C2C2C-Saturday October 9th

[lipbiter]

What about me ?!

... I don't hand out kisses willy-nilly.

[Hikin_Jim]

What about me ?!

... I don't hand out kisses willy-nilly.

[KathyW]

I'm hoping the 23rd will be nice and cool; so I can give Skyline a try. I might make it a C2C or even a C2C2C, but I'll just have to wait and see how my legs hold up as I haven't been doing many long grueling hikes lately.

To do C2C2C, I'd have to start at midnight, which would get to Long Valley between 7 and 8 am. Then if I go on to the summit, it will take me another 5 hours; so I'd either take the tram down or start back down Skyline at around 1 pm. This would get me back to Palm Springs around 6 pm. A nice 19 hour day at a slow-poke pace. I don't think I've done a 19 hour day before; so I'm not sure how my body would handle it. I've done plenty of 13 to 16 hour days, but not 19 hour days.

[lesper4]

Me and a bunch of freinds have been watching the threads and are going to do CTC on the 24th (for some reason Sundays are better for most of them). Anyhow there is only two of us doing CTC as the others feel they are too out of shape to go from the bottom so they are meeting us at the top. Any idea when we should meet at the junction (Long Valley) if we start in the morning around 4am? The two of us are in good shape but I am not sure what kind of average we can put down. Anyone else want to join us on Sunday?

For the others in my group any way to judge how close they are...in other words another option for them is just to start earlier then us, say 2am since they move slower?

[KathyW]

Lesper4: It takes most people between 4 and 10 hours to do Skyline - it's a pretty wide range and the weather makes a difference. Most people move a bit slower if it's a hot day. My guess is an average speed person can hike from Palm Springs to Long Valley (upper Tram Station) in about 7 hours.

It has taken me anywhere from just under 7 hours to just over 8 hours to do the trek from the Palm Springs Museum to Long Valley where the upper tram station is, and I'm a slow but steady hiker.

[Hikin_Jim]

I've seen people post times up to 12 hours. It's hard to say how one is going to fare on a trail with so many variables like Skyline, so you might want to be prepared to spend some time on that mountain.

Of course some people don't finish at all. Aborting a hike like Skyline on a hot can be a really bad idea. As I recall it cost at least one person their life in the last year or so. A hike down is a hike into hell on a hot day. People who haven't died have often had to be choppered out and taken directly to a hospital. Not trying to freak people out, but don't take a decision to turn back lightly.

On a hot day, more water is better. It's not uncommon, based on posts here, for people to take six liters.

HJ

[tinaballina]

Well, i am still planning to do a c2c october 9th-if you are on board great.

[Florian]

I want to stress what Hikin_Jim just said: It is common for first time Skyliners to take 10 to 12 hours, or even more. Of course many do it much faster. But you won't know until you're up there. Just be ready.

°Florian

[bluerail]

If you feel you might be in the time category that Florian mentioned, do it when the weather is cooler. Dragging along enough water for a 10 - 12 hr. trek up that hill when it's warm is difficult. If you are in good enough shape to get in under 8, your probably good with 4-5 L

[Rick F]

I'm in for the full C2C2C on Saturday, October 9th. My friend Tom will be joining me. We'll be starting from the museum at 2:30 a.m.

I'm planning to take up to 20 hours to complete the whole enchilada, allowing extended rest stops at the Tram station on the way up and down, as well as a rest on the summit if it's not too windy. I'm estimating 6.5 hours to get to the Tram station, a 1 hour break, 4 hours to the summit, a 1/2 hour break, 3 hours back to the tram station, a 1 hour break, and 4 hours back to the musuem. This timetable gets us back to the Musuem by 10:30 p.m. to end an epic 20 hour, 34 mile hike, gaining and losing 10,000 vertical feet.

I checked the forecast and it will be hot next weekend. The good thing about starting early and finishing late is that we'll miss the 97 degree mid-day and afternoon high temperatures in the desert. Even though we'll be traveling the lower sections of Skyline in the dark, it's still going to be in the 70's, not exactly cool but not scorching either.

I have done Skyline before but this will be my first attempt at the full C2C. I agree that a hike this demanding should not be taken lightly. I'm not an Ultra runner but I'm no stranger to hikes that test endurance. I've done quite few 20+ mile day-hikes, including several day-hikes of Mt. Whitney and a 17 hour trip to the summit of Middle Palisade. I've also been running in 90 degree heat to get conditioned for the cardio and high temperatures.

The key to beating the heat is copius hydration and ample rest stops. I do enough running, cycling and hiking that I don't need to worry too much about my legs and lungs. My weakness is likey to be that my feet will get sore. Thats why I'm planning some long rest breaks to take my shoes off and rest my feet.

Trust me, if next Saturday, I don't feel like I have what it takes, I'll bail for the tram ride down. By the time I'm headed down Skyline I'll know if I've got enough reserve to make it down. In over 80 logged outings I've bailed or cut short the trip on about 30% of my hikes if it didn't feel right. If I don't acheive the full C2C2C next Saturday, I want to be alive and well enough to try it again in the future.