5 Peaks- 5ish Hours- Hiking San Gabriel Mountain

There was Five of Us, Five against the world. Five against poodle dog bush. Five trying to summit five peaks in one day (maybe as an homage to Cinco De Mayo?), we had a plan, would we succeed?

First up, getting to the San Gabriel saddle, the weigh-station for numerous peaks in the Angeles. The going was rough, despite the general flatness of the trail, there were tunnels my friends

And beautiful mountains surrounding us, trying to lure us to hike them instead.

But much like Odysseus, we lashed our minds to our mental masts (say that five times fast) and proceeded forward to San Gabriel Peak.

First Peak: San Gabriel

Of the five peaks, SG has the second most difficult approach. There are lots of switchbacks, lots of elevation gain in a short amount of time.Gain it we did, making our way up through the impressive remnants of the 2007 Station Fire.

To the peak we went and obtained the summit disc action photo which I know you all covet!

1 summit disc was not enough to quench our thirst my friends, no! We must drink deeply from the troughs of other summits!

Second Peak: Mt. Disappointment

What can I say? It was true to its word.

When you hike on pavement

to a concrete summit several hundred feet below San Gabriel?

Well the peak lives up to its name. ONWARD!

Third Peak: Mt. Deception

Deception, it comes from Latin, the first part "Decep" means "false summit" and the second part "Tion" means "crushing your dreams".

"Let's go up to the summit. What, that is not the summit?" Etc.

Its a fine trail, lots of the poodle dog bush, a bit steep and scambly in parts, but all in all, THIS mountain also lives up to its name.

Fourth Peak: Mt. Markham

This is a bitch, no two ways about it. You hike ridgelines, you battle poodle dog bush, you scramble up the sides of the mountain, you hike more ridgelines. Then you get a weirdo summit cylinder.

Unless you really want to hike this one, let it go, just let it go...

Fifth Peak: Mt. Lowe

Oh Mt. Lowe, how you thwarted me during my not-so-recent sojourn to Inspiration Point where I didn't feel inclined to go up you. How I suffered the slings and arrows of regret for not summiting you but on this day, summit I did!

Lowe provides beautiful views of most of the Angeles and I could see the other mountains crying that I did not summit them this day

as this was number five. Numero Cinco! All those other mountains could wait another day as I could not wait to get down off of Mt. Lowe and into a cold beer and warm pizza.

I gained many summits on this day but in retrospect, five is a bit much but an accomplishment nonetheless. It was also great to summit them with some of SoCal's finest bloggers, Josh, Zac, Jeff and Derek.

Final Note: Be WARNED about this area. It is full of the lousy good for nothin poodle dog bush, a nasty customer to be avoided at all costs. The area is rife, rife I tells you with it so perhaps best to stay clear or proceed with caution.

Here is a summary from Jeff about the outting: http://socalhiker.net/2013/05/hiking-san-gabriel-peak-mt-disappointment-deception-markham-lowe/

Summer Is Almost Here- microCOOL off with Terramar!

This blog has been filled recently with my adventures to the cold Sierras. However, what most of us in Southern California really think about how to stay cool in the warm temps that we have here. As part of my ongoing #TerramarThursday blog posts, I wanted to hip you guys to the "square" of one of Terramar's new lines, the MicroCool.

http://www.terramarsports.com/templates/terramar/micro_cool_ad.pdf

This is a yarn-based shirt and underwear that is supposed to cool you as you get working out there on the trail. This is especially welcomed news to yours truly who is always looking to cool off "down there" (get your minds out of the gutters). Also, the underwear provides UVA/B protection, why you need that protection from this type of clothing, I will leave to you and your therapist to work out.

I hope to get my hands on some of this gear soon and give you a full rundown on my thoughts!


Disclaimer:

I am part of the Terramar Tribe. I try to review items like this as honestly as possible. Whether I liked it or not, I don't gain anything if you go out and buy these things. Its the Internet, take everything with a grain of salt and gain from it what you can. 

Scenes From The Verdugos

Me And Terramar Thermawool

What's that, its another Thursday? Well if its Thursday, then it must be time for #TerramarThursdays (Sierra Edition) where we here at EWH look at the best and brightest products from Terramar. In today's installment, I got to check out the Thermalwool sock for "sub zero" comfort.

What could be more sub zero then taking these puppies out in the high Sierras for snow camping  (which I recently detailed)? So how did these socks do?

Well the conditions sadly weren't "sub zero" (more like 20-40 degrees) but these socks kept my feet warm at camp. I also wore them on a night hike and they held up well in my boots. They are a slightly bulkier than other socks that I use to hike with but held up well on a mini-hike. The real value of the socks were in camp as my feet were toasty as clams in a soup (or some other metaphor).

Often times you sacrifice comfort for bulk but not in this case, these are honestly some of the most comfortable socks that I own and are really great when you are sitting around the fire, waiting for the popcorn and/or s'mores to be passed.

http://www.terramarsports.com/product/1012-2?page=1

Disclaimer:

I was provided this product because I am part of the Terramar Tribe. I try to review items like this as honestly as possible. Whether I liked it or not, I don't gain anything if you go out and buy these things. Its the Internet, take everything with a grain of salt and gain from it what you can. 

Sierra Snow Camp- Day 3

There are so many areas in California to explore. For the most part, I have been puttering about in Southern California and exploring the many trails down here but through my Wilderness Travel Course, I went up into the Eastern Sierras to go snow camping and hiking. Here is what happened on Day 3! You can read all about Day 1 or Day 2 here.

