Most Cursable Hikes

[Zé]

Well I asked this on the San Gabriel forum might as well ask here!

Which hikes have you done that you think you were the most angry / swearing the most?

Obviously the anger could happen for different reasons for everyone. Maybe it was the hot day, exposed trail. Maybe the steepness of the trail. Or the lack of stability of the trail. Or the brush. Or simply the length / elevation gain. Or the altitude. Or getting lost.

But in the end it comes down to the feeling.

My list


#5 <Cactus to Clouds The only hike I've "hit the wall". The 9,000' of elevation gain was fine. But around 9500 to 10000 ft high, I hit the wall. I started slowing down a lot, and so did others.

One could claim it was the altitude, and I'm sure it had a little to do with it, but I think this was just about exhausting my fuel reserves. I'd been up that high many times before and never felt like that. An the trail was not steep at all. So I was pretty pissed!

#4 Rabbit and Villager Peaks. It's long and tough yeah, but it's more about the terrain. Lot's of rocky stuff to annoy the feet (right John and Jen?). And the cholla. Don't forget the cholla (and Poland). I got stabbed by multiple cholla which came from seemingly nowhere, and each cholla stabbed me multiple times, and stabbed me when trying to pull them out.

#3 First ascent of Iron Mountain #1 Probably on everyone's list. For this one I had better knowledge of what to expect the trail to be like. But still the combination of being stabbed by yucca, loose terrain, and steepness led to some swearing. Plus I was pushing my pace, and that last mile is of course cursable.

The pounding going down the first 3 miles is pretty bad, and I didn't have poles, so any slip and I went into a yucca. I hate yucca!

#2 My first attempt to ascend Monrovia Peak. What a pain. I think this was my first try of a route described from Sierra Club's HPS list without knowing how brushy it would be. It was really foggy that day, so when we starting ascending the ridge, we kept going through a bunch of brush on steep trail, with no end in sight. We had no idea how long it would last!

To make things worse, the group had enough just below Rankin Peak, so we turned around without going to Monrovia. Then, on the way down, we went down the wrong ridge, and had to descend into canyon via some "trail" someone literally made with a chainsaw.

So yes there was definitely swearing on that one.

#1 Getting up to Bighorn Ridge. Easily the most swearing. All the main elements were there; tons of brush & steep, unstable, and exposed trail. So much breaking through brush, crawling through brush, dust in the eyes and the like. I was swearing, getting angry at the brush, and taking my anger out on the brush. And I was pretty exhausted after.

And this was only getting up the ridge and to 5800'!. We still have to go back and go all the way up to Baldy. <sigh>

Honorable mention:
Ascending Telegraph Peak via ridge from Telegraph/Thunder saddle (a pain, but short)
Baldora and Widco Mines (trail from saddle brushed over and washed out).
Sugarloaf from Falling Rock Canyon (unstable rock and scree)
SW ridge of Muir Peak (brush)
Brushed over ridge around Montara in the Bay Area

[FIGHT ON]

I don't curse!
The harder the more fun for me as long as they aren't scary. Putting my life on the line is stuff I stay away from.

[zippetydude]

"I don't curse." Never? Hmmm...wait a minute, I know your weak spot...have you ever almost stepped on a rattler and it scared the heck out of you? What did you say then?

JK, of course. I don't generally curse either, but I have the same weak spot, and I can't say I haven't ever let something slip! Once, about 5 miles into Skyline I stepped off the trail to do some brief "business" and I stepped on a stick that twisted and appeared to wriggle like a snake. I didn't even come up with words, I just squealed like a pig and jumped way up into the air. I'm sure glad no one was around.

z

[KathyW]

I swore a lot heading up George Creek to Trojan Peak in the Sierra last spring. Actually, once you get to 9500' on that route it's wonderful, but getting from 6300' to 9500' is hell. I hated it so much that I'm going to try it again this year.

The section above Meysan Lake on the way to Mount Mallory was also hell last summer - really steep with two steps forward and one step back - one of the worst Sierra Slogs I've done. That climb might be really nice if done early in the season when there's snow in the chutes.

The last 1000' to Mount Mary Austin in the Sierra was a pile of loose rubble last spring - lots of swearing.

The route via University Pass to University Peak in the Sierra - a moraine from hell and then a really loose steep chute up to University Pass. Doing University Peak via the north face is much better than via University Pass.

The chute I took one spring coming down from Baldy to avoid the sketchy section of the Devils Backbone - nasty, nasty, nasty - I fell so many times - there was more praying than swearing that day.

