Author Archives: reidexplores

Coleman/Deming Route, Mt. Baker

Posted on by
Reply

Trailhead Elevation: 3,630 ft.

Summit Elevation: 10,871 ft.

Total Gain: 7,241 ft.

Distance: 13 miles r/t

GPS Track: http://reidexplores.com/gps-tracks/#jp-carousel-3307

I decided quickly after my Mt. Shasta climb that I wanted to get another climb in before the season ended. After talking with my good buddies Leif and Nathan, we decided to try and make an ascent of Mt. Baker, the third highest peak in Washington state. Our route would be the Coleman-Deming Glacier.

After flying up from LA on a friday night, we gathered our gear and tried to get a few hours of sleep. The plan was for Nathan and I to drive up north in the morning, to meet Leif and Robbie in Bellingham. After stopping for some much needed coffee, we started our journey. After only a little over an hour, we met everyone and began packing gear into one car, for the relatively short drive to the trailhead. Everyone was especially excited, since the weather seemed to be perfect.

Mt. Baker from Heliotrope Ridge

After checking in to the ranger station and doing a final gear check, we set off on a 3 mile hike to climbers camp. The trail wound its way through beautiful forest, crossing several streams and waterfalls. After an hour or two, we broke out of the forest and began a steep, rocky ascent of Heliotrope Ridge. It was surrounded on all sides by epic views and hords of wild flowers, in full bloom. Soon, we crossed a couple small snowfields and found our way to a good looking campsite, at the base of the Coleman Glacier. The views of Mt. Baker were tremendous, in the late afternoon cloudless sky.

After setting up camp, we decided to head over to the snow for some much needed skills practice. I was probably the least experienced out of our crew, so I welcomed the idea. In just a couple hours I learned just as much, if not more, than my previous four day mountaineering seminar. After practicing the four types of self arrest and learning about basic anchor building and prusik use, we headed back to camp for dinnertime. Since we planned on waking up around 2am, we packed our backpacks and prepped our harnesses etc, before climbing into bed. After all was said and done, we were in our tents by 10p. I was able to close my eyes for a couple hours of on and off sleep.

Sunset from camp

Wakeup call came early. We ate a hearty oatmeal breakfast and made a final check of our  packs. Around 3:30a, we left camp and walked over to the edge of the glacier. We checked each others harnesses and made sure everyone was good to go. The first hour of the climb was steeper than I thought. It’s a weird feeling at first, climbing up the side of a mountain in the dark, the snow lit by headlamp only. Luckily, it was very clear so we were treated to some faint moonlight. I barely looked at the first crevasse we passed above, concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other. On my Shasta climb, we didn’t come nearly as close to any crevasses, so this was new to me. It was a bit scary knowing there was a gaping crack in the snow about ten feet below me. I quickly got over it though as I knew there would be many more to come.

Passing above a crevasse, before sunrise

After we crested the first steep section, about an hour into the climb, we stopped for our first break. It was still pitch black, so we threw on our down jackets and quickly gobbled down some snacks. Again, we were walking. Up, up, and up. Step, step, step, step. The only sound was that of our crampons crunching in the snow. Slowly the sky started to lighten up. We pushed hard to try and make it to the saddle, at 9,000 feet, for our next break. About an hour and 45 minutes later, we made it. I was starting to get a tad fatigued, my body craving some trail mix and energy gels. After about 20 minutes of enjoying the gorgeous sunrise views and some much needed re-hydration, we were off again. The next couple hours to the summit would be the hardest of the climb.

Below the Pumice Ridge

First, we clambered up a steep icy section above the saddle. I was having trouble getting my ice axe to bite, and felt a bit awkward. But before I knew it, we were back to a small flat section. At this point, we coiled in our rope so that there was only a few feet between us. The next challenge would be the Pumice Ridge, an arduous dirt section with loose rock and sand. My calves were burning and my adrenaline pumping, but we powered through it. At the top, we looked directly up to the steepest part of our climb, the Roman Wall. The views never ceased to amaze me. Now we could look out over the Deming Glacier, and down upon where we just climbed up. We took another short break, to muster up our last bit of energy, so we could make it up the last 1000 vertical feet to the summit.

