C2C attempt #1 - 5-5-12

[Mix]

I had been lurking on this site prior to my group's C2C bid this past Saturday and wanted to pass along a hearty thanks to everyone for the invaluable info this site provided (especially Perry's perfectly timed C2C guide). Ran into several nice people along the way including msugrapants (I think) lounging on a rock near the painted rocks.

My group of 4, including my 70 year old pops, completed Skyline in about 8 hours including a bit of a roundabout loop from the Ramon trailhead in the dark. My wife and father called it a day at the tram while my brother in law and I trekked on. Unfortunately the snow above Round Valley slowed our progress to the point we were forced to turn around. The BIL had to be back in Santa Clarita for a family engagement.

We'll be back in a few weeks to successfully (I hope!) reach the summit. What an amazing hike it is.

Side note, for anyone wondering about trail conditions, I called the Long Valley station last week to find out and the ranger said there was "just a few spots of ice" on the way to the summit. So the 2 feet of snow came as a bit of a surprise...we made it to Wellmans Divide, not sure what it's like past that.

[Florian]

My group of 4, including my 70 year old pops, completed Skyline in about 8 hours including a bit of a roundabout loop from the Ramon trailhead in the dark.

I think i may have seen you guys near the trailhead. I saw some flashlights/headlamps up the graded road from Ramon above where the trail cuts off and was thinking the group might have missed the actual trail. I thought about going up to catch you and direct you back to the trail but for some reason i did not. Please accept my apologies. I'm usually more thoughtful. But i'm happy to hear your hike was a success!

-Florian (sorry)

[Mix]

No problem at all, the scrambling got the blood flowing and the legs warm nice and early!