#transverse range

San Gorgonio mountain near Whitewater

As yet another atmospheric river makes its way toward California following huge snowfalls beginning the end of February through the first weekend of March stories are emerging about the impact of these strong storms. One of the stories revolves around two teenage boys who headed out into the mountains and along the PCT east of L.A. The two boys headed out for a 10-day trek and they felt their experience and ample food would serve them well. The weather shifted rapidly. The hikers got pummeled by unrelenting snow and high winds resulting in one of the hikers losing their jacket to high wind and the hiker's tent collapsing under the weight of the snow. One of the boy's parents contacted search and rescue who eventually located the hikers.

The San Bernardino County sheriff's department helicopter went searching using a last known location from a tracking app and noticed footprints in the snow. San Bernardino County sheriff's Sergeant John Scalise said the boys were slightly hypothermic and lucky to be alive after huddling together for three nights to stay warm. He said they were well prepared for the hike but not for the massive amounts of snow. "They knew there was weather. But I don't think they expected the amount," he said.

This story is likely a preview of what's to come in the months ahead as snow piles up throughout the west. Thoughtfulness, pre-planning, and safety are going to be critical considerations as more people find their way to the PCT between late March and beyond. Of course, if the temperatures rise quickly the existing snow will melt quicker raising water levels in streams and drainages faster. Some accumulated snow will melt out before many hikers begin arriving on the PCT. Despite this possibility the remaining snow pack will still make for challenging water/snow crossings and overall slow travel.

Driving south from the Bay Area toward L.A. recently the air was crystal clear and the surrounding hills and peaks were white with new snow. As I looked around at the surrounding mountains I was struck by all the snow. When I walked over San Jacinto in 2017 with my friend Billie there was no trace of snow. Walking toward San Gorgonio the highest peak in the Transverse Ranges I encountered no snow at all. This year will be different.

san gabriel valley and snow-capped mount baldy.

As an exercise, Howard and I thought that we would reproduce our journals independently from our recent PCT hike on April 16th when we walked from Blue Ridge Campground up and over Mt. Baden-Powell to Little Jimmy Campground.  We walked together but recorded our experience separately the next day.  It was a very challenging day made difficult by low temperatures and high winds.

How do our perspectives on the day compare?  You be the judge . . .

Rees’ Journal Entry

Daylight brought no relief to our challenges.  Temperatures had continued to drop through the night and the winds had accelerated.  The wind penetrated our layers and made even walking different let alone packing up camp (I resorted to wearing socks over my gloves). As challenging as the cold and wind were, our most immediate concern was water.

Our plan was to see if we might be able to ask people stopped at Inspiration Point for any extra water.  If that proved to be fruitless we’d have to hitch to Wrightwood.  In the end, we benefitted from some trail magic . . . a small water cache just before the Inspiration Point pull out.  Thank god!

Three miles later found us at the base of Baden-Powell.  So different than when I walked this stretch with Taylor (I had walked this section with my nephew in 2009) . . . then a warm, windless day . . . now freezing days with extreme wind.  The climb hadn’t changed.  Still nearly 3,000 feet of endless switchbacks.

It is difficult to fully describe the intensity of the conditions. Water was freezing in our bladder tubes and the fierce wind was sucking any body heat from us and blasting clouds across the ridge tops layering trees and shrubs with ice. When exposed to the full force of the wind it was difficult to stand (one gust knocked Howard into the brush). One hiker reported that the Weather Advisory forecast gusts up to 80 mph . . . I don’t know if it was that severe but I cannot think of a comparable experience.

Perhaps I should have been more afraid.  We bypassed the final spur trail to the top of Baden-Powell because it was enveloped by cloud and the winds were their most severe along the ridge tops. The snowfield just below the peak proved to be no obstacle and, as long as we were staying on the north side of the ridges, we were somewhat protected from the worst of the winds.  For nearly 24 hours now the winds had sounded like the roar of a jet engine.