Just after starting up the wall, we ran into a bit of a bottleneck. Several climbers were on their way down, so we had to make our way through everyone. At one point we made our own bootpack in order not to get tangled up. I was exhausted at this point, trying hard to push myself for the last half hour. Finally, we were at the top of the wall. However, this wasn’t the true summit, even though it sure felt like it. We put our packs in a pile and set off across the last 300 feet or so to the summit. After a quick walk we were climbing up the last fifty feet to the true summit. The sky was clear with about 45 m/h winds. We were all ecstatic!!! I felt very excited to have made it, especially since it was only my second climb! The feeling of standing on top of such a powerful peak, is hard to match. It’s exhilarating!!!

Mt. Baker summit!!!

After spending about an hour up top, we knew it was time to start the journey back down. Quite a few accidents occur when people get lazy or are too tired on the descent. We were all feeling good though, so we began to rope up for the long trip back. Everything seemed to go perfectly smooth. The Roman Wall was no problem, and we quickly sloshed over and down the Pumice Ridge.

Another big crevasse

There was a large debris field underneath a huge hanging serac, beneath Colfax Peak. We were instructed to move swiftly through this section, as it was an active danger zone. Sure enough, as we were moving through, a small avalanche/ice fall happened a couple hundred feet over and above us. It wasn’t large enough to cause any problems for us. If anything, it was a reminder of mother nature’s ability to bring the fury at any moment.

We continued down, the afternoon sun out in full force. Shedding layers was a constant action on the way. Finally, we made it to the last steep section above our camp, and were reminded that it was still an active mountain and we needed to not let our guard down. We wove seamlessly through the last couple crevasses and gladly strolled into camp, feeling quite accomplished.

Our fearless leader

I was pretty damn exhausted at this point. I hadn’t been able to train as much, so I knew my legs would be hurting soon. Sure enough, after a couple hours of relaxing, I was struggling to walk smoothly. We packed up the remainder of our things, and started the hike back to the car. Now that we had our heavy packs back on, it was miserable for me! It felt like an eternity, but after a couple hours, we stumbled up to the car. After exchanging high fives and taking off dirty socks, we began the drive back to Bellingham. Stopped for chips and poweraid on the way. Had burgers at Boomer’s. Drove back to Seattle and slept.

One of the key differences between this climb and Mt. Shasta was the elevation. The summit of Baker is 3500 feet lower. Another big difference is how much Baker is glaciated. The glaciers put Shasta’s to shame. It was definitely a much more powerful feeling peak. I look forward to furthering my mountaineering skills at every possible opportunity, and can’t wait for the next time I get to stand atop a beautiful peak!!!

Hotlum-Wintun Ridge, Mt. Shasta

Posted on by
Reply

Trailhead Elevation: 7,200 ft.

Summit Elevation: 14,179 ft.

Total Gain: 6,979 ft.

Distance: 12+ miles r/t

GPS Track: http://reidexplores.com/gps-tracks/#jp-carousel-3212

After a couple of months full of strenuous hot and dry training hikes, I set out to climb Mt. Shasta. Instead of driving for ten hours from LA, I decided to fly up to Sacramento and then rent a car and drive the last 3 hours. I figured doing it this way would save me quite a bit of energy!

Day hike up the south side

I arrived in the small town of Mt. Shasta City on friday around 2pm. Since I didn’t have to meet my group until the next morning, I decided to drive up to the mountain and do a short hike to loosen me up a bit. I drove up the south side and hiked 3 miles to the first camp. The mountain had a thick layer of clouds surrounding it, making any views difficult. I was excited and a bit anxious for the next day, but getting up closer to the mountain helped ease my nerves.

