Mt. San Jacinto Outdoor Recreation

Howdy All

I checked the weather report last night and told Sally I'd be wearing shorts and tee-shirt and carrying a fleece. The sound of rain woke me up at 3:30 AM -- a half hour before my alarm. What the heck? Did another weather check -- yes, it was supposed to be nice on top.

It rained steadily on the freeway, then became foggy in Baldy Village. Sally and I arranged a car stagger and headed up Bear Canyon at bit after 6 AM in shorts/tee-shirts. While I appreciated the cool weather and absence of bugs, it was bizarre to be hiking into the void. The switchbacks up through the brush after the creek seemed to go on forever. We reached the rocky section for a rest break right as the sun came out.

Lo and behold -- we found ourselves above a massive cloud bank that covered the entire Inland Empire and Los Angeles basin. It reminded me of hiking in Big Sur and not being able to see the ocean due to low lying clouds. We stopped often to enjoy the beauty and serenity and take pictures. Encountered two hikers who'd come up the Bowl trail and wanted directions to West Baldy. We enjoyed a leisurely lunch and the antics of chipmunks in the large rock shelter. On the way down the Bowl trail, we met a nice fellow who recognized me from one of my many blood-letting hikes on San Jacinto.

We made it back to my car without slipping on scree or drawing blood and headed to the PF Changs in Victoria Gardens in Rancho Cucamonga. Engaged in a little retail therapy at REI before making our way home.
Thanks to Sister Sally for anther stellar day in the wilderness.

Miles of smiles,
Ellen

PS Carried microspikes but didn't need them. Wildflowers are just starting to bloom.

Who would have ever thought that such a gloomy day down below could be so georgeous up top?! That was the first time I've been atop of Baldy and wasn't chased off by the howling wind.

(Note to self: eat more carbs the day before doing Bear Canyon. Having sushi for dinner last night didn't cut it. I was really laggin')

Thank you, Ellen, for a splendid day. Stay tuned in for pics.

We were up there last weekend on the 3 Ts trail (I like 2 of the Ts, not too partial to Telegraph!) We're going back up to do Baldy on the 12th. My friend is against coming down the Bowl trail because it is easy to lose and all the scree. I think more people lose the trail going up. Is it that bad, or would you go down Bear Canyon and do the extra mileage?

Howdy Rich

Personally, I really dislike coming down Bear Canyon. I feel like my quadraceps attachments are going to "snap" off from all that braking on the descent.

You won't have any route finding problems with the Bowl trail. I do agree that the scree is bad, but it's also bad on Bear, especially coming down through the brush.

Miles of smiles,
Ellen

Thanks Ellen. You saved me 2 extra miles of hiking and a car shuttle. I'll let you know how things went the week after next!

Have fun, Rich! I hope it will be as nice a day as we had.

Here are some pictures:
https://picasaweb.google.com/sallymorle ... directlink

Those are very cool pictures! Must have been a great day. Keep those reports coming - thanks!