Beating the Heat

by sdpacatc | Jun 16, 2016 | Hikes, Uncategorized

Getting and early start on hiking Mt Woodson not only makes the hike more comfortable but can give you some killer views like this one as I started hiking up out of the marine layer to look back down at it.

That time is coming again, the time when the heat starts early and people start asking themselves if they should go hiking or not. Just because the heat is getting dangerously high does not mean you have to stop hiking, but you need to be smart about when you decide to go. When I lead hiking groups I get many grumbling’s why are we meeting so early ( no later then 7am if we are hiking in San Diego, sometimes 5am if we have a 2 hour drive ahead of us), the reason I usually start my hikes so early is that when it starts to heat up I want to be well into my hike. People tend to forget that San Diego is considered a desert environment. While the fact that San Diego is a desert environment is not always recognizable when you are close to the coast, just drive 20-30 minutes inland and it starts to become abundantly clear.

So if you can’t go hiking at a normal “civilized time” because of the heat what are you to do ?

• Consider starting your hike really early
  • How early is early, it really depends on where you are planning on going for a hike, is it close by so that you can get to it with a 20-30 min drive or is it going to take you 2-3 hours to drive to it. When I was coming back down from shooting the milky way on Mt Woodson I saw a group of hikers starting their way up at 4:30 am, more likely to get some sunrise pictures but I did run into a couple hiking Mt Woodson at 2 or 3am to beat the heat as they got ready for a big hike in Europe. With the heat coming this weekend I would suggest hitting the trail no latter then 6am, and even earlier if you are planning a long hike. I hit the trail at Mt Woodson the other day at 6am it was still foggy as I was nearing the top but by the time I turned around and had made it back down to Poway Lake all that marine layer had basically burned off and it was starting to heat up.
    

    Foggy hike at 7am near the top of Mt Woodson

    

    All the fog burned off by 9am

• Go for a sunset hike 
  • San Diego has some wonderful sunsets and sometimes the best place to see it are from the local mountain tops. I have had some great hikes to some of the local mountain tops for sunsets hikes, such as Mt.Woodson and Cowles Mountain. When you are going for a sunset hike remember to bring some essentials, a flashlight – preferably a headlamp so you can keep your hands free, even though its cooler still bring plenty of water – its amazing how much you still sweat as your hiking in the dark, hiking poles are a bonus – they help when making your way back down in the dark not to mention they make a good way of warding off any animals that you may meet on the trail ( mountain lions are the only one’s I worry about), some spare batteries in case your flashlight quits on you.
    

    Looking west at the setting sun and balloons in Rancho Santa Fe from the top of Blacks Mountain.

    

    Looking at downtown San Diego during the sunset from the top of Cowles Mountain

    

    Watching the sunset from Potato Chip Rock on Mt Woodson in San Diego

• Go for a night hike
  • I never thought of this until I started heading out at night to photograph the Milky Way. You usually want to get as far away from the city in order to see the Milky Way but when there is no moon you can still see it pretty well in certain areas of the city. You will definitely need a flashlight / headlamp, on full moon nights you can sometimes make your way around without using it but on nights where the light in minimal you are going to need it. Bring a light jacket, you may find that as you are hiking you don’t need one but if you are going up to a mountain top it will be breezy and you will be sweaty, which means you will start to feel a chill pretty quickly, I always keep one in my pack just in case.
    

    The full moon rising up behind Mt Woodson taken from the top of Black Mountain

    

    The Milky Way at 3am taken from the top of Mt Woodson

    

    The Milky Way behind Broken Hill in Torrey Pines

     

These are just some ideas on how to beat the heat during the heat waves and still get a hike in but remember that the only one who looks out for you,…is YOU! Bring lots of water, bring extra food, bring an extra layer, make sure someone knows where you are going in case you get lost. San Diego is a wonderful place to go hiking and we are all adults, don’t put someone else’s life on the line looking for you just because you may be unprepared when you go out for a hike. Things happen that we can’t always predict when we go out for an adventure, but its not much of a adventure if you can’t talk about it afterwords. Have a great weekend and enjoy where we live in the wonderful area of San Diego.

