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Last week Mrs. rear end Trophy and I hiked the entire length of the Transcatalina trail, plus a few extra credit segments. All told it was about 43 miles over 4 days. This was also our first experience ever with camping. In my entire adult life, I have never slept outside in a tent. It was baby steps for us, we used a gear haul service that moved a rented tent, cots, stove and utensils. They also moved our extra clothes, sleeping bags and food. So it was essentially 4 hikes with a daypack that had 2l of water, snacks/lunch, and some clothing layers. I have to admit it was a lot of fun, way more than I expected. We have been training for 6 months, building up to 12 mile hikes with 20 pound weighted packs. And I learned a lot. What to bring, what not to bring food and clothing wise. The next trip will be a 2 day, 1 night on the Ohlone trail from Livermore to Sunol. 20 miles, and we intend to be self contained. Her pack should be fine, it can handle a sleeping bag and pad, but I just have a Manta 36 and will need something bigger to handle the tent and kitchen. At least I know what to say when anyone asks what I want for xmas.
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Nov 10, 2021 03:30
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Has anyone been in the San Mateo Wilderness off of Ortega Highway in SoCal? I want to try my first overnight by starting at the Bear Canyon trailhead and going South to the San Mateo Creek via Verdugo and Bluewater. The plan would be to disperse camp somewhere along the creek, then head home by a different route. Does this seem reasonable? Water may be an issue. We have had next to no rain. Park rangers said don't plan on any of the creeks to be flowing. SO it might be full 3l bladders and double 1l bottles for each camper. Looks to be about 10 miles each day. I know the starting point by the trailhead can be a bit crowded, but from the few trip reports I can find, the rest of the planned hike is wide open. In any case, I am going on a day hike recon tomorrow before my daughter's soccer game. I'll go in for about 5 miles then turn around. Also, I am unreasonably happy because I am looking forward to testing out my new Darn Tough socks .
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Dec 11, 2021 00:38
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Chard posted:while i have never been to that park, i lived in LA for many years so i know the climate; imo 5L is not enough water for a 20 mile overnighter, especially if it's your first time. i drink a lot so ymmv We plan to do this in January and will bail if it ends up being a hot weekend, maybe bring a second bladder in my pack. I am not too worried about water, but I know that any disaster is usually caused by a series of small mistakes, the elimination of a single one of the series could have prevented the disaster. I have been here since the late 80's and have 35 years of bike racing/training built into me, so I am familiar with my consumption rate under whatever weather conditions and level of exertion. Even on the hottest days I don't really sweat that much. However, put me in an air conditioned house and ask me to turn a screwdriver while assembling a piece of IKEA furniture, I turn into a dripping mess. Go figure. The recon tomorrow should be dry but cool. 40 at sunrise, warming to 60 by late afternoon. My wildlife wish list for the day is to see a roadrunner and a California King snake.
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Dec 11, 2021 06:48
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FCKGW posted:I’ve done Sitton peak from that same trailhead as a day hike. Echoing everyone else, you won’t find any water and it’s too low for snow so there will be no springs until way late in the season. Thanks for that info. I will check it out. Someone I used to ride with did some bikepacking out there and had a blast. My trip to 4 corners just down from Sitton was foiled by my own stupidity. Ortega was closed for scheduled maintenance, so I could not get to the trailhead. I went home and did a gravel ride instead. At that trailhead I saw some guys prepping e-motorcycles for a ride. Usually if I see that, I tell them they are not allowed, but I recognized one of them as a repeat offender so I just called the sheriff department after I was out of their sight. Because gently caress them. The trail system is already pretty packed with bikers, e-bikers, hikers and horses. Also, I am old and pissed off that I did not get to hike any new trails today. On the plus side, I did see a roadrunner.
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Dec 11, 2021 20:09
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Last week my first order of Darn Tough socks came in. I got 2 different styles. Middle weight, but one has more cushion than the other. I am a 10.5 USA shoe size so I bought the socks in an L. They are not loose on my foot, but I don't know how they should be fitting. Any thoughts? I am used to cycling socks, which are generally thin and TIGHT. That said, I wore each pair for a whole day. No hikes, but there was a lot of walking during the day. My feet seem happy at all of the usual contact points, so I guess I can declare victory.
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Dec 14, 2021 20:44
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alnilam posted:Woolite is all marketing New thread title? In any case, all of this sock chat has been really helpful. I ordered a pair of the Darn Tough compression style and hope to try those out this weekend. And just washing the boot length pairs I got last week in cold, and then air drying them seems to have been just what I needed as far as sizing.
