:02 a.m. PST, making today the last day of autumn. Tonight will be the longest night of the year, and tomorrow the shortest day. After that, days will get longer, the sun will be higher in the sky, and my favorite constellation Orion will disappear from the night sky.
It's always a bittersweet time for me. I love the cool, brisk days and nights of this time of year. And the crystal-clear skies. I recall the days of my youth when my neighborhood friends and I slept in sleeping bags in the backyard in winter. I used a borrowed camera to create time exposures of the stars for a junior high school science class. It was then that I learned to love the stars of the winter sky.
Earlier this week, my friend Jean Grant wrote in her blog, "Now that the rain is gone... Where do we go from here? The rain has tucked itself away in the clouds again and the skies gave way today to some gorgeous sunshine." For me it was easy to decide where to go today: outside! I climbed on my mountain bike and headed for Crafton Hills. (Visit my Picasa web album for a few photos.)
As soon as I hit the trail, a rider passed me and said, "Lots of snow up there!" Huh? It's only about 3,500' at the top. There can't be that much snow! To my surprise, as I ascended, I hit more frequent patches of ice and as I heard it crack beneath my tires, I thought of Jean's reflections on the intensity of the seasons she experienced as a child in Illinois: "...that exquisite pain of joy when in spring, the icy puddle begins to crack and the sweet smell of the earth comes back to you after months of deep and bitter rejection of your longing soul."
My soul's longing was fulfilled today. It was a spectacular end-of-fall day. The air was crisp, the sky was deep blue (aided by the sun's lowest angle of the year) and there was nary a cloud in the sky. As I rode along the trail heading east, I saw San Bernardino and San Gorgonio mountains in the distance and recalled the hikes I made to their peaks this summer. The cycle of the seasons -- and of life -- takes its winter turn now and makes those peaks off-limit for people like me. Only the year-round inhabitants dwell there now.
Our seasons may be subtle by Illinois standards, but if you know what to look for, you can appreciate them. True, there will not be much ice skating on the frozen lakes of Pomona, but winter will bring change. I think I'll go outside, say hello to Orion, and languish in it.
I haven't had much time to get to all the photos I've shot lately, much less add to this blog, but I've been especially remiss in not posting something about the Beach-to-Baldy bike and hike I did Sunday, Oct. 5, with Joel and Darren. The three of us did the bike portion (they've done it a many times and invited me along for the first time this year). The motley crew in the photo below did the hike with us (or, in some cases, far ahead of us). From left to right, here are Darren, Steve, Jacob, Daniel, Austin, Brenda and Joel:
Everyone made it to the top -- and they were awesome! Joel and I figured out that the order of reaching to the top (and returning to the bottom) was pretty much according to age. Darren's son Austin was first and the two 50-somethings (Joel and me) took turns bringing up the rear.
Joel and Darren left on their bikes from Huntington Beach about 7 a.m., the same time I left from Claremont heading in their direction. Unfortunately, I missed a turn and kept heading south right before they made that turn heading north. They had to backtrack to pick me up in Brea Canyon, which cost us about 20 minutes. (Sorry again, guys!) As it turns out, the extra distance I rode (turning around at elevation 198' - not quite "Beach" to Baldy) meant we rode the same distance from our respective starts to the ski lifs at 6,350'.
Here is a good shot of Brenda and Joel. Brenda is training for the Pasadena Marathon in November and ran 15 miles the day before this hike. She kept coming back to Joel and me to see if we were OK, then taking off like a mountain goat to catch up with the others. She was amazing!
The view was spectacular, as you'll see when l have time to edit and post the photos to my SmugMug gallery. [Update Oct. 13: The photos have been posted to SmugMug, so check them out -- and download any of them you want.] Here's one of my faves: A panorama looking west over the top of East Baldy Peak (click on it to see a larger version). What a day!
I learned at dinner in Baldy Village afterward that this trip is Darren's brainchild. Well, it's one arduous brainchild! I was toast afterward -- and for a few days after that. Here is a link to the GPS data for the bike ride (click on the images to see the MotionBased Dashboard and Player versions of the trips):
Joel Cinnamon's invitation to me to join his annual Beach-to-Baldy ride-and-hike Oct. 5 prompted me to post something about the Ride Around the Bear, which we rode together June 7.
The Ride Around the Bear leaves from Sylvan Park in Redlands and heads to Big Bear Lake via Hwy. 330 through Running Springs, then on to Big Bear Lake's north shore (Fawnskin), returning via Hwy. 38 over Onyx Summit, Barton Flats, Angeles Oaks and Mentone. The route covers more than 100 miles and 10,000' of climbing. Yeow!
