[pct-l] San Gorgonio Pass to Hwy 74 (Pines to Palms Highway)

[Devon Taig]

Thank all who replied about the stretch from San G. Pass southbound.  A
quick trip report...I made it from I-10 to Black Mt. Road on Sat/Sun without
tooo much difficulty, although I will say that it was serious labor above
5800'.  My original idea that I could snow-shoe at 1/2 the pace of walking
is...uh...wrong.  Try about 1/4 the speed.  Basically about 1/2 mile per
hour. I think 5 miles per day right now given where the snow is (starting at
about 5500') is about right. Really really hard work when you are traversing
across something that is steep.  On a snow covered road, the pace is maybe
1/2 that of walking.  So, given that,  basically I won't have enough time to
go from Back Mt to Hwy 74 on Friday-Monday which was my hope. The upside of
this is that none of you thru-hikers will be tripping over my frozen body.
I'll head further south on Friday and do something sans-snow.

*Where the heck does a person get fuel for an MSR stove around here?*  I'm
in Palm Springs (without a car) for a conference this week.  Big 5 sporting
goods appears to be the only place in town that sells camping equipment, but
not Iso-Butane for a typical backpacker stove.

Devon

On Sun, Mar 6, 2011 at 7:11 PM, <ned at mountaineducation.org> wrote:

> Ah, can't resist on this one.
>
> As our students will tell you, even six miles with relatively little
> elevation gain over snow, especially any kind of powder snow, is very hard
> and exhausting! (Just got back from another Snow Skills Training
> Course--will tell the List about it in a minute).
>
> We (Mountain Education) will not be researching the area until after the
> Kickoff for our Snow Guide to the PCT, but I would not go up onto that ridge
> until I knew what kind and amounts of weather that area has received in the
> past month or two and what the local Avalanche Center has to say about the
> area's avalanche-prone conditions. Any ice up there? What are the slope
> angles and mountain aspects where you want to go?
>
>
> "Just remember, Be Careful out there!"
>
> Ned Tibbits, Director
> Mountain Education
> 1106A Ski Run Blvd
> South Lake Tahoe, Ca. 96150
>   P: 888-996-8333
>   F: 530-541-1456
>   C: 530-721-1551
>   http://www.mountaineducation.org
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Brick Robbins" <brick at brickrobbins.com
> >
> To: "Devon Taig" <devon.taig at gmail.com>
> Cc: "pct-l" <pct-l at backcountry.net>
> Sent: Friday, March 04, 2011 1:27 AM
> Subject: Re: [pct-l] San Gorgonio Pass to Hwy 74 (Pines to Palms Highway)
>
>
>
> I think northbound would be better.
>
> I'm thinking the area between Apache Peak and Red Tahquitz might be
> "interesting" on show shoes, and might actually be rather technical in
> that much snow. Ropes, Pickets, Crampons?
>
> Also the section between Saddle Junction and the Marion Ridge trail
> looked to me like it might have a pretty high avalanche danger.
>
> Sounds like a hellava trip. Have Fun!
>
> On Thu, Mar 3, 2011 at 10:22 AM, Devon Taig <devon.taig at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> I have 7 days next week, and am seriously considering a (largely)
>> snow-shoe
>> journey consisting of the 60 miles or so between Interstate 10 (San
>> Gorgonio
>> Pass) and Hwy 74 (Pine to Palms). My guess is that at least 75% of this
>> will be under snow. I haven't been up there in 20 years so my memory is a
>> little sketchy on what to expect. I remember something dark and foreboding
>> about Fuller Ridge though. I'll be taking a GPS with Halfmile's GPS tracks
>> / waypoints loaded, so even if there isn't a trail visible, I'm hoping not
>> to get too far off route.
>>
>> Would anyone care to comment on the fool-hardiness of this endeavor (e.g.
>> "we'll try not to trip over your body when we hike by in May")? I'm
>> wondering specifically about avalanche potential and snow-shoe traverses
>> along and across steep slopes. I'm normally comfortable walking 20 miles a
>> day, so hopefully 10 mpd won't be more than I can handle in snow.
>>
>> Devon
>> _______________________________________________
>> Pct-L mailing list
>> Pct-L at backcountry.net
>> To unsubcribe, or change options visit:
>> http://mailman.backcountry.net/mailman/listinfo/pct-l
>>
>> List Archives:
>> http://mailman.backcountry.net/pipermail/pct-l/
>>
>>  _______________________________________________
> Pct-L mailing list
> Pct-L at backcountry.net
> To unsubcribe, or change options visit:
> http://mailman.backcountry.net/mailman/listinfo/pct-l
>
> List Archives:
> http://mailman.backcountry.net/pipermail/pct-l/
>