| Archive for San Gabriel Mountains Discussion Forum Open discussion board for activities in the San Gabriel Mountains in Southern California |
| CMC-OC |
New GuyHey all,I'm going to be heading out to California come August, as I am now attending college just 15 minutes from Mt. Baldy. I love hiking, mountaineering, and other fun stuff, especially overnights. I am a pretty good backpacker (you just need to know how to walk really!  ), but my mountaineering technical skills leave something wanting, for sure.
I've been cruising the site for awhile, and everyone here seems pretty knowledgeable about the San Gabriel/Bernadino area. What is the level of technical skill needed to summit some of these mountains, I've glanced at some topos and it doesn't seem too bad, but I might be mistaken of course. And if they are technical slopes, would anyone on here be willing to take time out of their busy schedule to show me the ropes? I wouldn't be able to hike until January more-or-less, because I play a fall sport for my college. Thanks in advance, CMC-OC |
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| mattmaxon |
Re: New Guy WELCOME!
"it depends" But most of the common peaks are reachable by putting one foot in front of the other But as I said it depends... On when you are going and by what route The Sierra Club Hundred Peaks Section has route descriptions for many SoCal peaks http://snipurl.com/ju7sm I feel the most under estimated danger in the San Gabriel's is ICE seems many experienced people over the years have met their doom that way... Hydration is very important as well, not too much, not too little. You'll have to find your "Goldie locks" zone, lots of factors play into this as well but temperature and wind are probably the biggest factors But welcome aboard! The San Gabriel / San Bernardino mountain areas are unique "urban forests" and we are blessed to have them at our back door! Hopefully you won't wait until January to spend a few hours exploring 
Cheers Matt |
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| AlanK |
Re: New Guy
15 minutes is a bit over-optimistic, but you are certainly in a good location. 
Most of the interesting peaks in the area are accessible by a variety of routes. I recommend doing some walk-ups and learning about the routes requiring different skills. You can certainly meet plenty of good people on this board to help get you acquainted with things.
Which sport? |
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| mattmaxon |
Re: New Guy
Ok Ok 32 mins... 
http://snipurl.com/juion |
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| TacoDelRio |
Like Matt said, most routes to the summit of SG peaks are non-technical.
I personally take great enjoyment in NOT following said routes, and putting up new routes that are technically challenging, or at least a snow climb. Something to keep your mind on the climbing, and not on something happening at home, or work, or school, etc. I'm pretty active in winter along with a handful of other folks on here in this regard. If you want to brush up on some skills, you're more than welcome to come along during a group outing. Aaaand welcome aboard! |
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| CMC-OC |
@mattmaxon: Yeah, I'll try to get out and about before then, but I don't want to compromise athletics by risking getting hurt/tired before a game or important practice etc.
@AlanK: I am coming out to Claremont McKenna to play varsity soccer! I am super excited lol. @Taco: A group outing would be awesome lol. I'd probably like to summit "normally" before going for the technical stuff. Are the summits that are non-technical up trails, or is alot of it off-trail? There is something about hiking off-trail that is so much funner. Are there sources for water out there, or is it mainly pretty arid. I'm wondering if I need to bring all the water up with me, or just a couple of nalgeens and a small bottle of iodine, I mean for trips that require at least one night. |
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| Hikin_Jim |
Re: New Guy
The guys have covered a lot, but a couple of things to add: One of the biggest hurdles (if you're tackling an off trail peak or route) is often brush. John Muir called the San Gabriel range "the most inaccessible." It's really dense stuff. Dunno where you're from; maybe you have really dense impenetrable stuff there, but if not, the chapparal of California may come as a bit of a shock. The other hurdle is poison oak. It infests the creek beds of many a stream below 5000' (the elevation cut off is climbing higher these days due, I assume, to climate change). Get to know what it looks like, and try to get some 411 here before you try lower altitude canyon routes. There are some hikes where you just plain don't want to wear shorts, and there are others where you just plain don't want to go at all. HJ |
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| CMC-OC |
Thanks!
I did a 22-day mountaineering trip (2 resuplies) in the Sierra Nevadas (Thunder Mountain, nearish the High Sierra Trail) and yeah the brush was pretty bad. It's not godawful as long as you've got everything in your pack nice and streamlined, and weren't afraid to get dirty! At least in my memory, which is probably wrong. 
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| mattmaxon |
Re: New Guy
Oh Jim! We're trying to encourage 'em not scare'em off!
But he's right about the brush.... Oh man The joke is "Two quarts of water and a pint of blood" is required for a trip... Thankfully higher elevations have less brush than lower elevations, my standard XC gear includes a folding saw and loppers. |
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| Hikin_Jim |
Re: New Guy
Absolutely. Peaks above 7,000 feet often have no brush problems at all. I did Lake Pk and Grinnell Mtn last September, both over 10k. No brush. Nice spots, particularly Lake which has some great views. Not particularly challenging peaks, but just giving examples of fun stuff w/o brush. |
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| TacoDelRio |
Above 7k, you tend to get thick Manzanita... ahhhh, it never ends.
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| hvydrt |
KathyW's Meetup Group and Outdoors Club are good places to find group hikes in the local area. | ||||