Coming down from Taboose Pass to the Owens Valley - loose rocks all over the trail. Going up is fine.

The bushwack up Sphinx Creek to Sphinx Lakes in the Sierra was living hell - a terrible bushwack and the mosquitos were horrible. After the first lake and all the way to Mount Brewer it was great.

Actually, I often do a great combination of swearing, praying, and whimpering.

[Ellen]

Howdy Ze,

What a hilarious title for a post I especially love Kathy's "combination of swearing, praying, and whimpering." So, when are you going to lead me up Big Iron with Tina so that I'm no longer a Big Iron virgin?

In terms of difficulty due to elevation gain and heat (high 90's), I would definately say my two day Grand Canyon R2R2R last year.

In terms of being attacked by demonic cougars, definately the time I got lost trying to find the old Tamarack trail and had my legs shredded.

I have to confess to swearing regularly on Skyline when I lose skin. There's no point in stopping to apply first aid since I'll have many more wounds by the time I reach Long Valley. I swear that the folage on Skyline just waits in anticipation... On that note, beware the killer Chollas when you hike BooHoff to Sugarloaf.

Miles of smiles,
Ellen

[Hikin_Jim]

Rattlesnake Peak via Bichota Canyon. I finally decided, after hours of bushwhacking, that if I really wanted to kill myself that badly, I should just go home and buy a gun.

I bailed and to this day have never climbed Rattlesnake Pk.

[Zé]

So, when are you going to lead me up Big Iron with Tina so that I'm no longer a Big Iron virgin?

I cannot believe the demand for Iron! I'll definitely be going again. We'll have to wait for a cool day though.

Jim, Rattlesnake from the primary route (south) is not bad at all. And Rattlesnake gives awesome views of the East Fork, you should do it.

Of course, Taco led us back down via the east ridge, which was a pain. Actually, that at least deserves an honorable mention. But the main way is no problem.

[Ellen]

Howdy Joe,

I'm happy to wait for a cool day to go up Big Iron -- consider me a female polar bear Please wear your blue socks so I can keep track of you when you're blazing up the mountain. I'll put some rocks in Tina's pack to slow her down.

Howdy Jim,

There's something about the NAME of that particular peak that is off-putting Remember, bushwacking means being wacked by bushes, not the reverse. I love reading your posts.

Miles of smiles,
Ellen

[Hikin_Jim]

Jim, Rattlesnake from the primary route (south) is not bad at all. And Rattlesnake gives awesome views of the East Fork, you should do it.

Well, first my sprained knee has to heal up. I sprained it in November. I started hiking again, but I guess I put too much strain on it -- it's now really bad again. I hope I'm not out for the whole 3 season hiking period.
[insert sound of a grown man crying here]

Regarding the route, I assume that it starts in the vicinity of "A," and then goes up to somewhere around "B." I'm not clear where "B" is; any tips there? From "B," it seems like it would then head up to "C," but I'm not sure where and how one gains the ridge. From "C," I assume one would follow the main ridge passing "D" and "E" en route to the summit ("F"). Is that about right? Do you have a .kml or a marked topo? Am I close on the route?

On my original attempt back in the late 80's/early 90's, I think I started around "G" and just followed the creek up to "I," where a trail is shown on the map. I don't know that the trail ever got reworked after the fire that occured in the 70's. Anyway, I beat my way up to the saddle at point "J." From "J" a trail is shown that goes through "K" en route to a saddle "M." I couldn't find this trail, so I basically followed the ridge to first point "L" and then to somewhere in the vicinity of "N." Even though I was relatively close, it was a hot day with a lot of bushwhacking. I threw in the towel and went home. I hate brush going down the back of my neck!!

Howdy Jim,

There's something about the NAME of that particular peak that is off-putting Remember, bushwacking means being wacked by bushes, not the reverse. I love reading your posts.

Miles of smiles,
Ellen

Thanks Ellen. I always enjoy your write ups too. Somehow I just knew that Demonic Cougars would end up on this thread.

[Zé]

dang that sucks about the knee. I'm sure you'll bounce back, but you'll just have to get back into it more gradually. Nothing wrong with playing it safe; there's still plenty of hikes to explore and enjoy.

Regarding Rattlesnake, basically the only thing is to make sure you find the right spot to get onto the ridge. Its on the next small ridge after B. Check out Travis's files / images After that, the use trail is pretty well defined that its not a problem going all the way up to the summit.

man, you were so close to! did you see Lee posted on the SanG forum? Archives of old topos...there is some cool stuff around the east fork, and an amazing number of trails documented around Rattlesnake Peak.