After a good nights sleep, I met my group at a local outdoor shop around 9am on Saturday. My group consisted of four other cool clients and two awesome guides. The seven of us did an extensive gear check, and after grabbing a bunch of free cliff bars, we started the hour long carpool to the trailhead. We couldn’t make it to our original starting point so the guides changed our route slightly. Instead of climbing the Hotlum-Bolam ridge, we would be tackling the Hotlum-Wintun ridge, a slightly different climb on Shasta’s eastern side.

The approach hike

We arrived at the trailhead in good time, threw our 45 pound packs on, and headed out on the 3-4 mile approach hike. In no time we were at the snow level, and within another hour we strolled up to a rocky moraine. The guides decided to camp a little lower than planned (9,000 ft. instead of 10k) – as there were black rain clouds threatening overhead. After filling our water bottles up right from the snow runoff, we set up our tents and organized our gear. Sure enough, as soon as we finished dinner, it started pouring. Perfect time to jump in the tents for our first night on the mountain!

Rain clouds at our first camp

We woke up early to a very fulfilling breakfast. After some discussion, we decided to break down camp and start the journey to our ‘High Camp’, around 10,000 ft. On the way up, we donned our crampons and started to see how it felt to walk in them. After a couple hours of moderate snow travel, we arrived at our next camp. The clouds started to part, giving us our first glimpse of the summit. It was at this point that I started to get really excited, as I knew that we were going to be trying for the top the next morning. After setting our camp up and having some lunch, it was time for snow school. I grabbed my harness, crampons, and ice axe and headed over to start learning. We spent the next few hours learning self-belay and arrest, team rope travel, efficient crampon steps, ice axe use, and proper time management, among other things. After practicing our new skills for awhile, we headed back for an early dinner and final thoughts about our climb the next morning. We were in our tents by 7pm, trying to relax and hopefully get a few minutes of sleep, knowing our 2am wake up call would come quickly…

Alpine start at 2am

We left camp around 3:45am, after filling up on oatmeal and water. Our packs were significantly lighter for the climb. This made it much easier and smooth to walk with my crampons on. It took me a little while to fully waken up, but as soon as the climb steepened, my eyes were wide open. Our guides stressed that in order to reach the summit, we needed to keep up a steady pace. For the next 7 hours, we would move for 1 hour without stopping, and then take a ten minute break. We were moving smoothly and the first break came quickly. After grabbing a few bites of an energy bar and a few big gulps of water, we  clipped ourselves into the climbing ropes and started to travel as two rope teams. I was part of the three man team, as the caboose. At this point, the terrain got significantly steeper, and everyone stopped talking. My nerves were calm, aside from a slight feeling of anxiety around 12,000 ft. This was the steepest I had ever climbed, as the guides told us it was 40+ degrees. Any steeper and we would have likely had to use anchors or front point up the slope. Every time I looked up or down, I realized just how steep it was. Soon after the sun poked its head out for the day, we were on our third or fourth break, and could now see a clear view of our goal. After a few hours of moving up the steep slope, we breached the top and had a tremendous view overlooking where we had just climbed. We all started to get very excited, as we only had about 1,000 vertical feet left.

Looking back down the steepest section

After a fifteen minute break, we geared up for the last hour of the climb. It consisted of a ‘flat’ section (not very flat, but calm compared to where we had just been), and a final few switchbacks up to the summit plateau. Of course, it took much longer than one would guess. I thought we were fifteen minutes from the top, but it was closer to an hour. After a few final steep sections, we scrambled up the rocks to the top!! I was so proud to have finished my first real mountain climb, Mt. Shasta at 14,179 feet tall, the second highest peak in the Cascade range. After exchanging high fives, we relaxed for about half an hour, enjoying several more energy gummies and my pb&j. It was around 32 degrees but the sun made it feel a bit warmer. It was also quite windy but we were able to hunker down between the rocks. Our guides told us we had to start our descent soon, since the sun starts to soften the snow up quickly, creating a much higher rockfall and avalanche danger. I took a few final summit shots and we started the journey back down to camp.

