A Couple Of Tough Local Hikes

[Hikin_Jim]

I've already written some about Mt. Baldy from the North; see http://www.palm-springs-photography.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=397&start=4, but I just came across another tough hike that I hadn't considered before, the BBL (Big Baldy Loop). See http://www.mt-whitney.info/viewtopic.php?t=2040&start=5.

[marmot]

the big baldy loop is a long hike. there are some people that even include cucamonga peak into the equation.

cucamonga peak can also be hiked from rancho cucamonga. follow the deer creek drainage from the city and climb the great ridge to the top. 6300' of gain.

I have two failed attempts on cucamonga peak from rancho. I thought that it might be the toughest one- day climb around. Until i found out that Ive been hiking the wrong canyon, been hiking day instead of deer. Atleast there was water in the stream, and pools to cool off in, even now.

[Hikin_Jim]

pools to cool off in

Sounds nice. Trail-less all the way, or is there a trail up part way? Where's the best "trailhead" (access point) for that canyon?

[AlanK]

The Big Baldy Loop starts from the Icehouse Canyon Parking Lot. It includes a walk down to the Village on the road, a trip up Baldy via the Bear Flats Trail, the Backbone Trail to the Notch and the 3Ts Trail back to Icehouse Canyon. It is a bit over 20 miles.

Some people hit the summits along the way: West Baldy, Harwood, Baldy, Thunder, Telegraph, and Timber. We call this the 6 PEaks hike. It is about 22 miles.

We (my son and I) have done a 9 Peaks version that is also popular in a certain crowd. The extra three peaks are Ontario, Bighorn, and Cucamonga, in no particular order. Our route was 32 miles, but one can shorten that a bit with better route choices.

I believe that Rick Kent has done an 11 peaks version, which included Etiwanda and Sugarloaf. We tried that this summer but had to retire early due to a foot problem (mine). I think that our route would have been around 32 miles.

There is also Baldy via San Antonio Ridge. the route starts at Heaton Flat, ascends Iron Mountain, and then takes San Antonio Ridge over to West Baldy. Most people do a car relay and descend via the Ski Hut of Bear Flats trails. Rick Kent has done Heaton Flat to Baldy and back. The second time, he descended to Manker Flat for a snack as an addition to the route.

Of course, there is also Baldy from Venice Beach. Richard Piotrowski has done it. He used a bicycle to get to Baldy Village. Of course, Richard has done Whitney with that approach, but not as a single day outing.

[Hikin_Jim]

I've looked at the route for the Heaton Flat to Baldy hike, and that's some gnarly stuff up there on San Antonio Ridge. I think just summiting Big Iron is more than enough for most folks, but it would be interesting to exit Iron Mtn via Baldy and the Notch or ski hut.

Do you have any idea what the mileage from Iron to Baldy is?

That 9 peaks hike sounds hard freakin' core. The guy that did 11 must wear a cape and leap tall buildings with a single bound. I would think the 9 would be harder than C2C, and the 11? I don't even want to think about it (unless there's a helicopter involved).

[marmot]

more information for deer canyon can be found here

http://www.summitpost.org/route/159562/deer-canyon.html

i know that the stream in day canyon is flowing, i dont know if deer canyon is though.

My plan is to do the correct route sometime this week, possibly friday. I'll update on the site if your interested in joining.

[Hikin_Jim]

I probably won't be doing anything extreme any time soon; I've been both sick and busy, neither of which has left me in the best shape.

However, if you do the trip, please do post a trip report either here or on Summit Post with a link.

[Cy Kaicener]

I am headed up there this Saturday leaving Baldy Village at 5 am

[KathyW]

Yup, the trek to Iron from Heaton Flats is enough for me. I seem to look more at the elevation gain than the miles when I try to figure out how hard a hike will be, but I've never done a hike that was more than 25 miles in one day and I'm not sure that I ever will.

[Hikin_Jim]

I hear you, Kathy. I've done long days, particularly in June when the days are long, but they're not all that much fun in general. Nowadays, I think somewhere around 15mi is good for a day hike and somewhere around 10mi is good for a backpack. When I do more than a couple of miles beyond that, the enjoyment level really drops, although, you're absolutely right, the gain (and how it's meted out along the route) is in many ways a bigger issue than the mileage. Here, with these mileages, I'm thinking of trail miles on typical mountain terrain like, say, the San Jacintos.