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Dec 15, 2021 21:44
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Mrs. Trophy and I just survived our first ever backpacking adventure, an overnight in the San Mateo Wilderness. 7 miles in on Saturday, 7 miles out on Sunday. It was a strange feeling being out in the middle of nowhere, yet so close to the millions of SoCal. We used a combination of rented and self owned equipment. REI provided a 70l pack for me, a Halfdome 2+ tent and some 20F synthetic bags. A little heavy, but now that we found it was an enjoyable experience, we will probably buy some lighter items. My loaded pack was 35 pounds at the start and she had 25. Granted, we were each carrying 5l of water. FYI, if anyone is going to be camping at Oak Flats, there is water as of a few days ago. Weather was great. Mostly cloudy on Saturday with light rain, fog and drizzle overnight. Sunday was cloudy all day with a few bits of sun near the end of the hike out. A mix of sleeping pads and pillows from Nemo and Thermarest worked well, and the MSR stove was great as usual. I can't wait to try it again next month.
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Apr 5, 2022 20:56
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The America the Beautiful pass is a huge bargain. If you ever enter a National Park, just buy it. When you take into account the discounts it will get you in the park, it pretty much pays for itself on the first visit. Especially if the kids keep pestering you for food, t-shirts, gift shop crap etc.
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May 1, 2022 20:38
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I know we were just discussing this a few pages back, but there was a fatality involving a 2 day hike down and up the Grand Canyon. https://www.yahoo.com/news/canadian-hiker-dies-grand-canyon-171456859.html It does not specify what the exact cause or timeframe was, but the article ends with a bunch of time, heat and hydration warnings. I know it can be a grim discussion, but in most cases, a fatality involves a series of mistakes/incidents, and the avoidance of just one of those could have changed the course of events. Do not underestimate the Grand Canyon. Correction: She was doing an up and down in 1 day.
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Jun 5, 2022 21:01
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Hotel Kpro posted:There's a book that chronicles the deaths of everyone who's died in the Grand Canyon and it's a fascinating read, pretty sure it got mentioned in here a couple years back. Even if you have no intention of ever going there it's worth picking up. Below the Rim: Death in Grand Canyon. I pursued a lot if it when I was in the gift shop. It is a fascinating read. And a great cautionary tale. What I found most frightening were the accounts of falls. And a surprising amount of the falls were not accidents, but a result of people just loving around at the edge. "Look at me. I am going to fall! Oh shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit! . . . . . . Splat.
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Jun 6, 2022 18:48
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We had to cut our 3 day 2 night down by a day due to the heat. The San Mateo Wilderness trip was still fun, even though it hit 100F by noon on the first day. At least the night was cool and we could sleep out in the open. As usual we were way overpacked. I am still new to backpacking, so it did at least provided me with some real world experience and I can cut out a buck of stuff for next time. And I saw a few new to me in the wild lizards. 1) Horned toad 2) A male and female Granite Spiny lizard. Pretty cool, they are completely different colors.
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Jun 27, 2022 18:32
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Hotel Kpro posted:There's a 102 mile trail in the Uinta mountains in Utah that traverses the whole range called the Highline Trail. If you don't mind elevation it could be good The guys from Zpacks did this trail and posted several hours of footage on YouTube. Take a look. It seems like a good hike.
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Jul 5, 2022 06:41
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Mrs. Trophy and I just reserved campground space on Santa Cruz Island in the Channel Islands National Park. The boat will drop us off at Prisoners Harbor on a Friday morning and will setup at the backcountry campsite 4 miles away. Depending on how we feel we may add a few miles exploring. The Next day it is around 12 miles to Scorpion Ranch campground. It sounds like you pretty much get dropped off and you are alone with what you brought. No snack bar, no mini mart, no water. Just a push in the rear end to help you climb up a ladder from the boat to the dock. I am so looking forward to this. I need an adventure. Nothing life risking, but just something that is not done by a lot of people.
