Monday 25th C2C TR

[CA]

Hey Folks,

TR for our C2C (not quite) on Monday the 25th.

Unfortunately I didn't really snap any pictures. I took one nice wild flower shot but that was about it.

At about 5pm on Sunday evening my climbing partner called me from the lower tram building. She was waiting for the next car up the hill. She said that she rolled into PS and it was way to hot to hang out. She bought 4 gallons of water and loaded her pack with a sleeping pad, down sheet, the water, and snack. She rode to the top and took off down Skyline. Our plan was to meet at the museum around 9:30 or 10pm.

I rolled into the museum at about 10:05 and she had been waiting for about 10 minutes. She reported a beautiful hike down. It took her a few minutes to find the trail over the edge, but once on, navigation was easy. She dropped two gallons of water about 2.5 miles down and dropped the other two gallons around 5 miles down. She said the temp was nice enough and the hiking was great along with the views. There were two items that she wanted me to point out to everyone. When it finely got to twilight (about 3k feet) she started to see snakes. She counted 5 or 6 (3 rattle and 2 or 3 kings). This girl is a super Bada$$, but snakes are very low on her list. There were no incidents with her belly crawling trail mates, just a slightly elevated heart rate on her part. Also, she was quite startled by a guy at the picnic benches. At this point it was completely dark and she didn't see him till they were practically on top of each other. He didn't seem to be a hiker. He didn't have a light or any gear that she could see. At first she thought he was disoriented, but later decided he was drunk or high. At some point in their conversation he asked for some water and she filled his Taco Bell cup to the brim. She asked if he needed some help several times and he said no. He was going to sleep on the benches so the snakes didn't eat him and then head down in the morning.

So I pick her up at the museum parking lot and we head over to Woody's for a burger and a beer. Great little band playing, a Western medium rare, and a cold Stella.

We decided to dirtbag it, and slept in the parking lot in my rig. We were out the door at 4:15 and making time straight away. We got to the picnic benches and buddy was fast asleep, so we didn't bother him. After that, not much to report. We had a lot of catching up to do, so we just talked our way to the top. We were carrying plenty of water with us, so when we hit the two drop points, we consolidated and carried the empty bottles out with us. We left one full jug of water on the trail at each drop point where they could not be missed by passing hikers. With that said, I want to make mention of the "Emergency Boxes" along the trail. The last time I went up Skyline I didn't remember seeing them. We were not properly provisioned to do any maintenance on the boxes. They seemed like they were in need of some love. I am not sure if they are maintained by an official group or if they are taken care of on a voluntary basis? Never the less, they need some work.

It took us just less then 6 hours to hit the ranger station at the tram. We sat down and ate a bite of lunch and started to talk about the summit. We planned on going all the way, but a little chit chat and the thought of some Mexican food had us on the tram down. We made a pack that we would come over in November and do a legitimate C2C as a wrap up to our Marathon training (December RnR in Las Vegas).

OK, that's it. Uneventful for the most part just a fun day on the hill.

SH

BTW - Starting temp at the museum at 4:15a = 79f, finishing temp at tram at 10a = 64f, After Mexican food in Palm Springs 12p ish = 100f

[Hikin_Jim]

Hey, cool; you didn't die.

Seriously, sounds like a nice trip, and if you're friend came down immediately beforehand to establish water caches, she really is bada$$!

HJ

[cynthia23]

Like HJ, I'm seriously in awe of your friend who descended Skyline in the dark--speedily!--and then climbed back up it a few hours later. She is a total stud.

In addition to the significant snake presence, the homeless drunk guy she mentioned is also something I experienced a few times. Years ago I left alone at about 3 am one hot night and just a few hundred feet above the museum parking lot, there was a totally naked guy sitting and staring down at the city. I brightly said "Good morning!" and hustled along my way, my heart pounding. While my male friends all thought the story was 'totally hilarious' my female friends were freaked. Teenaged boys and some gangsta types also sometimes go up to the picnic tables at night to get stoned and party. You would not want to run into them, especially if you are female. The lower and even middle sections of Skyline have a fair number of homeless type people wandering around. As the oldtimers know, several years ago there was a crackhead living in a tent on the shady slope (at around 3k) who eventually disappeared under mysterious circumstances. So women or men who hike Skyline alone, in the dark, should keep in mind that Skyline is an URBAN trail with Urban Problems, including the occasional presence of mentally disordered or drugged out homeless folk. So far there's been only one viiolent 'incident', in which a mentally ill homeless guy living near the picnic tables physically attacked a Canadian tourist (who beat the crap out of him, actually), but it's best to err on the side of caution. Another reason it's not a good idea to hike alone, especially at night.

[bluerail]

might as well share...we saw NO snakes ..........this was the 23rd.

Took this guy on a 22 mile 10,000' hike yesterday...and ALL three of his kids, and five of their friends! everyone did so great and we had a blast, what a great family and group of friends.....http://alphacentauri32.wordpress.com/to ... ards/10-2/

[bluerail]

http://alphacentauri32.wordpress.com/to ... ards/10-2/


weird Perry, couldnt get it to go into original post....

[Hikin_Jim]

Nice. Did you serve them a cup of "Rescue Box Special?" No C2C is complete without it. Gives a whole new meaning to "here's mud in your eye."

HJ

[Perry]

I see a page about sports cards. Does he have photos of the hike?

On Sunday I actually saw a snake that wasn't in Palm Springs (Guadalupe trail), so you guys are right, they do exist in other areas here. I'm a believer now.

I'm still wondering if somebody is just dumping the water out of those caches. Sounds like nobody has seen anybody drinking it. It sounds crazy, but it wouldn't be the craziest thing ever on Skyline, right Cynthia?

That guy that attacked the tourist, does he walk his dog in the Las Palmas & Uptown area?

[bluerail]

no Perry that was the only pic...none of the hike. Just a very cool and determined group.....they even carried ALL THEIR OWN FLUIDS !!!

both boxes were filled on saturday morning and had quite a bit of clean new water in them....this is what happens when the water looks perfect, it gets quickly taken..throw a little dirt in, and it gets left alone.

I'm out of town this weekend if someone wants to shuttle water up.

[Perry]

Okay, your dirt experiments have convinced me that it was just lazy hikers drinking the water. How dirty are we talking here? A little sediment? A slight tint? Or a mud puddle in a bottle?

[zippetydude]

I would never have thought of it, but it's a great idea. C'mon, if you're in trouble you'll drink anything...people drink their own urine, a little dirt is nothing.

I still think a warning sign and a $500.00 ticket for vandalizing police property would be a great idea - fund raiser for the police and it would shut those dorks down right away who are stealing the water. A couple cops hidden a little way away and a simple hidden video would show quite decisively whether the person was in danger or not...

I'm not the best rule follower in the world, but I don't take other people's things and I certainly don't steal water from a desperate person in danger, so I have little sympathy for whoever is doing that. Don't mean to rant, but this is not a grey area...

z