A bit of background: Sally and I were going to meet at Icehouse canyon at 6:30 AM last Wednesday. Our destination was based on the weather conditions.
As I headed north on the 15, my engine light went on -- I then saw that the temperature gauge is pegged beyond hot. Ugh
I didn't want to pull over to the shoulder on a freeway in the dark. It had also started to drizzle.
Got on the 210 and pulled off the Dry Creek Rd. Stopped the car and tried to call Sally -- no joy -- then called AAA. When I didn't show by 7 AM, Sally drove from Icehouse to the village, had cell service, listened to all my voicemails, then called me. Afterwards, she went back up to the TH to hike to Cucamonga, but the weather had significantly deteriorated and she went home.
It took AAA 1.5 hours to come
They towed me to Penske Honda in Ontario Auto Center. After getting a rental, I drove back up Baldy to hike up Register Ridge -- I needed to work out, relieve the tension and salvage the day.
Rime ice covered everything on Register and the wind was bitterly cold -- I never got warm even climbing the steepest parts and shivered when I stopped in spite of my clothing. I was hiking in a dense fog, the wind howled and the weather alternated between rain, sleet and snow.
It was too damn cold even for me, so I turned around at the Backbone. I came down Register very carefully -- I was clumsy from the cold, ice cube sized chunks of rime ice had fallen off trees, and the rocks were wet and/or icy. Breathed a sigh of relief when I rejoined the Ski hut trail. Back at the rental car, I found that several of my frost bitten fingers had turned black, even though I'd worn very good gloves.
Drove to PF Changs in Rancho Cucamonga and returned the calls from Penske Honda. Apparently, I had an oil leak that dripped on a heater hose, weakening it. The hose ruptured, causing the car to overheat. Fortunately, there was no substantial damage to my engine.
I got my car out of hock on Friday for 2.5 K. Although it was a lot of money, at least I didn't have to buy a new car. I had to replace my home AC this summer and didn't want another big ticket expense in 2013.
Now that I've vented, back to the TR
Met Sally at Manker at 6:30 AM. It was nippy enough that we wore long pants. I started out in gloves as my hands are very cold sensitive. There was a nice chilly wind as we climbed Register and we had to route to ourselves. We added long sleeves and beanies once we reached Devil's Backbone. Although it was windy and cold, we weren't getting knocked around. The Backbone was dusted with snow all the way to the peak.
Once on top, it was too cold and windy to stay, so Sally took some quick summit shots and we dropped 500 vertical feet on the Ski Hut trail to a nice protected area where we had lunch and watched other hikers heading up.
There were some icy spots on the descent and we donned microspikes for added security when we entered the north-facing forested slope. Removed them once we started to cross under the bowl.
We were both hoping for Big Horn sightings as several friends saw a huge herd in the saddle between Harwood and Baldy a week ago Monday. No such luck
I think we need to hike with Arocknoid or another "sheep whisperer" 
Lovely day on the trail with great company. Now, we just have to get rid of the Falling Rock Canyon curse...
Miles of smiles,
Ellen