Mt. Shasta Summit – 14,179 ft.

As we approached 13,500 ft, we learned that we would be glissading over the steep section we had earlier climbed up. This essentially meant sliding on our butts down the mountain, using our axes to slow down. It was a blast!! We dropped almost 3,000 vertical feet in about 30 minutes. The same distance took several hours earlier in the day, on our way up. We then traversed a bit and walked/glissaded down the rest of the way to camp. What took 7 hours to get up, took about 2 hours to get back down! Exhausted and thirsty, we rolled into camp, ten hours after we began. Immediately, we climbed into our tents, chomped some food down, quenched our thirst, and sprawled out on our pads for some much needed relaxation. We woke up around 4pm for a final mountain dinner, and some reflection on our hard day. After our meal, I organized all of my gear, and used my final Wag Bag (since people drink the mountain water without filtration, it is necessary to pack out your poo, a not so pleasant task that I had never done before!!!). We were all still very tired so we clambered into the tents for an early bedtime.

Headed back to the trailhead

The final day of our trip was the easiest. We woke up to bagels with cream cheese, and instant coffee. After packing the rest of our things and breaking down camp, we slushed down the final few snow fields and hiked the last couple miles to the cars. I was ecstatic to complete my goal, as I had been preparing for it for a few months. It felt absolutely wonderful to make it back to the trailhead, safe and sound. Dane and Ryan (our guides) suggested we grab a burger, milkshake, and beer at a local diner on our way back to Shasta City. After about 3 seconds of debate, we all agreed this would be very beneficial to our recovery. I’m very excited to further my mountaineering skill set and can’t wait for my next climb!!!

Kearsarge Pass

Posted on by
Reply

Trailhead Elevation: 9,200 ft.

Top Elevation: 12,010 ft.

Total Gain: 2,810 ft.

Distance: 9.5 miles r/t

We drove from White Mountain Peak to the Onion Valley trailhead, getting there around 10pm. It took us a half hour to decide what to do, but we finally decided to throw on our headlamps, and backpack up to Little Pothole Lake, in the dark. I had never started a backpack at night, but it was exhilarating in its own special way. The stars were bright and animals were making their usual noises. After about an hour, we arrived at the lake and set up the tent. Considering we had already hiked 15 miles above 11,000 feet earlier that day, sleep came immediately.

I woke up with the sunrise, as usual when in the mountains. Phil was up soon after and we got up and started getting ready for the day. We planned on hiking up to Kearsarge Pass and then heading back to Los Angeles. After breakfast, we packed up and started to hike to the next lake. After arriving, Phil decided to end his hike there, since he was completely exhausted still from the day before. I still wanted to get to the pass, so we parted ways. There are few things that I enjoy more than hiking to high alpine lakes, above the tree-line, and this was no exception. After a couple tough miles, I arrived at Kearsarge Pass. The view was incredible, looking into Kings Canyon National Park at yet another string of lakes. I found a perfect spot to sit and enjoyed the last of my banana chips and trail mix. Knowing Phil was chillin back at the lake, I grabbed my pack and headed back down, and a couple hours later we were back at the car. Dinner on the mind, we decided to head up to a cafe in Whitney Portal to grab a supposedly awesome burger. With Mt. Whitney looming overhead, it was a perfect way to end a pretty sweet weekend.

White Mountain Peak

Posted on by
Reply

Trailhead Elevation: 11,675 ft.

Summit Elevation: 14,252 ft.

Total Gain: 3,015 ft.

