Skyline in late April

[lbzock]

I will be in PS Thursday-Saturday, April 23-25 and would like to hike this trail. I've had my eye on it since my husband and I went into the SBNF office about ten years ago and they said "NO". I am a mature woman with considerable hiking experience but do not want to do this alone. It sounds like Saturdays are the most likely to meet up with others on the trail, but if anyone would like to actually PLAN to hike together during this time, that would be great.

I don't see any comments from anyone hiking in the opposite direction. Is that because real hikers always go up, it's too hard on the knees going down, or more dangerous going down, or the tram doesn't run early enough to start from that end, or ? Just curious.

[halhiker]

I will be in PS Thursday-Saturday, April 23-25 and would like to hike this trail. I've had my eye on it since my husband and I went into the SBNF office about ten years ago and they said "NO". I am a mature woman with considerable hiking experience but do not want to do this alone. It sounds like Saturdays are the most likely to meet up with others on the trail, but if anyone would like to actually PLAN to hike together during this time, that would be great.

I don't see any comments from anyone hiking in the opposite direction. Is that because real hikers always go up, it's too hard on the knees going down, or more dangerous going down, or the tram doesn't run early enough to start from that end, or ? Just curious.

The answer to your question about going downhill is "all of the above". Another would be that with the heat of the desert, if you came downhill you might be walking into a furnace. Not a good idea.

Saturday would be the best day to see others on the trail. I don't think age has anything to do with being able to accomplish this climb. My best hiking partner is in his 70s. However, conditioning is important. Don't know where you can get that much vertical gain where you are but people do underestimate the difficulty and overestimate their ability on this trail quite frequently. I had one "mature" woman go with a group I was leading after swearing she'd done the Grand Canyon several times and was ready for the challenge. I had to send her back down the trail after two miles. She was not up to the challenge and I do not lead groups anymore.

It is not to be taken lightly because once you're committed there is no way to bail out if you're not up to snuff and you'd hate to tell everyone you know that your trip to PS ended in being rescued.

[zippetydude]

Pace will be your key if you're in pretty good shape. If you're able to hike continuously for 8 to 12 hours without getting overly tired, you'll probably be fine. That is, if you're used to elevation gain of a few thousand feet. I had done San Gorgonio (gaining 5000 to 6000 feet depending on the trailhead) several times when I first did Skyline. I thought Skyline was quite a bit harder. If you've done Whitney, Skyline is pretty similar in time and difficulty to an ascent of Whitney.

I think you're smart to look for a group to go with. It's safer, and besides, it'll probably be more fun.

If I do Skyline that weekend, I hope to meet you.

Have fun!

z

[lbzock]

Hal and z;
Interesting that you both felt compelled to explain to me the unlikelyhood of my being able to make this hike. Notice that I didn't ask about making it. I have no doubts about my ability to make this hike. I was merely looking for a hiking buddie. I understand why no one would really want to "risk" taking along someone they know nothing about on this particular hike, but I thought it was worth asking.
Hal, you need to get out your high school geograpy book if you think I can't get any elevation gain experience "where I am".
z, no, I haven't summited Whitney. I'm a backpacker, not a mountain climber, but I've carried some pretty heavy pack up some pretty big "hills".
Thanks for your input.
lbz

[zippetydude]

"Interesting that you both felt compelled to explain to me the unlikelyhood of my being able to make this hike."

C'mon lbzock, don't be that way!

We haven't met, so I don't want to tell you it's a piece of cake and then find that you had a miserable time, but that doesn't mean I think you'll grind to a halt halfway up either.

Have fun. Hope to see you out there.

z

[KathyW]

Hal and z;
Interesting that you both felt compelled to explain to me the unlikelyhood of my being able to make this hike.

I doesn't come accross to me that Hal or Zip are suggesting it is unlikely you will make it up the hill. They are just providing some information.

What's a "real" hiker?

For info on when the tram runs, check out:

http://www.pstramway.com/

[lbzock]

Well, in rereading, I do sound a bit snippy. Maybe I wouldn't hike with me either... I'm now leaning toward saving this hike for next year when my husband can be in PS with me. It will still be two of us who haven't been up there, but he is very good with a compass (no GPS), and besides, if we get lost, it will be more fun with two of us... I'll be another year older, but I'll have a few more hikes under my boots as well.
I always go up above the museum, so maybe I'll just go a bit further this time and have a look-see.
lbz

[halhiker]

I didn't mean to say that you wouldn't make it, if that's how I came across. I was only speaking from my own experience. On this hike I, personally, won't hike with someone I don't know, that's all.

The only hiking I've ever really done in Oregon is Mount Hood. I did it up the regular route from the Timberline Lodge. I found it to be harder than Skyline but maybe that's because I did it late in the season when there wasn't as much snow as earlier in the year. It's also steeper and you have to hike down.

When I said I didn't know what was near you, I was merely stating my own ignorance. I don't know what's near you. I'm sure you're probably near the Cascades but I haven't been to that part of Oregon for ages. All I remember was there are lots of trees and rivers.

Sometimes I sound harsh when I don't mean to.

Oh, BTW, Whitney is a hike up mountain. Unlike a lot of the Cascades, you can just walk up it and LOTS of backpackers do it.

[FIGHT ON]

Sometimes I sound harsh when I don't mean to.

When?

[halhiker]

Sometimes I sound harsh when I don't mean to.

When?

OK, sometimes I mean to sound harsh.

Just not this time.