The weather on June 7 was perfect, as was the ride -- and the company. (Well, except for the thousand-or-so very-loud Harley Davidsons that passed us on their way to a rally in Fawnskin). Below is a map and link to the GPS data for the day. Click on the image to go my MotionBased digest. (Mac users should click on the Player tab in the upper right to view the cool animation.)
Here is a photo of Joel from Onyx Summit, which was at the end of most (repeat, most -- not all) of the climbing for the day. At 8,443', it's the highest paved road in Southern California. We did it, Joel! Next year, I predict new P.R.s.
Because I won't be able to compete in next week's Mount Everest Challenge State Climbing Championships bike race, I decided to create my own personal version this past weekend. The Everest Challenge, which I completed in 2004 and 2005, is a two-day, 206-mile sufferfest that sends you up and down six mountains in the Sierras for a total of 29,035' of elevation gain.
While the 201 miles I rode over the weekend came up short by Everest Challenge standards, I outdid the elevation gain substantially -- 32,525'. Yesterday's ride was epic: 122 miles and 18,268' of climbing. What else are you going to do on a glorious near-end-of-summer weekend? Get outdoors and savor it!
Below are the MotionBased Player views of the rides (click on images to view full size). I can't wait to get away from this desk and get up there again!
Labor Day, Sept. 1, 2008: I rode my bike to Angeles Oaks and hiked to San Bernardino Peak. I really recommend this hike for anyone who wants to experience the San Bernardino mountains. The view is spectacular!
The valley was pretty hazy yesterday, so the photos are going to need some serious Photoshop work and will be posted later, along with video and the usual blah-blah-blah-me-me-me. Good news: My new Garmin Forerunner 305 GPS battery held out for the entire 12.5-hour trip. (Unlike my 301, which let me down on San G.) My MotionBased digest has all the data for the day, which amounted to almost 15,000' of elevation gain.
Below is a panorama I stitched together with Photoshop that merges five separate exposures. It was taken from mid-way up the mountain and includes Mount San Antonio (Old Baldy) in the distance and Big Bear (far right). Click on the image to view full size:
Update Sept. 3: Here are a few more photos from the hike. It's amazing what you can do by manipulating levels in Photoshop. Click on these images to see larger versions (which have been downsized for the web. I'll post the full-size originals in my SmugMug gallery later).
Looking west across San Bernardino valley toward Mount San Antonio (Old Baldy):
Well, I did it. I finally made it to the summit of San Gorgonio Mountain yesterday. I left Redlands at 5:11 a.m., rode my bike to South Fork, hiked to the summit and back, then rode home, arriving at 8:46 p.m. Total time for the 52 miles of cycling and 23.2 miles of hiking was 15 hours and 35 minutes.
This was probably the most physically demanding thing I have ever attempted, with the added challenge of a thunderstorm that drenched me most of the way down the mountain and made the bike ride home pretty treacherous (the last part of it in the dark). Several times on the way up the mountain, as the muscles in my legs and back cried out in pain, I kept thinking, "I'm going to turn around and head back," but I persisted. On the way down from the summit, I kept thinking, "I'm going to turn around and head back," and then I realized, I was heading back! There was no shortcut home. Today, I'm taking it easy and hanging out with my good friend, Mr. Motrin.
On the way down the mountain, after 10+ hours of hauling a 20-pound backpack more than 40 miles horizontally and 10,000 feet vertically from Redlands, I was very tired and sore. I tried not to focus on the pain I was suffering, but instead on the beautiful scene that surrounded me: The clouds ebbing and flowing through the trees; the different sounds of the raindrops on the leaves, tree stumps and puddles of water; the thunder clapping all around me (at least 100 times); and the intense saturation of the colors of the plants and flowers around me as they shimmered in the rain. Pain and beauty; yin and yang.
I was pretty disappointed this morning to find my Garmin GPS data from the hike was corrupt and MotionBased could not process it. I don't know if is because there were too many data points, or if it was because the battery died about a mile from the end of the hike, which also meant I couldn't record the ride home. I've asked MotionBased to see if the hike data is salvageable. It looks to me to be showing four data points: The start at South Fork, a point near Dollar Lake saddle where the route turns from south to south-east, the summit and the point where the battery died. Here is a screenshot of what MotionBased returned when I tried to upload the hike data (click on the image to see it full size):
I uploaded the hike data into Garmin's Training Center (GTC) software (screen shot below -- click on the image to see it full size) and got mostly the same result, which appears to be the data points of the three "laps" I recorded (South Fork to summit=lap 1; respite at the summit=lap 2; return to South Fork=lap 3). I don't understand why the start times vary from 9:13 a.m. in GTC (which I recall as more accurate) and 9:29 a.m. in MotionBased. At least GTC recorded the times of day, along with elevation (I guess the 11,500 feet I saw didn't get recorded). The mileage -- and the speed, as a result -- are inaccurate because the software drew a straight line between the data points. If I coulda flown like a crow, I woulda!
