museum to tram

[bikersage]

once past the picnic tables, does the degree difficulty increase our stay constant? and in october do you still need 2 gal. of water?

[lightgy]

The initial climb to the picnic tables is indicative of most of the trail. The tables are at about 1800 feet. The trail flattens out briefly at about 4000 feet as you cut across the slope on west side of Palm Springs. It turns west til flat rock which is approximately 5500 feet. From there the trail climb to the tram. It steepness is similar to the initial climb to the tables, but most people are fatigued at this point. The elevations I quoted are approximations I'm sure someone will post the actual elevations and distances.

From experience i would always carry the most water I can. You can always dump it, but it's nice to have if you run into any unforeseen problems. I'm not one of the track stars so it doesn't bother if I have a few extra items. Flashlight, survival bivy.

[bikersage]

thanks lghtby......do you think 2 gal. would be more than enough.....i put 2 gal. in my pack and it seemed kind of heavy.....i know it gets lighter as you drink....however i don't want to burn my self out carrying more water than i'll need.....

[bikersage]

sorry .... lightgy....

[bluerail]

Take at least 4-5 liters ..and october can still be hot. If you move at a decent pace, you dont need as much water as say if you were to spend 9 or 10 hours on the thing.

just get used to carrying some weight before then, theres none up there and you sure dont wanna get stuck up there without fluids.

[soulcamp]

I carried 6L of water and another 1L of gatorade. I also drank 1L right before I hit the trailhead. When I reached LV from Skyline, I had used ~4L of water and 0.5L of gatorade. I finished C2C with about 0.5L of water left.

There is water available in the ranger station bathroom (they claim it's not potable, but I was traveling with a couple of guys who seemed to fair alright with it). There is also a spigot near LRV, but I'm not sure if it'll be running in Oct. (it was flowing at the end of May, but there was still quite a bit of snow on the mountain). Again, it is unfiltered. I would assume, in a pinch, you could get clean water from the restaurant, but I'm not sure.

Next time, I will probably go with 3L of water and 2L of electrolytes. But for your first trip, I would err on the side of too much. That way you stay well-hydrated and avoid the urge to conserve. Like @lightgy said, you can dump if you have to, though I'd rather drink and water the flora, post-consumption.

[Cy Kaicener]

From the museum at about 500 feet its about 800 ft gain in a mile to the picnic tables. The next 3000 ft gain in about five miles takes you to 4400 ft which is about half way. It levels off here to Flat Rock at 5900 feet in about three more miles. The next mile is brutal gaining about 1600 feet. The last mile to the tram gains about 900 feet
The Sierra Club has a Cactus to Clouds trip on Oct 22 at 4.00 am
http://angeles.sierraclub.org/hps/outings.asp
on Labor Day there is a race up Mount Baldy
http://www.run2top.com with about 4000 ft gain from Manker Flats
I will post details later on http://cys-hiking-adventures.blogspot.com

[bikersage]

thank you all.....i guess i pack 2 gal. of water.....i've got the old pack from the last century with the metal frame.....i usually hike with a fanny pack that carries two quart bottles......

[zippetydude]

If you live close enough, you can do a couple trial runs up and back, leaving any water that you don't need hidden in a cache (best well off the trail but where you will be able to find it) as high up the trail as possible. That's what I did, and it worked out very well.

For example, you've been up to the picnic tables. If you went just a little farther and cached a couple extra bottles, the next trip you can either consume them without having to carry them up, or move them up another mile or so and cache them again. I had 3 separate caches laid before I did the whole trip. On all my subsequent trips, I have been able to carry only as much as I need because I know I have several backup supply places just in case.

I mention this because 2 gallons is 16 pounds! If you go ahead and carry that much (in 16 ounce bottles or some other small sealed container) on a couple of test runs, you can always leave most of it high up the trail where it'll be available for you later. Incidentally, hide it very well; caches get raided when other people find them. And if you don't mark it with something, like rocks or a stick or something that's very conspicuous but only to you, then the whole desert looks the same and you'll be unable to find them when you need them.

Anyway, just my two cents. Hope you have fun!

z

[drndr]

I've always known my times and the elevations but have always wondered the mileage points. Cy, or anyone, please tell me it's really more than a mile from flat rock to the notch. I know its steep and I do go slow there, but have always wondered what the mileage and average incline was.

D