BACK TO BACK TO BACK TO ????????

[KathyW]

June 26th is a full moon and a Saturday - you'll be able to just keep going up and down all night long and not even need a headlamp unless you melt in the heat during the day.

[bluerail]

Ellen has a point..first tram on easter Sunday, i believe is running at 4 am.
that really extends the day.

but i'd have to imagine the turnout to be just the crazy people.

[zippetydude]

Ellen has a point..first tram on easter Sunday, i believe is running at 4 am.
that really extends the day.

but i'd have to imagine the turnout to be just the crazy people.

You mean the regular Skyline hikin' fools? Or maybe those nuts that keep hiking up Yucaipa Ridge trying to find a buried treasure?

z

[lilbitmo]

You mean the regular Skyline hikin' fools? Or maybe those nuts that keep hiking up Yucaipa Ridge trying to find a buried treasure?
z

I resemble that remark

[imike]

Its time to start planning for our spring venture. Do I hear once, twice, three time and maybe four???
?

...when you guys do multiples... is the tram ride down always part of the mix, or is a "pure" double included? Most I've ever done in a day is 18,000' up/down... but to celebrate turning 60 I was thinking of shooting for a double on the Cactus to Clouds this year. I'll be out there late April, early May to check it out... real training won't really happen until summer, but I was thinking with some proper pacing, the c2c x2 might be possible, weather allowing, even without the over training hit.

thoughts?

[Rick F]

imike,

From the posts I've read the people doing the back-to-back, multiples have riden the tram down on each lap. Not too many people hike down the Skyline Trail. Doing the whole route, the 34 mile round trip, sans tram is a personal goal of mine. I'm calling it "C2C Squared", which is short for "Cactus-to-Clouds, Car-to-Car". I'll be happy with one full "C2C Squared" in 24 hours. I'm planning to make an attempt late Summer or early Fall. I was planning it for late 2009 but some early snow pursuaded me to wait until 2010.

[Norris]

Isn't it more like 42 miles round trip? We're talking full C2C car to car, correct? I agree, doing it old school (as if the tram and all other man-made contraptions in LV and RV didn't exist) is an attractive concept. You have to wonder how and when it was done back in the day. Probably involved a bivy. The challenges would have included picking a time of year where the heat was manageable, but you could still gather natural water, or at least melt snow for water. Optimal time these days is November / December before the snow, but the creeks are all dried up by then, so you have to rely on the RV spring. I'm not sure when the spring in RV was constructed, but I assume it was after the trail first went in. Here's an idea: Old school full C2C. The rules are: 1) no visits to the tram station, 2) no use of the facilities at the ranger station, 3) no use of the faucet gushing water in RV. How do you suppose people did it? What time of year would be best?

[Rick F]

Norris,

Here's how I get 34 miles. 11 from the Museum to the top of the tram and 6 from there to the summit is 17, times two is 34. Maybe the total is longer. Are either of my estimated distances close?

You raise the bar even higher. I think the Fall would be the best time of year to get cooler temperatures without any snow or ice travel but that would also mean little chance of any natural spring water. I wasn't considering not using water from the faucet at Round Valley. If I had to carry all of my own water I would cache some on the way up and then retrieve it on the way down. That means I would have to start with a gallon & half or two gallons.

[imike]

Norris,

If I had to carry all of my own water I would cache some on the way up and then retrieve it on the way down. That means I would have to start with a gallon & half or two gallons.

I'm not so concerned with the purity of event regarding water... I'll likely hike up the week before and cache water here and there for backup. May 1st I'm meeting a friend to do a simple up/down sans tram... the 34 mile version. Guess I'll look then at the viable option of a 24 hour full double. 68 miles and 20,000' up/down. The 18,000' I did was on Guadalupe Peak... x6... much easier route, only 8,000' of elevation.... only 50 miles. I'm hoping to hit 8 loops on it this fall.

[tinaballina]

Hi imike,

The back to back that i was talking about was skyline up, take tram down drive back to museum then turn around and do it all over again.
However, i do like you idea of doing C2C back to back, giving that some serious thought now that you mentioned it. we would have to start around midnight to ensure that we would could catch the first tram down at 8am. the problem we would run into is the ice we would encounter-meaning people would have to be skilled and carry extra gear up, thus, slowing us down a bit. I am going to ponder this for a moment and get back to you.