We were continually pelted with ice confetti or, as Howard characterized it, shredded coconut blowing off the trees.  And stopping for a rest was not really reasonable because of the risk of hypothermia.  So we pushed on knowing that we needed to get to Little Jimmy Campground, which would offer water and some protection.  I correctly remembered it as being located in a more protected hollow surrounded by mature trees.

We were the last to drag into Little Jimmy. Sheltered some from the wind but not from the cold. We set up camp and made dinner as quickly as possible because we needed to retreat to our sleeping bags and tent for warmth. 

Howard’s Journal Entry:

A cold and grueling day. We broke a windy camp and headed out a little before 7:00 AM. Arriving at Highway 2 we thought we might need to go find water in Wrightwood but much to our surprise there was a nice cache right there. This was a relief!

After a nice breakfast out of the wind, we started up the 20+ switchbacks to Baden Powell. The ups have been killing me  and this climb was pretty tough for me. The extra weight of water and gear and generally still getting my trail strength all contributing to my hobbled feeling.  It was cool, too cold, and the wind was increasing. After a longish two and a half to three hours I met back up with Rees who is so much better and faster on the inclines. I was thrilled to see him.  Near the top it was blowing clouds and howling. This convinced us both the top was not something either of us needed to do. We had anticipated the need for micro spikes/yak traks but as it turned out there was not really enough snow to be concerned about. However another layer of clothes would have been useful.

All I hoped for was not to go up any more. After a short crest ramble the trail lifted once again. The wind was blowing so hard that I actually got blown over. I have been buffeted by wind before but never blown to the ground. Fortunately a bush cushioned my crash landing. I was really feeling the incline, the cold, and the wind. I tried to capture it with some video (but reviewing that, it barely captures the experience).

All over the ground were shards of what looked like shaved coconut or flaky white fish. All ice crystals blown out of the pines along the ridge line.We would get on the lee side at times only to be on the top of the wind stream blowing up over the ridge. I have never seen anything quite like this.

By now I was feeling pretty ‘fried’. We decided to stop long enough to eat something but not too long as it was just too cold. Nevertheless, I appreciated the intake of some calories as the combination of the climb up and the cold conditions really had me ‘bonking’.

We carried on to find Little Jimmy campground and spring where we topped our water and made camp. We were the last to straggle in. We put together a hot dinner. Originally our plan was a cold one in the tent. Here at Little Jimmy the wind was a little less intense but still quite cold. This made a hot meal so much more appealing. After gobbling down some warm food we retreated to the tent around 7:30 PM. We have all of our clothes on in our sleeping bags and it is still cold*.  

*The next morning we learned the temperature had dropped to 18 degrees and that was more than confirmed by ice in our water bottles and frozen in our bladder tubes. BRRRRRRR!

My first connection with Betty Wheeler was several years ago (see August 30, 2013 post) when she was part of a trail crew working in the Goat Rocks.  She documented the contributions of that group in that wonderful piece. 

This year she is thru-hiking the PCT.  On these days in mid-April she was headed for Baden-Powell . . . days that typifies early season in the San Gabriels.  You can follow her on her blog: https://bettywheeler.com/2016/05/24/days-26-29-detouring-around-snow-and-frogs-plus-a-return-of-the-monster-winds/

Day 26 (Apr. 19): The big question for today’s hike is how much snow/ice is on the PCT by Mount Baden-Powell – there is a lower alternate PCT route hikers can use when Baden-Powell has high snow – but on-trail info about snow conditions is usually sketchy and contradictory. So my big hope for the day is to get accurate info about the snow conditions.

Early in the day, I crossed a few stretches of trail covered with snow. I elected to stop to put on microspikes for a longer stretch with a fairly steep slope below the trail. How embarrassing would it be to slide down a mountain with microspikes in your pack instead of on your feet?

