Sister Sally, Miracle Marilyn and I headed up Falling Canyon to Ontario and Big Horn peaks yesterday. We thought we'd be protected from the wind
Once we climbed out of the canyon, every saddle on the ridge turned into a blasting wind tunnel. We stayed on the right side of the ridge as much as possible to avoid Mariah's teeth. Periodically the three of us would drop to the ground when the gusts sounded like an on-coming freight train.
When we reached the trail, we could see smoke from the Etiwanda fire
We got knocked around on the switchbacks up to Ontario peak and found a quiet place out of the wind to eat. It was obvious we'd be battling the wind heading over to Big Horn, so we wanted to be rested.
As we started back down. Sally took several pictures of the smoke. We continued to wrestle the wind all the way over to Big Horn. Although I wore pants and long sleeves (yes, really), my legs were bloodied from being knocked into brush and rocks by the wind. On the way down to Icehouse Saddle from Big Horn, the wind was in our teeth and actually helped us stay on the feet.
The walk down Icehouse was restful by comparison and we could actually carry on a conversation
Sally and I drove through smoke on the 210 on our way back
We learned about the location of the fire and evacuations when we had dinner at PF Changs. Very concerning, as it isn't even summer yet.
Miles of smiles,
Ellen