Me and the Terrmar TXO 3.0 Pant

Can it be time for another #TerramarThursday (Sierra Edition) here at EWH? Well, yes, yes it can.

Today is all about longjohns, specifically the TXO 3.0 pant. When Terramar says pant, they mean it. These things are soft, thick and warm in my apartment. Well what happened when I took them up into the Sierras on my recent snow camping trip?

They did exactly that and more. These were my go-to fleece pants while in camp. They kept me warm, even while I camped on snow! I think they would be a bit warm and bulky when you are exercising or unless you are exercising on Everest but for being in camp, these things are very comfortable.

Also, after several days of use, no real smell (well you smell bad regardless hiking and backpacking for several days of course) but these had no bad odors and I dug putting them on every night.

Some longjohns I have tried out are weird sizes, they seem too long for my legs, but these were sized right and were tough to take off in the mornings given how great they worked. Overall, I was very happy with how they performed up in the Sierras!

http://www.terramarsports.com/product/W8309

Disclaimer:

I was provided this product because I am part of the Terramar Tribe. I try to review items like this as honestly as possible. Whether I liked it or not, I don't gain anything if you go out and buy these things. Its the Internet, take everything with a grain of salt and gain from it what you can. 

Sierra Snow Camp- Day 2

There are so many areas in California to explore. For the most part, I have been puttering about in Southern California and exploring the many trails down here but through my Wilderness Travel Course, I went up into the Eastern Sierras to go snow camping and hiking. Here is what happened on Day 2! You can read all about Day 1 here.

Me And The Terramar TXO 3.0

Time for another #TerramarThursday (Sierra Edition)! Today, I review this pretty cool fleece jumper from Terramar:

This fleece is thin but warm so generally good for layering.  How did it do on my recent trip to the Sierras?

I wore the fleece over a standard long sleeve shirt during all of my hikes and it kept me warm but I didn't really overheat. If I was feeling warm as I was huffing and puffing my way up a ridgeline somewhere, the half-zip zipper is a good thing as that allows for more venting so I could cool off a bit that way. It was thin enough for my activities but warm enough when I was standing around.

The only downside to the fleece is that there are no pockets! I wear cargo pants for a reason (because I am unable to pack well ;)) so I need lots of space to put things in which are readily accessible and this would be a great fleece if it came with pockets. Also, as I said above, it is a bit thin so if you are in camp on a cold night, you might want to put on a heavier jumper but for activities through the brush, this quickly became a favorite top.

I wore this puppy snowshoeing and hiking and it could take the beating I gave it so I am pleased as punch at its durability. Overall, a great fleece for adventuring and will definitely be put in my pack in the future.

http://www.terramarsports.com/product/W8373


Disclaimer:

I was provided this product because I am part of the Terramar Tribe. I try to review items like this as honestly as possible. Whether I liked it or not, I don't gain anything if you go out and buy these things. Its the Internet, take everything with a grain of salt and gain from it what you can. 

Sierra Snow Camp- Day 1

There are so many areas in California to explore. For the most part, I have been puttering about in Southern California and exploring the many trails down here but through my Wilderness Travel Course, I went up into the Eastern Sierras to go snow camping and hiking. Here is what happened on Day 1!

Backpackin

Well the time is almost here. Me and my WTC classmates are preparing for our adventure into the Sierras which means I have to learn how to backpack.

Truth be told, I am just a hiker, a hiker who yearns to do more and to go more places but a hiker first and foremost not a backpacker. I have car camped a lot but it is certainly different than strapping a 30-40 pound pack on your shoulders and sallying forth.

This week has been a steep learning curve for me.

I might look jaunty but it took me awhile to figure out how to pack things in the pack and then load it up on my shoulders. I have been walking around my neighborhood this week getting used to the pack and the pack's weight. It is a Teton Sports Outfitter 4600 and in addition to the weight I put in there, I put actual weights in the pack as I will be schelping snowshoes, a shovel and maybe parts of a tent in addition to everything else I have already packed so I want to make sure I know the "real" weight of what I will be carrying.

There are many blog posts out there about what to bring, how to pack it, how to save weight, etc. This will not be one of those posts. I am throwing in what I need, trying to maneuver it as needed and will see how it all plays out later this week in the Sierras.

The beauty of backpacking is that you take your house with you and can set down wherever you want (being mindful of the Leave No Trace principles) and it allows you to see sights that you can't see from you car. Backpacking gives you freedom and I for one am looking forward to what I do with it.

I am also bringing some cool Terramar gear with me to test out in the Sierras. They will include some thermal socks which I have already tried out beforehand and they are really comfy and warm.

Can't wait to see how they handle the Sierras.

I will also be trying out what I hope is my go to "jumper" as the European kids call em nowadays, the TXO 3.0 fleece jumper

I have also been giving this thing some mild workouts around LA and can't wait to see how it does in "slightly" more severe conditions.

Finally, when you go out in the cold and snow, you need some longjohns, I mean long underwear, I mean the TXO 3.0 Men's "pants".

I have tried these on and can already tell they are going to be super warm and comfortable so I know I will be rocking out in my sleeping bag wearing these puppies.

Of course, you, the loyal blog readers, will get the full play-by-play of my adventures in the Sierras this weekend, I can't wait to get up there and do some tromping!

Disclaimer:

I was provided these products because I am part of the Terramar Tribe. I try to review items like these as honestly as possible. Whether I liked it or not, I don't gain anything if you go out and buy these things. Its the Internet, take everything with a grain of salt and gain from it what you can.