C2C / skyline first saturday in may

[msugarpants]

Thats the plan, anyway. A few canyoneering buddies are coming out from AZ to at least go to the tram, and possibly beyond, depending on the time we start, get up there, temperature, conditions, and how we feel at the tram. Company is welcome, hence this post. We are not looking to break any land speed records and we know not to take this trail lightly. We plan on starting no later than 3am if we decide to go for the peak. It will take approx. 8 hours to reach the tram and I figure another 6 to 7 to reach the peak and back.
Anyway, I know a lot of people on here do Skyline in a matter of a few hours, and us hikers who like to...umm...take in more scenery(?!)...sometimes feel left out. So, if you want to join us on a slower pace, hit me up. Its a full moon that morning also

[LarryK]

We have a group of 4, possibly 6. We're starting at 1am to beat the heat and heading for the summit (took us 12 hours last year to summit and get back to the tram). Should be an outstanding morning with the "Supermoon". Hopefully we'll have a clear sky. We went up with the last full moon on Easter. Let's hope for the same conditions! A totally unforgettable hike.

Still wondering if Fern made 4 complete trips. He started at 1am. We started at 3am. He passed us on his 2nd trip up well BEFORE Flat rock (I didn't think we were THAT slow!). He couldn't find a ride at 5am so he ran from the Tram back to the trail head (apparently someone saw him and gave him a ride from about halfway). Amazing! I'm pretty sure we'll see him on the 5th and I'll ask him.

We'll probably see you on the trail at some point. Have a great hike!

[bluerail]

Mike, I hope i can join in with you guys for a bit, would like to get to talk to your buddies too.

[D.K.]

I planned on doing C2C with a buddy that day also. We'll probably leave @3 too. I went to the tram last Saturday (4/21), and I saw noooobody. Was I the only one up there? I'm glad I was in shape and figured my liquids correctly, or it could have been bad up there by myself. It was quite toasty, and I was sweating big time. I'm hoping it won't be that warm on 5/5, but it probably will be, if not warmer.

[HH8]

Its a full moon that morning also

I prefer the week after full moon, so it does not set behind the ridge before dawn, so I have May 12 penciled in for my Skyline.

[jbash20]

New to the board and to this hike. Will be going Saturday morning with a party of seven. Staying up there the night before and starting the hike around 4-4:30. Last major hike we did was Half Dome last August. From what I've read, this should be a little more difficult. The three from my group that did Half Dome with me have a relatively quick pace, we finished it in a little over nine hours . We Got a couple slower people with us this time and expect to take MUCH longer this time.

I was planning on bringing a 3 liter camelback and a 32oz nalgene, but have heard people say to bring as much as 1.5 to 2 gallons which seems a little excessive to me. I don't want people carrying too much weight with them if they dont need to. Any advice would be great. Let me know.

Thank you,

[Patrick]

All the stories I have heard 'strongly' recommend 1.5 gallons... though I am no expert.

A better mix might be the 3 liters and 32oz of water, and two small gatorades (or similar).

[Florian]

There is a large event taking place at the O’Donnell golf club on Saturday night. They will be using the museum's north parking lot beginning Thursday afternoon for deliveries and setup. Just a heads up to anyone doing Skyline this coming weekend that you may not be able to park in the north museum parking lot. There is street parking on Museum Drive. This would also be a good time to go up from the Ramon trailhead instead.

-Florian

PS: I'll post this as a new thread as well.

[jbash20]

New to the board and to this hike. Will be going Saturday morning with a party of seven. Staying up there the night before and starting the hike around 4-4:30. Last major hike we did was Half Dome last August. From what I've read, this should be a little more difficult. The three from my group that did Half Dome with me have a relatively quick pace, we finished it in a little over nine hours . We Got a couple slower people with us this time and expect to take MUCH longer this time.

I was planning on bringing a 3 liter camelback and a 32oz nalgene, but have heard people say to bring as much as 1.5 to 2 gallons which seems a little excessive to me. I don't want people carrying too much weight with them if they dont need to. Any advice would be great. Let me know.

Thank you,

C2C is much, much more difficult than HD, not just a little. There is no comparison. A guy took similar amounts of water as you up there about two months ago and ran out before Flat Rock which is around the 5,900 ft level. It was perfectly cool, maybe even slightly cold at that time. It's not broiling yet, but will be very hot still. There is no water on the trail. Would you rather bring a few extra liters and have a safe trip, or save a few pounds and get hammered or rescued? Better to have too much than not enough. There are no water sources until 8,500 ft at the tram. Don't ruin your trip or worse over a few pounds. If someone in your party can't handle the extra weight, they're not ready and should probably stay home. Not trying to be a debbie downer, just giving you my honest opinion.

I appreciate the honest opinion and that is what I came on this site. You obviously want to be over prepared as opposed to underprepared. I usually put the 411 out on the hikes to our group before we do them and tend to lean towards the more conservative side, so this is helpful.

You say that C2C is much much harder than HD. Is this more because of the elevation gain or more the temperature gain? You suggest starting earlier than 4:30 like some of the other groups to avoid the oven?

[Patrick]

Heck, I did the much easier/cooler PCT trail from the 10 fwy to Fuller Ridge with 5 liters of water (AND a Gatorade) last week (Mon-Tue).
By the time I was within 2 miles of Fuller Ridge, I only had about 1 pint of water left (even though I resupplied at the faucet and again at a spring I found 4 miles in).
I used about 5 liters of fluids in 10 miles and I was still a bit dehydrated.
It wasn't just the sun, it wasn't just the dry desert air, it wasn't just the huffing and puffing, but also the winds that were drying me out.
With only 1 pint left, I was fortunate that there was snow to melt for water as I still had about 7 miles to go from that point to find an actual water source.
Otherwise, it could have been bad.

So, yeah. 1.5 G's sounds like a good minimum to me.