Mt. San Jacinto Outdoor Recreation

For yesterday's Wednesday romp, Ellen and I selected a hike that would take us up three peaks in the San Gabriels: Mt Baldy, Dawson Peak, and Pine Mountain. We had decided to "boycott" two of our favorite mountains (San Gorgonio because of ridiculous closed-until -6:00 AM gate at Vivian Creek TH, and San Jacinto because of closed trails.)

We started out at Manker Flats and ascended Mt. Baldy via Register Ridge. The top of Baldy was socked in by a cloud and it was damp, windy, and chilly. At first we were a little worried that the clouds would spoil our view, but as we descended the ridge on the way to the saddle between Baldy and Dawson the fog lifted and we were treated to great vistas.

The trail descends 1,260' to the saddle, and while my knees were not liking it I was keeping in mind that we would have to climb back UP all 1,260' on our way back.

From the saddle we had to re-ascend 775' to gain Dawson Peak. The trail was adorned with plenty of yellow-flowered bushes and a few small splashes of scarlet penstamin. I very much enjoyed the gnarled trees and the rugged rockieness of the terrain.

After bagging Dawson we descended about 325' before tackling the 450' that would take us to the top of Pine Mountain. This peak has fine views all around and Ellen and I tried to figure out which peaks were which. We had lunch and headed back along the ups and downs to take us back to Baldy, keeping an eye out for bighorns. Alas, the elusive animals did not present themselves to us AGAIN!

Back on Baldy we took another break, enjoying the passing clouds before heading down the Ski Hut Trail back to Manker Flats.

All in all we had a total elevation gain of about 6,320'. Honestly, it felt like a lot more than that! Besides the climb to Baldy from Manker, the climb from the saddle between Baldy and Dawson is a real butt-kicker.

I loved this hike. I mentioned to Ellen that the San Gabriels don't seem to get enough respect, maybe because they aren't as tall as our other mountains.

Ellen and I agreed that it was a perfect day in every way.

Pictures:
https://picasaweb.google.com/1009477359 ... directlink

Hi Sally,

Love the pics and the video. Breathtaking views! Looks like you had no trouble getting up there.

My friends and I are thinking about doing Baldy tomorrow. The forecast is partly cloudy with chance of thunderstorms tomorrow. Would you happen to have any experience summitting in similar weather? Is it doable/are the views still visible?

Hi matthest, thank you. I enjoyed taking the pics because the route from Baldy to Pine was new territory for me.

There was a 50% chance of thundershowers for us on Wednesday, so we took our rain jackets. It was colder than we expected. You may want to bring a medium weight layer and raingear. I have summited Baldy in a variety of conditions, and usually if there are clouds they seem to enhance the experience rather than hamper the view.

If you DO get caught in a thunderstorm on top it would be wise to descend promptly.

[quote="Sally"][/quote]

How could Baldy be a "SHE" !?!

I enjoy the way the cloud shadows emphasize different peaks



ARGGGH!
Hikin Jim, I think I will NEVER figure out how to get pix to appear.
_____
Moderator's notes:
Fixed. Tip: Don't use an equal sign. It's not a URL. Just put an img in front of the photo and a /img in back of the photo. That's it.

Great trip report, Sally. Nice to see photos from a new perspective, and the mix of clouds and sun sure adds to the landscape. Shades of Feininger..

What a shame about the Vivian Crk TH closure 10P to 6A, especially with increased demand due to San Jac trail closures. Waddya gonna do, where ya gonna go... You two sure found a nice divertissement.
BTW, midweek is usually a better time for bighorn encounters. Hope y'all see some soon. Will guide for trail tales ;)

HH8, you did fine except for the misplaced bracket from the first "img" , where you inserted an "=" sign

You placed it at the *end* of the .jpg filename. I have emphasized it with RED, below:

[img=https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-QihBQsSMB44/UiAGxy9X5JI/AAAAAAAAJPQ/lyM7399Ejco/s800/P1040380.JPG][/img]

Replace the "=" equal sign with the bracket "]", and you're good to go.


We now return you to your usual programming. Ahhh :

Sally wrote: We had decided to "boycott" two of our favorite mountains (San Gorgonio because of ridiculous closed-until -6:00 AM gate at Vivian Creek TH)

Correct me if I'm wrong, but if you're talking about the trail head parking, I've always just parked in the lower lot at whatever time I got there and didn't have any problems. Is that not allowable any more?

z

Hi Z, the gate blocks access to both the upper AND lower parking lots. Furthermore, there are "No Parking" signs all along the road below the gate. The ranger we spoke to said you will get a ticket if you park in the "No Parking" zones.

Hi arocknoid, maybe you could join us and be our bighorn guide. I don't know why we never see them. We even tried to refrain from chatting to loudly in the likely places to spot them.

Hi HH8, I guess that Baldy does have male pattern baldness! I guess he is a guy! I like the shadows in that picture too - too bad I didn't hold the camera level.

Nice t.r. sally. Great pic's as well. Am going to try to do baldy from ice house before summer ends. Also,woke up this morning and did a 6 miler this morning, looking towards san jacinto, thinking about all the people putting on their packs, adjusting their poles,adjusting sippy straws on camel packs, and streatching before their days activities.looking forward to all thr tr's to read from this weekend.

Thank you Sally! We ended up oversleeping unfortunately, so that solves that problem...

Ugh! That saddle between Dawson and Baldy is awful. I'll never forget the first time I laid eyes on it. Awful I tell you. You lose a lot of elevation going either way, and then you gain it all back -- in spades.

The other way to do that trip is from either the road that runs alongside the PCT on the north side of Pine Mtn or from Wrightwood via the Acorn Trail. Both are interesting variants, but the trip along the "other Devil's backbone" is not for the faint of heart. It's steep and loose with major drop offs on either side. It's worth doing though.

HJ