Distance: 15.5 miles r/t

White Mountain Peak is considered one of the easier “14ers” in CA to summit, and it’s the third highest peak in the state. I figured it would be a great way to see how it feels to be at that altitude, without needing any technical skills.  My buddy Phil and I set off from work in Hollywood around 6:30p, for the five hour drive north.  The peak is in the White Mountains, just northeast of Bishop, CA. We arrived around midnight at a campground situated nicely at 8,500 ft. Four hours later, we got up and hit the road for the last hour drive to the trailhead.

When all was said and done, we started hiking around 7am. The approach to the actual peak was long, about 8 miles one way along a rough, rocky road. This hike is unique because it starts at 11k+ feet. Two miles into the hike we came across a scientific research station run by UC San Diego. It’s one of the highest research facilities in the country. We cruised past it and continued up at a reasonable pace.  Even at 12,000 feet the altitude makes itself very apparent. I had spent the last 8 weekends hiking above 10k, but Phil had never set foot much higher than Los Angeles, about 400 feet above sea level. It felt like all of my training hikes were really paying off. Even though my breathing was much harder than normal, I never felt very fatigued.

Once we reached 13,000 feet, we took a lunch break. The final 2 miles of the hike were definitely the most difficult. Almost all of the elevation gained is in the last 2 miles up to the summit. At this point the road turned into more of a rocky trail, climbing steeply up the side of the peak. There were a few snow fields, but nothing to worry about. We made it to the top around 1pm. Once I relaxed for a few minutes, I felt great. Being at 14,000 feet was a big accomplishment for me, and I was very glad I made it. After taking some good photos and snacking on some trail mix, we decided it would be best to start the long trek back to the car. Going downhill was definitely a welcomed task. It still took a long while though, as we had about 8 miles to cover. The light at this elevation seemed magical, cascading through the clouds onto the barren, grass covered plains.

We made it back to the car about 6pm, quite a bit later than I had originally planned. Phil was on the edge of bonking for the last few hours, so we had to slow our pace down quite a bit. After changing out of our boots and shaking off the dust, we started the two hour drive to our next adventure…

Mt. San Gorgonio via Vivian Creek

Posted on by
Reply

Trailhead Elevation: 6,080 ft.

Summit Elevation: 11,500 ft.

Total Gain: 5,420 ft.

Distance: 18.5 miles r/t

Summit of Gorgonio on the left, with San Jacinto in the distance

This was the last of my “SoCal High Country” training hikes, and also the longest and most strenuous. I stayed the night in Redlands so an early start would be possible. This peak is the tallest in Southern California, standing at 11,500 feet. I started off strong and felt really good up until the last mile before the top, where I started to feel the elevation a little. Overall, I can definitely tell that my training is starting to pay off. 8 weeks ago, I would have been a wreck after this hike, but my legs feel great! There were quite a few people on the Vivian Creek Trail, since it’s the shortest and most direct route to Gorgonio’s summit. It was, by no means, short or easy though. In fact, it’s considered the most difficult route. Gaining over a vertical mile in roughly 9 miles, it was exhausting to say the least. After spending about an hour on the top, I began the long journey back to my car. It took a little under 6 hours to get to the summit, and about 4 to get down. I’m glad that I’ve bagged the highest peaks in SoCal, but I’m also sick of the hot and dry hiking. Time to move on to bigger and better things!

Marion Mountain Trail

Posted on by
Reply

Trailhead Elevation: 6,320 ft.

Summit Elevation: 10,834 ft.

Total Gain: 4,514 ft.

Distance: 13 miles r/t

This was the third time this year that I’ve been to the top of Mt. San Jacinto, although this time was much more difficult. Instead of taking the tram into the park and hiking to the top from there – I took a much harder trail from the opposite side. I got a nice early start at 7am, hiking in the shade for the first couple hours. Ended up hiking with a journalist/editor that worked for the LA Times, so I got to hear all about his crazy trips to Afghanistan and Iraq, when the wars started. We reached the summit in four hours, spent an hour chillin up top, and then made it back to my car in three hours. Another long day…

Camp Muir

Posted on by
Reply

Trailhead Elevation: 5,360 ft.

