C2C - Request some advice for Sat. 6/28 hike

[kjmc]

Thank you to all who have provided their valuable insight. 3AM it is.

[zippetydude]

Perry: I can't believe you actually got up at 5:45 in the morning.

kjmc: I hope guest was able to clear up the directions for you. He knows the trail as well as anyone, and better than most.

You'll probably find your way just fine - like he said in his post, heat is your greatest concern here. You've probably seen my posts about bringing something to cool you down - a misty thing, or extra water to pour on yourself, or sometimes I use a pin to poke holes in the cap of a water bottle, and carry the cap with me. When I get hot, I switch caps on my bottle of water and squirt myself down.

This means I have to carry extra water (to have enough to drink and squirt). I don't know if any of you tend to overheat, but if so, just drinking water may not be enough - it'll be 80 when you start, getting hotter from that point, so some external form of cooling will feel wonderful and help to keep you fresh during the hike.

Hope you have fun.

z

[pdforeme]

I enjoy following this stuff; we failed 3 or 4 weeks back, coming back late Sept to do this righ.

I gotta augment Cynthia's point. I have never failed on any form of hike, and so never contemplated my partner cramping up and being unable to ascend. So on a day that hit 110, we (at exactly 3 hrs into it) learned he couldn't go further (uphill). We were sort of fortunate to depart at 415am, but he moved so slow that our last 1000 feet of descent was at near 11am and the shade temps by then must have been near 100.

We only survived/escaped because a) we started w/ 6 liters each, b) i brought frozen wet t shirts that we wore, and c) i carried and was thankful for, a small backpacking umbrella to block the sun.

But the "you can't go down" think Cynthia mentions is the big hairy problem in going on a dangerously hot day.

ps, they had those Mister bottle things you all had talked about at the Indio/LaQuinta Costco; a pair for $25 or so; i didn't buy and frankly we would have blown through the water quickly i think. As it was we were pouring it on our legs, arms, etc trying to descend w/out heatstroke.

[kjmc]

We had a fantastic day. As this was our first time on Skyline, it was great to summit San Jac with my triathlete hiking buddy about 2PM. I am sure he will will come back in the fall and do it for time. I wish him well. As for myself, I am just happy to have a good climb on a hike such as this.

3AM was a good starting time, however Cy is correct that one still will wish he had begun even earlier. We were right behind another group (two young guys with a dad who also arrived at the museum lot at 3AM) which helped in navigating the first leg. The predawn ascent and sunrise provided quite a scene. I am sure the ascents under a full moon are sublime.

We then correctly turned right at the junction with the upper end of the "two dot" path where the arrow points down to what we assumed might be the route coming up from Ramon Rd. I had not seen a mention of this somewhat confusing junction, and if I am asked for directions in the future I think I would include this.

Should I ever feel the need for a summer C2C again, I think it would be an earlier departure under a full moon. It was a little surprising to see quite a number of hikers on Skyline on an early Summer day with a desert floor temp of 110, some of whom appeared to be going straight uphill on the middle sections, and others were trying for personal best times. We ran into a couple of rather experienced hikers that were experiencing cramping, which can't be any fun. Making sure you are at 100% prepared with regard to fitness and gear is indeed essential.

Frozen tee shirts, pin holes on extra water bottle caps - these are ingenious ideas that we will have to remember in the future, but did not see these last posts in time as I was on my way from San Diego to the desert on Friday. A cool and damp hat and shirt could indeed do wonders on Skyline for the body and mind...are the shirts frozen completely dry or a little moist?

To all who have responded, thank you. For some technical reason I was not successful in attempts to send a PM for details on the route. I see that the community is cautious about posting Skyline directions. For this reason I will not comment further on trail directions.

Cheers