This day was Register Ridge -> Harwood -> Baldy Summit -> West Baldy -> Ski Hut back to the car. Brought microspikes but ended up not using them. Probably could have helped a little bit going up West Baldy but the snow itself was manageable so it didn't seem worth the effort. Register Ridge was completely dry so no need for microspikes there.

First time tagging West Baldy despite the many times I've summited Baldy. It was always something I've wanted to do since it's basically just right there (or relatively right there with a ~15 minute hike one way). Wish I would have done it sooner, it was nice to get a different perspective of the summit.

I haven’t hiked a ton recently, but decided I wanted to give this one a try. It’s a route as opposed to a trail. Very, very straightforward in terms of direction, but just like any cross country pursuit, it’s full of micro navigation. Quite steep for the first couple thousand feet, then the ridge gets thin, widens out again, and you start doing the up and down for the rest of the day. At about 4k feet, the vegetation gets denser and it can be a shwack off and on from there. Nothing too vicious. But the steep parts are steep, and you dread losing elevation when you get to the top of a climb. But that’s what makes it really beautiful! It’s a massive undulating ridge and you get to climb it from the desert floor! That’s my type of thing though. Absolutely stunning views of San Jacinto’s north face when you get to the crest. I strongly believe it’s the coolest looking mountain in SoCal. The granite is vast and intricate, really more in line with a peak in the Sierra. Overall, it was an amazing day on a mountain doing what I love.

Pictures from Sunday and second time in less than a month, very relaxing at the top and there wasn't much wind at 10 AM. I found a rock and sat there to eat breakfast. Much of the snow is probably gone from the trail now and the wet ground felt grippier coming down. Pictures taken with Nikon Z30.

Good times. Was up there this year, it's coming back.

Photo taken this Sunday

Cold conditions this weekend at Dollar Lake via South Fork were perfect for a quick overnighter in some snow. Snow was about ankle depth at Dollar lake, though it was melting fast. Parts of the trail that were the most walked over were very icy as of Sunday morning. Either way, a great little weekend escape!

Successful summit, snow, ice, cold, and potential avalanche!

Hey everyone! Long time reader from a distance, first time poster. My friend and I hiked San Gorgonio yesterday for the first time and had a blast! I figured I would post a trip report and some photos from the hike.

Report: Started at 4:30 am, summited at 9:30 am, and made it back to the truck at 2:30 pm. We planned a 2 am start to see the sunrise but given the Saturday reports, we decided to start later since there was a high chance of us not making it to the summit. Very cold at the trailhead...maybe 40s? After the first two miles, I was wearing my R2 for the entire hike (to give some sense of how cold it was, even while ascending). Snow/ice started at the ~5 mile mark and was not deep until ~0.5 mile from the summit, where it would occasionally reach a little above ankle deep. Given the reports of deep snow on Saturday, I'm assuming that it most likely melted off significantly on Saturday afternoon. Either way, I would say it was totally manageable by Sunday morning. Given that nothing on this trail is really exposed, I never really felt unsafe on the snow/ice without microspikes or crampons. That being said, microspikes would have been really fucking nice...having to walk over thin, frozen-over snow was annoying and added at least an hour to our hike lol. The important thing was exposure protection, mainly at the summit where it was extremely cold and windy. I get cold easily so had three layers at the summit. My buddy is very very cold tolerant and needed two. I imagine that it was at least a few degrees below freezing at that time, so ~10 am.

First impressions: The ascent was actually very nice and quite easy...after the first ~1.5 miles. Man, does that start really get you going! On the way down (after the sun had risen), we really got a good idea of how high that section of the trail got us! After that, the gain/mile is actually not that bad and we found it easy to cruise up at a nice pace. The elevation got to us right at the summit (very very mild headache...haven't been to this altitude since Whitney in June). Thankfully we met a backpacker ~3 miles from the trailhead who gave us some ibuprofen. (If you're reading this, thanks and we hope you make it to the summit today! 🙂). The descent was a slog...the trail never fucking ends lol which is what you would expect with 18 miles round trip. The trail is also insanely beautiful. Easily one of the prettiest (if not the prettiest) hikes I've ever done in SoCal! Overall a fantastic hike. We feel lucky to get to experience a snow-capped summit as our first Gorgonio hike!

Side note(s): The first really interesting thing to note is that we are quite sure that we heard a small avalanche at exactly 7 am! Off in the distance, we heard light rumbling that sounded like far off thunder. We don't know what else it could be. We looked over to nearby ridges and didn't see anything. If anyone else on the trail around that time heard something similar then I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts. Secondly, on the way up we passed a group of three hikers that were all bundled up on the trail together. One of them was (seemingly) deathly altitude sick and trying to temporarily recover. I tried urging them to get the fuck down asap but not sure if they heeded this warning. We didn't see them on the way down so I hope they made it back safely! For anyone that gets any sort of serious altitude sickness...just get off the mountain! Hiking is supposed to be fun and you can't do this while you're miserable. Come back and enjoy the trails another time!

