I took a day off on August 13th to spend some time with the fam since I'd neglected them so badly over the weekend and selfishly spent Saturday hiking instead. I also needed some recovery time after the big hike since I don't work out much anymore. My legs were pretty sore for a couple days.
We had a great trip to our favorite local beach on Balboa in Newport Beach. It was all the more fun because I knew everyone else was at work instead.
I'll just leave this as pictures since noone really cares what I think anyway:)
Caution - Nudity Involved (but don't worry, its not me!)
(Click a picture to enlarge and view separately)
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Climbing Mount Baldy
For those who come here for pictures of the kids (that's pretty much everybody) you can ignore this post as this one's just for me:)
I've been planning a hike up Mt. Baldy for a few months now and was so excited to actually go. It isn't a long hike as far as distance goes with only about 11 miles round trip. But the elevation gain is almost 4000 feet so its pretty much straight up the whole way. Adam decided he didn't want to take the trail so we went straight up the ski lift for the first mile or so to the lodge. He calls it a good "warm up" even though its over 1000 feet up in just a mile.
It doesn't look steep, but it gets worse fast!
View from the bottom:
Looking back from half way to the lodge.
Above the lodge the view started to get much better
Devil's backbone was my favorite part.
The trail went right up the ridge with great views off both sides.
The only bad part was the crazy strong wind that tried to push you off the backside drop off..
We made the summit by just after 9:30 so 3 hrs.
The view from the summit is hard to capture in photos. Its really the 360 view that is amazing.
We sat for 45 minutes and enjoyed the view, though I had to put on my long sleeve. The wind was strong, and pretty chilly at 10,000 feet.
I thought we'd be fast going down, but we took our time, mostly because I kept finding rocks to pick up:) Adam was patient with me though seriously every 5 feet I'd see one I just HAD to examine:) This one was like 3 feet across and looked like a chunk of meteorite that stuck in the dirt
Actually, I think its a schist....but I'm not a geologist, just a dork who likes rocks a bit too much. Adam calls it "a problem" but I wouldn't go that far, though my little pack did get so full of rocks by the time we made it to the lodge that it was tough to carry with one arm. You really had to wear it or pick it up with two hands. I ended up packing out 25 or 30 pounds of rocks.
I could feel my feet starting to blister a bit, probably cause I wore cotton socks and running shoes. The cotton held in the sweat and softened up my untrained skin. I convinced Adam to take the chairlift down the last mile and carry my rock-laded bag. Then my senses escaped me and I decided I would race him down on foot:) I did actually beat him pretty easily, but that last leg (1000 drop in five minutes of running) really did me in after a long hike. I got a couple nice blisters too. My feet were burning up after the run down from the lodge so I was happy to spot a cool spot on a creek to cool my feet.
Of course within a few days Adam and I were making plans for climbing Mt Whitney. It isn't tall at over 14,000 feet, but its the tallest in the lower 48 and no equipment needed. It will be a great one to conquer. And poor Blakey thought this hike would get the urge out of my system for awhile. It just fed the beast though.... there's no turning back now:)
I've been planning a hike up Mt. Baldy for a few months now and was so excited to actually go. It isn't a long hike as far as distance goes with only about 11 miles round trip. But the elevation gain is almost 4000 feet so its pretty much straight up the whole way. Adam decided he didn't want to take the trail so we went straight up the ski lift for the first mile or so to the lodge. He calls it a good "warm up" even though its over 1000 feet up in just a mile.
It doesn't look steep, but it gets worse fast!
View from the bottom:
Looking back from half way to the lodge.
Above the lodge the view started to get much better
Devil's backbone was my favorite part.
The trail went right up the ridge with great views off both sides.
The only bad part was the crazy strong wind that tried to push you off the backside drop off..
We made the summit by just after 9:30 so 3 hrs.
The view from the summit is hard to capture in photos. Its really the 360 view that is amazing.
We sat for 45 minutes and enjoyed the view, though I had to put on my long sleeve. The wind was strong, and pretty chilly at 10,000 feet.
I thought we'd be fast going down, but we took our time, mostly because I kept finding rocks to pick up:) Adam was patient with me though seriously every 5 feet I'd see one I just HAD to examine:) This one was like 3 feet across and looked like a chunk of meteorite that stuck in the dirt
Actually, I think its a schist....but I'm not a geologist, just a dork who likes rocks a bit too much. Adam calls it "a problem" but I wouldn't go that far, though my little pack did get so full of rocks by the time we made it to the lodge that it was tough to carry with one arm. You really had to wear it or pick it up with two hands. I ended up packing out 25 or 30 pounds of rocks.
I could feel my feet starting to blister a bit, probably cause I wore cotton socks and running shoes. The cotton held in the sweat and softened up my untrained skin. I convinced Adam to take the chairlift down the last mile and carry my rock-laded bag. Then my senses escaped me and I decided I would race him down on foot:) I did actually beat him pretty easily, but that last leg (1000 drop in five minutes of running) really did me in after a long hike. I got a couple nice blisters too. My feet were burning up after the run down from the lodge so I was happy to spot a cool spot on a creek to cool my feet.
Of course within a few days Adam and I were making plans for climbing Mt Whitney. It isn't tall at over 14,000 feet, but its the tallest in the lower 48 and no equipment needed. It will be a great one to conquer. And poor Blakey thought this hike would get the urge out of my system for awhile. It just fed the beast though.... there's no turning back now:)
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