c2c in July is becoming very popular

[marmot]

Great hike Cy, thank you for leading me up an amazing hike!

[Perry]

Hey Cy, I didn't see you guys cuz I woke up late, my car had trouble making it up the road in the heat, and I chatted with hikers at the tram, then did the ~22-mile loop clockwise. Somebody swiped my pants I left near the back porch of the ranger station, and I dropped $50 on the trail (it's somebody's lucky day today), and it was warm on those south-facing slopes, but I set my best time! 3:51:48 including water stops and the peak.

Cy, do you ever see snakes on Skyline in the summer and fall? I only see them in the spring.

[Cy Kaicener]

Hey Perry - I am sorry to hear about the loss of your pants and money,
Regarding seeing snakes in spring and fall, that is a more common sight, but only happens in one out of eight hikes. Its easy enough to walk around them.
Marmot - Congratulations are in order. It was great hiking with you.

[Guest]

Hey Cy, it was great meeting you in person. I told my family all about it.

Hey Marmot, too bad we didn't get a chance to meet, but much better that you had a chance to do the whole trail, and even take in the peak as well. Great job. Maybe we'll have a chance to hike together in the fall.

Hey Perry, sounds like that was one tough day. Two questions: What's the 22 mile loop? Also, if I do it real soon, and find $50.00 along the trail, do you mind if I use a little of it for beer money when I get back to the tram? I promise to give you the rest back (read: 11 cents). Sorry to hear about your bad luck, but great job on the record time.

z

[Perry]

Go for it! Treat yourself at the bar. I'm sure as hell not going back to find it. I can barely walk today. The loop: Long Valley, Saddle Junction, Strawberry Junction, Little Round Valley, Peak, Wellman's, Round Valley, Long Valley. I kept the $50 inside an old holder for tram passes, and it was in the same pocket as my iodine tablets, so I'm guessing it's right after Willow Creek or Deer Springs, or somewhere in Little Round Valley. Just a tip: it's a *long ways* from Willow Creek to Deer Springs. Deer Springs is just a puddle that trickles right now. Don't pass it up, or you'll be very thirsty and dehydrated by the time you reach the springs below Little Round Valley. I took lots of salt tablets and Gu's. You'll want to leave Willow Creek well-hydrated with at least 50 oz. or more to make it to Deer Springs. I filled my 70 oz. Camelback, but some of it leaked along the way.

Awhile back there was a thing on the Internet called "Rich's Beer Run." He would do that loop except starting at one of the Idyllwild trailheads. He would stop at the tram for a cold one, then hit the trail again.

[Cy Kaicener]

Perry - That is a very fast time for 22 miles - awesome. It works out to nearly six miles per hour for almost 4 hours all at high elevation. i take almost three hours to do the 5 and half miles from the tram to the peak.

[marmot]

woo! that is fast perry. good job

from around coffmans crag, i knew that long valley was right above me, about 500 feet or so. i think my instincts were right. What was interesting is that the trail kept switchbacking up this gradual slope (nice straight steep slope), but ends abruptly once you reach long valley. and the switchbacks just stop. There is a paper on a tree saying "no fires" or something once you reach long valley. Some switchbacks after coffmans, i think i heard voices, and the happiness started to really kick in.

the last two miles are steep, no doubt, but i think the trail up the north side of baldy is steeper. nevertheless, it still hard to believe that you gain the same amount of elevation on those last two miles (the fun part) as you would on mt. baden powell (2700' gain). And mt. baden powell is a good honest hike that gave my dad and i trouble the first time we went up it (about 10 years ago).

But its interesting, from the top of the skyline you can see what you have actually done and accomplished, from there, you can see most of the bumps that you went over throughout the hike, probably following back to the 3700' bump (the first major hill on the skyline). You can also look down to the place (slick rock area with a huge bushfield around) where you started those steep last two miles. the bushy flat-area looks almost straight down from the end of the skyline.

i will definately do this trail again.

[zippetydude]

Thanks for the info on the 22 mile loop. With the San G wilderness closed this week, I just may try it out.

Is there a lot of elevation gain and loss? From the tram to the peak is only a couple thousand feet up, but I'm not familiar with the other parts - Strawberry Junction and Deer Springs. Do they drop down to 5000 or 6000, or are they up above 8000 also?

By the way, Marmot, you're right about that place where you come up on the ridge and the Crag is right there in front of you - it's about 15 minutes to Long Valley from there, so that's about where I start feeling good too.

z

[Pilgrim]

You lose altitude to willow creek around 7800ft and then its slightly uphill as you hike towards saddle junction (at around 8000ft). You climb just under 1000ft (in the sun) as you head towards Wellmen's, but after you take the PCT trail towards Strawberry you lose all that gain and drop back down to about 8000ft.
From there you start the steady climb back up toward the peak. You are in shade from Strawberry to just past Fuller Ridge Jct and then you enter some very exposed (to the sun) trail until you get to little round valley.

[Perry]

I think it's about 4,400 feet of climbing over the entire loop.

The Deer Springs Trail actually starts around 6,000 feet off Hwy 243, but the big loop meets it at 8,000 feet at Strawberry Junction. The actual Deer Springs creek is a little north of that.