An important water source for today is something called Grassy Hollow Visitor Center, which is locked up tight, and I semi-freak our when I see signs on the Center that say the bathrooms are closed “due to a water outage” (and the adjacent water fountain is indeed shut off), but it turns out there is water from a spigot near a campsite, so I have water for the morning, even if it does turn more and more yellow as the hours go by… Once again, I trust in the 0.1 absolute micron Sawyer water filter to keep me safe from suspect water. Grassy Hollow does have one of my favorite kinds of signs, reporting the distance to Mexico and Canada. (see top photo)

This section of the PCT also includes a longstanding “Official Endangered Species Detour” to protect the highly-endangered Mountain Yellow-Legged Frog, “once the most abundant amphibian in the Sierra Nevada and Transverse Ranges of Southern California.” I’m happy to walk a detour for this species, and I hope the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will finally develop the required recovery plan for this endemic species.

The morning includes a hike right next to the Mountain High ski resort, with its “Inferno Ridge” and “Conquest” ski runs.

Views are terrific as I hiked toward Baden-Powell

I had an enormous stroke of luck when I reached Vincent Gap, the point where you make the choice to continue upward to Mount Baden-Powell or take the High Desert Trail Alternate (the Manzanita Trail) to bypass Baden-Powell during high snows. Vincent Gap is on Hwy 2, and in addition to a small parking lot, it has a few “amenities” – an outhouse, trash cans, and a bench. On the bench sat a hiker drinking a Coke, and meeting him was my stroke of luck.

I walked over to the hiker and my first question was, “Where did you get that Coke?” I don’t even drink Cokes, but it was such a luxury item I had to ask. Thus, I met “Woody” (James C.), who sends himself Cokes in his resupply boxes, and was drinking one from his Wrightwood resupply. As it turns out, Woody had just summited Mount Baden-Powell, but beyond that point, he found it impossible to navigate the PCT because the trail was buried in snow, so he had hiked all the way back down to Vincent Gap and was going to take the lower trail. He reported that “Team Emerson” – a mother and her 9-year-old son – had also hiked back down, unable to continue past the summit. That was just the fresh intel I needed to make my own decision, so after I lightened my pack by putting my accumulated trash in the trash cans, Woody and I started hiking the alternate trail together.

Woody pinpointed where I was from just by hearing traces of a regional accent as I spoke, and unbelievably, we soon discovered we had been born in the same hospital and went to the same elementary and high schools. I was about 5 years older so we weren’t in the same classes, but his step-sister was in my class and a close friend of my sister’s.   So we hiked together reminiscing about childhood places and landmarks – Underwood BBQ, Furr’s Cafeteria, drive-in movies, bowling alleys, etc.

We camped together beside Holcomb Canyon Creek – after the limited water sources in recent days, it was a joy to camp beside a creek with abundant rushing water. The campsite had some strange items: a huge bedroll tied up in a decaying blue tarp, a rough-hewn bench made from branches, and other things that made us speculate about their source and possible illegal activities associated with them – but like many odd compounds you see in isolated areas near the trail, it is impossible to know the stories of most of these sightings.

Day 28 (April 21) at the conclusion of a 19-mile day, the winds have returned . . . monster winds, as Betty calls them.

Once I get to Mile 415, I find Rainbow, Sparks and Prince with their tents already set up, and a pretty big wind whipping around our exposed site. Prince thinks the wind will die down, and I set up my tent nearby. The views at dusk are stellar.

The moon is full, and for awhile, Prince sings and plays his ukelele, until he announces that his fingers are too cold to continue. He says he thinks the wind will die down, but in fact, it just increases in intensity during the night.Around midnight, Rainbow decides there will be no sleep in these winds, so he packs up his tent (no mean feat in the high winds) and night-hikes down the mountain.

At some point, Sparks’ tent collapses on him, and he doesn’t even try to set it back up. A guyline on Prince’s tent snaps, breaking a stake.I lie in my tent, with monster winds bending and flexing the poles that form a frame for my tent. I wonder how much wind it would take to take my tent aloft, with me an involuntary parasailer. My amazing 2-lb.LL Bean tent handles the monster winds with no problem – WOW! – though sleep can’t override my wide-eyed fear as I listen to the howling winds and watch the tent poles bend and flex, bend and flex. Once again, I find myself sending up a huge thanks to my LLBean friends who have provided me with the most critically important gear for my wildest moments on the trail.