Ok plans have changed, C2C on Tuesday Dec. 30th

[steve Irvin]

....Tina and I made it down from flatrock in 3 hours even today. And it was a breeze..right Tina ?

It was easy to see that from flatrock up was obviously more than hiking a trail. We were so close to the tram but a long way from getting there.

We ran into 4 wackos from DHS coming down the mountain with goofy gear who said they had just spent 3 nights sleeping on the "edge" of the mountain. It was obvious they had been above flatrock from the tracks and garbage left behind. Maybe they rode the tram up camped out and made it all the way down with just there army surplus packs and gear. Maybe.

[halhiker]

....Tina and I made it down from flatrock in 3 hours even today. And it was a breeze..right Tina ?

It was easy to see that from flatrock up was obviously more than hiking a trail. We were so close to the tram but a long way from getting there.

We ran into 4 wackos from DHS coming down the mountain with goofy gear who said they had just spent 3 nights sleeping on the "edge" of the mountain. It was obvious they had been above flatrock from the tracks and garbage left behind. Maybe they rode the tram up camped out and made it all the way down with just there army surplus packs and gear. Maybe.

Probably scouting places to grow weed for the '09 season.

[Hikin_Jim]

....Tina and I made it down from flatrock in 3 hours even today. And it was a breeze..right Tina ?

It was easy to see that from flatrock up was obviously more than hiking a trail. We were so close to the tram but a long way from getting there.

We ran into 4 wackos from DHS coming down the mountain with goofy gear who said they had just spent 3 nights sleeping on the "edge" of the mountain. It was obvious they had been above flatrock from the tracks and garbage left behind. Maybe they rode the tram up camped out and made it all the way down with just there army surplus packs and gear. Maybe.

DHS? Dept. of Homeland Security?

[steve Irvin]

DHS....Desert Hot Springs, that little town just on the north side of the freeway across from Palm Springs and bordering hwy 62 on the west side.
A small desert community with a big reputation of defintely different people.

[Hikin_Jim]

lol. Gotcha.

[bluerail]

Ok Jim you did get me, but at least Perrys red arrow is forever etched in my brain.

Hal, you might be right, but these guys didn't even look that smart.

we also picked up food wrapper trash. There were cans laying around, soaked socks scattered on the trail and and a cat hole without the hole.
With about a half roll of tp strewn all over (we left that, sorry folks) and clearly visible from the trail.

Hillbillies

[tinaballina]

[Maybe.[/quote]DHS? Dept. of Homeland Security?[/quote]

you had me in stitches jim.

it was a long but good hike...steves company kept me going. it was nice to see what the conditions are up there.
i know skyline pretty well, but when it comes to trail conditions i am still learning. from what i can gather going up to flat rock, its doable all the way IF you know what you are doing. you don't need gators and shoes (fit for snow) until flat rock. i am thinking that at the traverse you will need crampons and ice axe. i am giong up to the peak tomorrow to test my crampons after that i am going to the head of the skyline trail to assess from the top down.

more to come.......

[Hike]

I generally read these types of msg boards and have never posted. BUT I felt I may be able to add to this specific string of posts. On Fri 1/2/08 a friend and I attempted C2C* (*PS to the Tram Only). A plan we hatched 3-4 months prior. We have done Whitney 3x and Tram to San Jac summit several times, BUT generally we are middle aged weekend hikers at best. We left the Museum at 5:45am hoping to reach the Tram between 2-4pm. What a gorgeous day - great temps and great trail conditions UNTIL the final ridge. There was some snow on the trail but easily passable just before Flat rock. After flat rock we navigated the snow without too much difficulty following the path of (now I know) stobbart. Prior to the final ridge the tracks we followed mysteriosly ended (this is 1:15pm), my friend saying "what happened, did they simply fly from here". Now that I have read stobbarts details of the helicopter ride down ~ who new how true that statement was. BUT now that we faced the toughest part of the trail and we could easily see the Tram we had a real GUT CHECK dilema. We attempted to continue - 30min later (1:45pm) we were at times thigh high deep in snow and only made about 20yards of progress. Through this agonizing 30minutes we were wet, cold, low on water and avoiding the real question of "what do we do now?". At which point my friend and I agreed it would be best to head down in as much daylight as possible. WOW, were we disappointed!! BUT in hindsight it was the BEST decision we could have possibly made. It's at these times (before things get real scary) that alters an outcome from good to possibly VERY bad.
Within 30-45min we were back on the snowless trail, called our wives with the change of plans and established the safety contingency to check in every hour until we were safely off the mtn (amazing how good cell coverage was ~shout out to Sprint). Oh, we each brought about 150oz of water but ran close to out around 2:30pm. We stuffed our camel pack with snow which thankfully melted and gave us another 16-20oz of water, nevertheless we became dehydrated. At 4pm the sun tucked behind San Jac. At 5pm it was pretty dark, by 5:30 it was very dark! We had 1 headlamp for the 2 of us (wish we had 2). The way down was VERY long and slow because we were exhausted and were very cautious. Around 7ish we finally made it back to the car and were VERY thankful that all turned out ok.
Advice: 1) Take supplies/water for the worst case scenario, 2) Find out the snow conditions of the last mile or 1,000ft prior to the tram before heading out IF you don't want to possibly hike back down, 3) Descend off the mtn in daylight if possible, so make your decision to turn back as early as possible, 4) Be in shape, it is very strenous at times.
Hope this post helps for anyone hoping to attempt the hike in the next 2-3 weeks - conditions up there change constantly.

[AlanK]

Good call and great post!

[bluerail]

That was interesting to read. Im assuming you meant 09 and not 08. Tina and I saw the tracks leaving Flatrock and knew that was the turn a round
http://bluerail.smugmug.com/photos/4473 ... RvW2-M.jpg[/img]

Hope I did that right, anyway, if I did thats the trail outta flatrock.[/img]