Leatherneck Ridge (opposite Skyline) trip report

[Ed]

...and now even the Iron to Baldy Traverse, a difficult and dangerous route.

People have been doing the traverse between Iron and Baldy for a long, long time. It is an endurance hike, and has a little bit of easy 3rd class, which I did in both directions, since we started at Manker Flats and returned the same way. But it is not otherwise difficult or dangerous. A route like Snow Creek is a much more serious proposition.

This is one of the most interesting threads I've seen. Amazing and impressive the number of people on this discussion board who have taken routes up this side of the mountain other than Skyline.

[guest]

Good points Jim, I also grapple with how much to share, & with whom, but... I also appreciate Getting some 411 on routes I'd like to attempt, so it's a dilemma. I still feel a bit guilty some some of the longer secondary short-cuts on Skyline, (as I didn't think many would follow, since I left little traces), but folks figure it out somehow.

The route Whitebark speaks of sounds interesting; what a treat to stop for a drink & dunk at 3k before heading up the mt. Tahquitz is mostly step-walled & brushy from my limited experience in some of it, but maybe! It makes some sense to terminate around a lower, (but still cooler) area like Carumba, if you we're either Native Americans, or possibly, hard-core horse folks. Besides, acorns are usually lower than the tram, a staple for many.
Most of these tougher routes would get little travel, but with millions & millions, and rapid info exchange, there out there looking for a challenge.

Bummer, in a way, (I'm sure Hal will agree), that it's too bad there's such good cell coverage on that east side of the San Jacinto's, (otherwise, maybe, maybe, some people would come more prepared & self sufficient.

Enjoying the no-summer, summer here by San G pass, So Far!

[bluerail]

You're much better at this stuff Jim, but I thought it was the mountain fire that came into carumba and toward Indian canyon and would have possibly cleared some of that God forsaken bushwack crap coming down the southern ridge of tahquitz canyon.

[Hikin_Jim]

People have been doing the traverse between Iron and Baldy for a long, long time. It is an endurance hike, and has a little bit of easy 3rd class, which I did in both directions, since we started at Manker Flats and returned the same way. But it is not otherwise difficult or dangerous. A route like Snow Creek is a much more serious proposition.

Yeah, people have definitely been doing Iron to Baldy for a long time. I remember hearing about it as a kid. Maybe it's just me, but I'm seeing a lot more people doing it these days.

Now, I haven't been there, but the area around Gunsight Notch looks kinda sketchy to me. After Snow Creek, it's probably nothing, but for us mere mortals...

HJ

[Hikin_Jim]

You're much better at this stuff Jim, but I thought it was the mountain fire that came into carumba and toward Indian canyon and would have possibly cleared some of that God forsaken bushwack crap coming down the southern ridge of tahquitz canyon.

You are absolutely correct. It was the Mountain Fire that came up into Tahquitz Valley, down into Carumba, and then down towards the Indian Canyons. The Silver Fire was the fire that burned over in the direction of Leatherneck Ridge (or Hummingbird if you prefer).

HJ

[cynthia23]

So, circling neurotically back toward my 'idee fixe', it sounds like 'the old Gordon Trail' and 'the old cattle trail' are actually two different routes? I mistakenly thought they were the same route. Part of the reason I was intrigued by the idea of 'the old cattle trail' is I figured it would have to be non-technical (since a cow's ability to belay another cow is limited ) (although judging from the wild cows over in Whitewater, they can go up and down surprisingly steep hills.) Has anyone here done or know anything about 'the old cattle trail'? Is that the one you mentioned in regards to the Desert Riders near West Fork, Guest?

[Sose]

Don't know much about that trail but check out the cow trail on the way to olancha in the so. Sierra. Cows can hike! They love class 2

[Sose]

Olancha

[Ed]

Don't know much about that trail but check out the cow trail on the way to olancha in the so. Sierra. Cows can hike! They love class 2

And pollute as well. Makes you worry about the water, when you do Olancha as a two-day backpack and there may be cows upstream from your campsite. Not many places in the Sierras where that is a concern, fortunately.

[cynthia23]

Yeah, I hear you Ed. Sose, I do indeed respect a cow's hiking ability--they can do a lot better than me. But (more seriously) the downside of it is how destructive they are. Ed's right that water pollution is one big issue, but I think the erosion is even worse. I was just shocked by how udderly (nod to you, Zip ) the wild cows had destroyed the slopes they grazed on. Those slopes looked like they'd been nuked--no vegetation left at all. I actually tried to convince a hunting friend of mine that we should try to 'bag' one or two of these errant bovines (I had in mind the huge cost of organic meat, and here was 500 pounds we could get for free) but he begged off on the grounds that it was wildly illegal , logistically impossible (were we going to butcher the cow right there, and if so, how were we going to carry the five hundred pounds home?), and, according to a friend who had hunted wild cows once or twice, the meat is unpalatably gamy. Not sure about that, but either alive or dead, do think it might be a good idea to get these cows out of wilderness areas.