Fire on Mount Baldy

[tkvance]

yeah, I talked to a ranger about that. guess we'll drive up the back way past wrightwood.

thanks for the heads-up, though.

[Hikin_Jim]

I've seen it posted elsewhere that there's minor snow a bit past the trailhead, but about 6 or 7 switchbacks above the cutoff for Lamel Spring, there's still quite a bit of snow.

With the heat, it will probably be soft and not icy. I guess watch your step and if it gets too gnarly, be prepared to abort. If you had to abort, Vincent Gulch, which is accesed from Vincent Gap just like the B-P trail, has a nice trail down to the San Gabriel River. If you want something a little bit more hard core, you can go Vincent Gap to Bighorn Mine, descend the gully below the mine to Mine Gulch to the confulence with the San Gab river. As you approach San Gab R, stay to the left and look for a slight trail leading to a bench, the former site of Mine Gulch Camp. Walk to the east end of the camp and descend into a second gully, Vincent Gulch. There is no trail in the gully at this point, but as you go upstream maybe .75 mi, look for a trail leading to the right and up the bank. Hike the trail back to Vincent Gap (4 miles?). There is water available in the San Gab R (I'd filter it). In Vincent Gulch, the mouth is usually dry, but the canyon narrows upstream from the mouth, and there will be flowing water. About half way up Vincent Gulch, there is a side stream, which is a very reliable source of good water. You could probably drink straight from this source.

The navigation isn't particularly tough, but you would definitely want a topo map and a compass (also a GPS if you've got one). The drop down to Mine Gulch can be a little unnerving for some if they're not used to XC travel. It's basically scree and (more or less) talus with some rubble thrown it. I saw a lot of big pieces of mining equipment (ore carts, boilers, etc.) last time I was there. Once you hit Mine Gulch, you'll be going down a boulder strewn wash. Not exactly easy going but very doable.

Hope that helps,

HJ

[tkvance]

I just posted a TR on another link. copied below:

Baden-Powell trip report:

Great trip. We hiked up at night in the near full moon. No headlamps needed. Slept on top, off the northern side, under the cover of a few trees as windbreaks.
There was quite a bit of snow on the last push to the summit. We went cross-country a lot, as the trail was lost in the snow. Some areas still had drifts of 2-3 feet deep of hardpacked snow.
We saw nobody Fri night, but on our way down Sat morning, the parking lot was full and there were a TON of hikers coming up.
Nighttime temp on top was probably in the low 40s, Sat morning it warmed up quick. Coming down wasn't too bad, but I'd hate to be going up in that heat.

[lilbitmo]

Just spoke to the Visitor's center, Bear Canyon Trial is closed until further notice - still doing arson investigation. Rest of the mountian is open.

Enjoy

[AlanK]

I hiked up the Bear Flat Trail yesterday. I posted a trip report here. I tool photos of the burned area but also have a couple of the intact too-cute Bear Flat sign.

Pix

[zippetydude]

Perhaps we need a controlled burn there: keep the forest safe but burn the sign?

z

[Hikin_Jim]

But that would make the trail unbearable.