Hello all, I’ll be visiting a friend down in San Diego next weekend. We are both experienced ultra-runners and are competent in up to class 4 climbing. We are happy to drive up to 4 hours away from San Diego. We’re looking for some epic routes that have the following criteria:

20-30 miles
Mostly single-track
Ideally some scrambling, but not necessary
As much elevation gain/descent as possible

Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

Hi, I’m currently deciding between two dates for a Baldy hike.

I’m thinking about this Friday (10/30) right before the potential rain and snow showers on the weekend or just waiting it out and see what next weekend (Veteran’s Day weekend) look like. Typically around this time of year, even if it does snow an inch or two, do you think it’ll all completely melt off by next week? Seems like all the previous dusting from the storms have melted off within days.

Though Friday isn’t the most convenient day for me since the commute is a bit far, but I’m hoping to squeeze a hike in before the snow starts sticking for good.

Any insight will be much appreciated, thank you!

Looking to buy some hiking shoes. I don’t really want to go the boot route since I also want to use them for light hikes. I do plan on hiking Mt. Baldy and eventually Mt. Whitney. Do I really need hiking boots or can I get away with hiking shoes? (Merrell Moab speed 2 gore tex) the low top version

san gorgonio my trail runners and Nike socks weren’t enough

Did Ontario peak today! 2am start got to the summit at 6 and got to see the entire sunrise from start to finish today. Some small snow/ice patches closer towards the summit. Brought microspikes but didn’t need them. Overall good conditions!

Hi everyone, I was hoping to do a cactus to clouds hike with a friend in mid November but it looks like they might not be available and I'm trying to gauge how bad of an idea it would be to do alone. I've hiked around Mt Wilson a lot by myself (the hardest 16 miles, 4800 ft elevation). I've also done some winter hikes with crampons and hikes at 13k elevation (starting from 10k) with friends. All these hikes were workouts but otherwise pretty chill for me. I'm also on my feet a lot and walk 8-10 miles on an average day and also do some type of endurance or resistance training a few times a week also.

On the other hand I just moved to California from the east coast a year ago so I'm not the most experienced hiker, especially alone, and I'm sketched out by the idea of hitting icy conditions or hitting my head or randomly having a heart attack by myself. Does anyone who has done it before, either alone or with friends, have any advice? Are you likely to run into other people frequently if it's a weekend? Thanks for any input :)

I want to go up one of the chutes on Mt. Baldy this winter, I have all my gear, ice axe, boots, crampons, etc, and i am currently reading freedom of the hills. Next time it snows around Baldy, I want to make sure I have everything down. also if anyone has any good pieces of advice please do tell 👍

FOUND she’s okay thank you everyone

We did C2C yesterday. It was a great hike. It rained in Palm Springs Friday night so I was a bit wary. It turned out to be just fine.
We started at 3:20am Saturday. Weather was fine. I had a long sleeve hoodie shirt and shorts. Changes into thermal leggings and gloves at the ranger station. There was a some scattered snow spots past the ranger station and a couple of inches with slush at the top. I’m sure it melted today, Sunday.
Don’t drink a lot going up, probably 1.5L. Filled up my 3L bladder at the ranger station. The last drink I took emptied my bladder at the Tram station when we finished. Perfect timing.
The trail was busy. The hike was tough. It didn’t get really tough for me until we passed the ranger station. I suspect it was mostly altitude. But we kept pushing and finished. Our moving time was 12:32 and total time of 14:46. We finished quicker but the lack of cell reception at the tram didn’t allow me to stop recording for 10-20 min.
Overall, it was a great day. I feel pretty well today. If you’re able to do this within an acceptable weather window, go for it. I don’t think anyone can know for sure if they are ready just train as best you can with distance and elevation.
I live in Phoenix and have hiked over 1000 miles so far. Too much, i think.
For what it’s worth, there is an incline with switchbacks to enter the tram station. That was a sucky surprise!!

ALSO, I read a lot about lack of WIFI service for uber at the bottom tram station. We found out what the key is. And our Uber driver confirmed it. When you get to the bottom tram station, use the tram WIFI in the cafe. You will be able to book your Uber etc. but you have to be inside. Also, message your driver to let them know what you’re wearing etc since there can be a lot of people waiting for their rides. Go outside of the bottom station (we stayed in the cafe) until your uber is close.
Have a great hike and be safe.

Hi Y'all,

I am going on a 4-day, 3-night trip at Channel Islands, specifically Santa Cruz Scorpion campground, in the beginning of November with a friend.

I had some questions about what to bring. According to recreation.gov, there is supposed to be beach access, so I was hoping to do some wading in the water while I was there, and a few day hikes.

Would any of you suggest that I bring a cooler? Or is it kind of a waste? The distance from the ferry and the campground is short, so I figured it's doable but I was thinking of bringing the least amount of things possible.

I made a lighterpack for this trip, but it's very roughly drafted. I have a sub 2-lb chair, but do I need to bring it since there's a picnic table? Would I ever be hanging out at the beach? I can't find a lot of information on it besides people that snorkel or kayak.

Also curious about what the weather conditions are going to be like.

I appreciate it in advance!

I tried San Gongornio today and failed. So did about 20 other people. No one made to the top. I spoke with all of them. With 2 miles and 1000 feet left snow was waist high. I would have taken a pic but I was just trying to survive and stay dry.