Iron Mountain in San Gabriel Mountains this Saturday

[bluerail]

Im on my 13th pair of low cut moabs and superfeet....won't leave home without them.

You'd be hard pressed to get lost on Iron.

Alan, thats a great picture of Eric on Iron, how's he doing? And tell him I say hi. A 2:15 on Iron is insane

[Gregory]

I'm glad to hear all the endorsements for the Moabs. I went to REI today and purchased the Superfeet orthotic inserts, although I went with the blues (not the greens) because they felt a little better to me. Apparently the greens are particularly appropriate for those with medium to high arches. I'm not sure how to classify my arch so I went with what felt most comfortable.

I will be sure to bring insect repellant based on the account of the biting flies....it never would have occurred to me that there would be biting insects this time of year. Also, thank you to Alan for patiently sending me various versions of a GPS track.

Despite all the horror stories regarding Iron Mountain, I am looking forward to it for the following reasons:

1) Alan's 11-year-old son looked very happy when photographed at the peak
2) It is 2/3 the distance of C2C
3) It has at least 2,000 feet less altitude gain than C2C
4) At this moment, I believe it has no snow, which tends to cover the trail
5) There is a discernible trail (please see #3)
6) It requires no technical rock climbing skills
7) The weather is forecast to be in the 70's
8 I like the high desert and believe the Yucca is a noble plant
9) To the degree there is heat, it will be a dry heat
10) It will be both cooler and less humid than Florida, where I and my family will be vacationing next month. A bit of weather trivia: apparently Florida is the hottest state in the country based on year-round temperature. In addition, it is not know for it's dry heat

I'll be sure to post an account of my trip and how the Moabs performed. Thank you for all the delightful posts!

[bluerail]

wear pants with plenty fabric left in the butt....most likely you will end up on your butt more than once....

theres no snow at all.

gloves with leather palms wouldnt hurt to have.

this past sat. on/near Iron:

http://socalhikes.com/2011/06/gold-doll ... in-triple/

[Blooty]

1) Alan's 11-year-old son looked very happy when photographed at the peak

Going up is the fun part

It's the going down that is bad.

I ordered the MOab's, they even have a water resistant version so I got those. The toenail is still throbbing, haven't been able to get the right pliers.

[bluerail]

whats wrong Tracie, youre not flexible enough to use your teeth?

hope the feet are going to be ok.....once past all the scree on the downhill, maybe you shoulda pulled the shoes off?

[AlanK]

Alan, thats a great picture of Eric on Iron, how's he doing? And tell him I say hi. A 2:15 on Iron is insane

I will say hello for you. Eric is having a busy summer. He is in Colorado doing field work (he's a geology major). He spent a solo week in the Sierra earlier on a similar mission. He will be in Washington (state) for much of June and July. He won't be doing any hikes with me ( ) but will be learning a lot and doing a lot of running.

[Hikin_Jim]

Alan, thats a great picture of Eric on Iron, how's he doing? And tell him I say hi. A 2:15 on Iron is insane

I will say hello for you. Eric is having a busy summer. He is in Colorado doing field work (he's a geology major). He spent a solo week in the Sierra earlier on a similar mission. He will be in Washington (state) for much of June and July. He won't be doing any hikes with me ( ) but will be learning a lot and doing a lot of running.

What an exciting time of life for Eric! Very cool. Although perhaps a bit bittersweet for the proud papa.

HJ

P.S. I have strictly charged my daughter that she is not to turn into a teenager under any circumstances. Sometimes a man has to put his foot down you know.

[Gregory]

Wll, I completed Iron Mountain today. It was a beautiful day with clear skies and virtually no wind. When I left Long Beach there was a thick marine layer, but by the time I got to the trail head, it was all clear. I didn't leave the car until 8:45am and was back at the car 8 hours later, so the hike definitely took me the whole day.

The yucca and buckthorn were not a problem for me today, but the insects were unbelievable--never seen anything like it. It didn't help that I forgot my insect repellant, but I have spent pretty much my whole life in this area and have never had such issues with black flies, which really do bite. There were also tons of small, gnat-like creatures. At about 6,000 feet elevation, I experienced an epiphany: I needed to cover every exposed bit of skin. I used a scarf to cover my face below my eyes--bandido style. I wore polypro long underwear tops and bottoms, gloves, and hat. Once I did this it made a huge difference and I felt back in control of the hike.

The trail is steep overall, but for the most part it's like some of the Baldy trails, with the exception of about 4 sections that are VERY steep. The most difficult part of the hike, as Tracie indicated, is the descent, and I did feel tired coming down. The fatigue in my legs meant that I really had to concentrate to avoid falling. I had a couple minor falls--fortunately nothing painful. For Skyliners who want to do Iron Mountain, I would recommend conditioning for descents brfore taking it on. The trail that I've done recently that would be the best approximation would be the Bear Valley Trail that starts in Bady Village and goes to the peak of Mt. Baldy.

My favorite part of the trip was from around 6,000 feet to the peak. The trail follows a narrow ridge and the views open up, with beautiful vistas of Baldy to the east and Baden Powell to the west.

Aside from the insects, my biggest surprise was how much vegetation there was along the trail--manzanita, yucca, and a number of other plants I'm not familiar with. I think the explosion of vegetation growth, the plentiful flowers, the warmth, and the lack of wind all contributed to the abundance of bugs.

I think Ellen's thought to do this hike in the Fall makes sense. Although I don't think the temperature was hot, I felt warm. Ironicially, it was on the descent that I felt the warmest. The sun was high and as the trail went in a southwest direction, I felt the sun was beating down on me. This was the chief disadvantage of the late start--the descent was in the hottest part of the day. I would not want to do this hike in the summer. Since the majority of the trail follows the top of a ridge, the sun exposure is extremely high.

I only saw one hiker the entire day! Yes there were a lot of people in the parking lot, but once I departed the trailhead, I only saw one hiker over the next 8 hours. I had started the descent and was about 15 minutes below the peak when I saw him. His first words: "Do you happen to have any insect repellant." He seemed discouraged and had not thought to cover his face with a spare t-shirt.

The Moabs worked great! I have a couple of hot spots on my feet, but nothing of substance.

Overall, it was a very challenging but successful day. Like so many of these extreme hikes (i.e. C2C or 3 T's/Harwood/Baldy), I'm glad to have done it, but am not in a hurry to repeat it. Thank you for all the tips you all provided, particularly Allen, whose GPS trail really eased my concern about losing the trail. Now I want to focus on much more moderate hikes that my boys (ages 10 and 12) can do!!

Hope to see you on the trail some day!

[Blooty]

Well sorry you got all the bug bites. I agree, all those flowers probably attracted them. I got my Moabs and used them over the weekend. Of course, the toenail is (almost all) gone now, but overall the Moabs were a comfy boot. Thank you for the info on them. They even have my size in ladies, a rarity!