I shot a few still photos during the hike that are posted on my Picasa web album, but the weather didn't allow me to shoot the panoramas I was hoping to capture from the summit. I also shot some video, but my MacBook's disk drive is full and I can't edit it today (video files eat up the gigs like Pac-Man). I'll post it on YouTube later. Like the photo of me above, below is a frame grab from the video. There is rock to the right of the guy in the middle of the shot where I climbed and held my GPS above my head and recorded 11,500 feet.
I spoke with my good friend and cycling teammate Phil Richards today and he told me his wife Annette asked him, "Why would he do that?" As I told the Forest Service crew I chatted with on the way up, "It seems like a good way to take advantage of all this summer daylight." Annette's question reminds of British mountaineer George Leigh Mallory's famous quote in the New York Times in 1923, the year before he was lost while attempting to climb Mount Everest. When asked why he wanted to climb the world's tallest peak, he said, "Because it's there." It inspired this poem by Robert William Service:
Dauntless Quest
Why seek to scale Mount Everest, Queen of the air, Why strive to crown that cruel crest And deathward dare? Said Mallory of dauntless quest, "Because it's there."
Update July 14 (Bastille Day):
As promised, here is the video. The quality is terrible (I can't get Final Cut Express HD to render it in a better-quality version), but here is a record of the trip, such as it is. The last few frames are of a stream that runs near the trail that I captured on the trip down the mountain. It reminds me of a song I wrote many years ago.
Notes for next time:
Total miles: 75.2 Elevation gain: 10,000 feet Total time: 15:35 Departed 5:11 a.m.; returned 8:46 p.m. Ride time to South Fork: 3:14 (Water stops at Mill Creek and Angeles Oaks) Ride time home: Slow (roads were wet, I was top-heavy with the backpack and it was getting dark) Hike time: Departed 9:13 a.m.; returned 6:50 p.m. Total time 9:37 (2.41 m.p.h., including idle time at summit) Time to summit: 4:48 (2.42 m.p.h.) Time to return (less 26 min. at summit): 4:22 (2.66 m.p.h.) Water: 130 ounces on the hike; 60 ounces on the ride Full Camelback bladder plus one-liter bottle on hike (8.8 lbs.) Nutrition: 5-1/2 Cliff bars, two Odwalla bars (1760 calories total)
Dos and don'ts:
- No Odwalla bars: Almost cracked a tooth on nut shells in both of them - On the ride, haul the backpack in the Burley cargo trailer to take the weight off the back - Do not pack a tripod; it's too heavy and cumbersome - Take the Nikon for better still photos (need to get those panoramas next time) - Try the shorter (but steeper) Vivian Creek Trail route to shorten the time - Get some really good hiking boots ("Avoid Merrell brand," said the blister on his heel) - Do a lot more hiking and high-altitude preparation beforehand!
I used to think that after I died, I wanted my sons to scatter my cremated ashes on the peak of San Gorgonio Mountain (a.k.a. "Old Greyback") and have those little "bits of me" spend future eons being washed and blown into the San Bernardino valley below, where my ancestors were among the original settlers. Climbing to the peak of San G. (elevation 11,499') has been a goal of mine for many years, but I've never achieved it. After this weekend, I'll never ask my sons to make that trip. It is really hard! (Note to Chris and Dean: Take some of the life insurance proceeds and rent a helicopter.)
On Saturday, July 5, 2008, I left home in Redlands (elevation 1,500') and rode my road bike 26 miles east on Hwy. 38 to South Fork (elevation 6,800'), locked my bike to a sign post and hiked 5.2 miles into the wilderness (one way) toward the peak, stopping just short of Dollar Lake. The video I compiled and posted on YouTube (below) doesn't include a lot of the footage I shot, notably at the turnaround, where I described the shortness of breath I experienced at 9,250 feet. The remaining 6.4 miles and 2,250 feet to the peak will be a challenge, to be sure, but I have my wilderness permit for next Saturday, July 12, and plan to give it a go. Stay tuned.
Below are screen shots from MotionBased.com of the satellite views of the terrain, overlaid with my routes, from yesterday's ride to South Fork, hike to 9,250 feet and ride home. A YouTube video of the day is also included below. It was shot in HD video, so if you have the time and bandwidth, go to the YouTube web page and select "watch in high quality."
Next stop: San Gorgonio peak!
Here's a 10-minute video of some highlights of the day:
Here is a satellite view of today's ride to Morton Peak. I took some photos with my Kodak camera from the Forest Service's fire lookout tower. The three miles from the highway to the lookout tower are about the hardest three miles I've ever climbed. Enjoy the view!