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Aug 30, 2022 03:22
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Pretty much any wilderness fatality is a result of a series of smaller errors, the elimination of one of the errors often breaks the chain and prevents the fatality. So in light of that let me present you with a cycling disaster that may or may not have happened. Me, Mrs. rear end Trophy and one of the little rear end Trophy kids were driving from Stovepipe Wells in Death Valley to Lone Pine. We had about 15 miles to go to get to Lone Pine, the sun was about to set behind the Sierra Mountains, the temperature is in the mid 50's and falling, and we were driving into a fairly stiff head/crosswind that is pushing our Subaru Outback all over the road. This is where the road goes by a dry lake bed that is used for salt evaporation. So there is a lot of blowing sand and salt coming across the road. Driving along in the fading light I notice a blinking light on the side of the road. We zip past and I see 2 cyclists. I make a U-turn, and then a second U-turn and pull along side. They are going no more than 5 miles an hour, they have wrapped their faces in t-shirts, they only light they have is a single tail light, no water bottles, no jackets, etc. They pull over and stop. I roll down a window and a ton of blowing sand comes into the car. I ask them if they want a ride back into town. Keep in mind I have 2 extra seat and a bike rack on the back of my car. It is a father and son pair, and the kid looks to be around 12 years old. The guy declines the ride. I tell him at his current speed he won't make it to Lone Pine for another 3 hours, there is blowing sand, a 35mph head/crosswind, you have a single light, no water and it will be pitch dark in about 30 minutes. He tells me he will just call his wife to come get them if they get in trouble. "Dude, you are already in trouble. You just don't see it yet." I tell him. He declines again. I can't force them into the car. The look on his son's face still haunts me to this day. Like he can't believe his idiot father just turned down salvation. We drove off and called the non-emergency Sheriff number and reported 2 cyclists in distress, gave location and direction. They said they would send someone out right away. Hopefully they survived and the kid got a new dad.
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Nov 2, 2022 22:19
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sb hermit posted:You did a good thing and I applaud you for it. But I have to ask you something a bit irrelevant. We were staying at a cabin on Horseshoe Meadows Road, (Delacour Ranch)so we did not eat in town, with the exception of Pizza Factory. It was the type of pizza you would have expected to eat in the late 80's. Very breadlike crust and too much bland sauce. All this talk of Merry-go-round has me intrigued. I'll give it a whirl next time we are up there.
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Nov 4, 2022 05:49
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Dick Ripple posted:Backpacker Magazine produces a podcast called Out Alive, not that many episodes and definitely worth the listen to anyone who often visits the outdoors. One particular episode I recall is some guy after about a week lost in some forest in the PNW manages to find a trail and stumble across a few hikers, they naturally ask if he is alright and if he needs help. Even starving and severly dehydrated he somehow still refuses the amount assistance they want to give him, which was to call rescue and carry him back to the trail head. This does not surprise me. I am 53 and come from a road bike racing background, starting when I was 16. Up until my late 40's I was still doing quite a bit of old people events. Only in the past few years did I take up backpacking. I see a lot of the same behavior in both cycling and backpacking when it comes to injury and danger. Sometimes we just need someone to say NO on our behalf. This no doubt this applies to other sports and activities. Cases in point, I tried to do a 2 night backpack tip when it was wayyyyyy to hot out. Mrs. rear end Trophy pulled the plug when we woke up after night 1. 4 months later, I still hate admitting she was right. This one is a bit more dangerous. 2 months ago I did a road bike ride in a heat wave. I pulled into a coffee shop with what I though was an overheating problem. Took me forever to cool down and feel reasonable. I should have called for a ride, but I ended up limping home. Turned out to be atrial fibrillation. I don't even want to think about how close I came to a more serious dysrhythmia. Getting an ablation next week.
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Nov 4, 2022 16:59
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BaseballPCHiker posted:Super pumped for my first winter trip post child! Being from SoCal, I did not know what a pulk was until now. I have decided to spend the rest of my day at work watching pulk pulling vids.
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Jan 13, 2023 22:07
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I made a mistake on today's hike. On a narrow section of trail, a Southern Pacific Rattlesnake was chilling across the width of the trail. Mrs. rear end Trophy and I waited a few minutes, and then rolled a few pebbles at it from a safe distance. The snake was facing the left edge of the trail, but made a U-turn and went into the brush on the right. We waited a few more minutes, then went as far to left as possible and continued past where the snake had been. In fact, we stepped off the dirt trail and walked on some of the dried plants along the edge. Just as I was thinking this is not a good place to walk, the unseen second rattlesnake to our left made itself known with some serious rattling. I nearly pissed my pance and we ran the hell down the trail. Sorry snakes, I think we spoiled your rendezvous. Thanks for not biting us. Fake edit: I love snakes. It makes my day when I see one. Even those angry looking Pacific rattlers.
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Sep 17, 2023 01:30
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| # ¿ May 2, 2024 17:07 |
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JAY ZERO SUM GAME posted:That’s a giant power bank, not a radio Nevermind that poo poo. Is that an actual sword in the bottom-center of his gear pic?
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Apr 11, 2024 22:41
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