Top Elevation: 10,100 ft.

Total Gain: 4,740 ft.

Distance: 8.5 miles r/t

Nathan and I got up at 4am for this monster. Between pee stops and the long drive, it took us a while to get to Paradise. Permit in hand, we were on the ‘trail’ by about 1030a. It took us about 5 hours to reach Camp Muir – the arduous snow slog seemed to take forever (gaining about 1100 vertical feet for every mile travelled). Fifty steps, five deep breaths – this seemed to help keep a steady pace. We almost turned around about halfway up, due to the heavy cloud cover. At times, we could see only ten feet in any direction. This gave a very eerie, yet peaceful feeling to this hike. After much debate, we decided it was plenty safe to continue, since the guide services had placed wands every few hundred feet. Just when you thought you’d lost your way, a wand would come into view.

Once we made it to Camp Muir, the clouds thinned out and we finally got a glimpse of the looming summit. It was a grand feeling, being so close (yet, so, so far) from the top of Mt. Rainier. After boiling a couple water bottles worth of snow, we decided to head back down to the car. The trip down was more of the same, thick clouds. It only took us two hours to get back to the car though, plunge step after sloppy plunge step. I can’t wait until the next time this beast of a mountain graces my presence.

San Bernardino Peak

Posted on by
Reply

Trailhead Elevation: 5,920 ft.

Summit Elevation: 10,650 ft.

Total Gain: 4,730 ft.

Distance: 16.5 miles r/t

I set out early to conquer this beast of a hike. My pack weighed about 40 pounds, with lots of extra weight added for conditioning. The hike climbed steeply out of the valley, switchback after long switchback. It finally topped out in a meadow, and for about 10 minutes, I got to walk over flat ground! After that, it was a lot more of the same, UP! At about 9,500 feet I hit snow, so I put on my gaiters and kept on truckin!! After about 4 hours of hiking/scrambling, I made it to the top. My much anticipated pb&j and sweet potato chips were waiting for me, washing them down with some oh so tasty water. Overall, I drank 140 oz. of agua on this epic calf/quad burner. After spending an hour up top, I had to force myself to begin the arduous trek back to the car. Almost ten hours after I left the confines of my Subaru, I made it back to the trailhead. Stopping at A&W, I decided to grab myself a juicy burger, a reward for completing my toughest hike to date.

Mt. San Antonio

Posted on by
Reply

Trailhead Elevation: 6,160 ft.

Summit Elevation: 10,070 ft.

Total Gain: 3,910 ft.

Distance: 10.5 miles r/t

This was my first time hiking Mt. San Antonio (also known as Mt. Baldy), the highest peak in the San Gabriels. It was a very strenuous hike, gaining almost 4,000 vertical feet in just over 4 miles. My legs begged me to stop, especially when I almost stepped on a rattle snake. He/She gave a nice loud warning, as I stumbled backwards, avoiding a painful end to the hike.

I got a semi early start, hiking by 8:45am. It took me just under 4 hours to reach the summit. This is a very popular training hike, there must have been fifty people on top when I got there.

I chose a different route on the way down, “Devil’s Backbone”. This trail descends a ridge line, with steep shale cliffs on either side, dropping a couple thousand feet. If you get dizzy easily, this wouldn’t be the place for you! I was back at the car by 4 in the afternoon, tired & sore, extremely satisfied.

Cinco de Mayo on Mt. San Jacinto

Posted on by
Reply

Trailhead Elevation: 8,400 ft.

Top Elevation: 10,800 ft.

Total Gain: 2,400 ft.

Distance: 11 miles r/t

This was my second time hiking Mt. San Jacinto this year. The first time I did the hike as an overnighter, so this was my first time getting to the top in one day. The views from the summit are pretty amazing (at least for southern california standards).