2016 Climb for Heroes Report.

by sdpacatc | Apr 5, 2016 | Hikes, Uncategorized

Looking up at the last hill to climb on the way up to the peak of Mt Baldy during the 2016 “Climb for Heroes” event.

2016 was another great year for the “Climb for Heroes” event. So far the event has raised close to $120K to help these wounded veterans in expeditions around the world to reach some of the highest peaks. Today USMC SSGT Charlie Linville is on his way to Nepal to try for the 3rd time to be the first Veteran Amputee to reach the peak of Mt Everest. Unfortunately the last two years had some disastrous unforeseen circumstances with the avalanche that killed 16 Sherpas 2 years ago and closed down the climbing season in 2014 and then again with the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that rocked Nepal last year killing many on the mountain and devastating the region. Charlie and the team stayed and helped as best as they could after that travesty and now they are back again to give it another go. You can read more about it here. People Magazine’s Article on Charlie and the Heroes Project.

Heading up the first leg burner of a hill as we start the “Climb for Heroes”.

The event starts in the parking lot of the Mt Baldy Ski area. Once you check in you can get some food provided by one of the event sponsors Tender Greens, before you get your teams together and start the hike. Then its time for a leg burner. Right out of the gate you hit the first hill and climb some 460 feet of elevation in less then 1/2 mile as you make your way up to the fire road that leads up to Mt Baldy Ski Area.

Looking back down the road as teams make their way up the leg burner hill in the beginning of the hike.

Once the fire road is reached the pace picks up a little. The road winds its way up to the “Notch” at Mt Baldy ski area. you will gain about 850 feet of elevation or so as you make your way along the fire road for a little over 2 miles. One of the many things I like about this event is that there are 4 camps on the trail and one at the summit, at each camp you will receive a coin that you can turn back in latter for “Swag” and at each camp one of the many wounded veterans that benefits from this organization and event will be there to hand you that coin, I’ve never heard so many people thanking veterans for their service before, its a great chance to meet these brave souls and thank them for what they have done, and I think its a great way for these veterans to feel the love and thanks from their fellow Americans.

Navy veterans themselves, these women get to meet one of the many brave wounded veterans ( Issac Blunt ) that directly benefit from this event.

Once at the “Notch” it is your last chance to use the restrooms before you move on to the next adventure so take advantage of it. People must have thought I was slightly crazy because as female members of my team keep reaching this point I keep informing them that this was their last chance at a real bathroom for a while and that they should take advantage of it.

Looking up at the “Notch” at the Mt Baldy Ski Area

After the “Notch”, the service road will continue to make its way up the mountain for another 1.4 miles and 860 feet of elevation gain going from 7780 feet to 8650 feet, passing by camp two and finally hitting camp 3 before it starts to become a real trail and you make your way along the “Devils Backbone”. If you where not feeling the elevation before you probably are by now.

The “Sketchy” area on “Devils Backbone”, where the team has set up ropes to help people.

Coming down the “Sketchy” area on the “Devils Backbone”

Team members stationed along the way to make sure everyone is safe.

After camp 3 you will make your way along the famous “Devils Backbone”. Going from 8600 feet to 9400 feet over the next 1.4 miles with some spectacular views to either side of you as you make your way along a trail that is sometime only a couple of feet wide as it makes its way along the ridge of the mountain. The “Climb for Heroes” event team sets up a rope along the most sketchy part of this hike for your safety and has some team members stationed along the way in case someone needs some help. I think this section is the most fun part of the hike with unbelievable views off to either side of you.

USMC SSGT Charlie Linville and my self at camp 4 on the way to the summit of Mt Baldy during the 2016 Climb for Heroes event.

At camp 4 USMC SSGT Charlie Linville was waiting to hand you your 4th coin, this was a good chance to say my thanks and collect my breath before the last ball buster of a hill on the way to the peak on Mt Baldy. The last hill gains almost 700 feet of elevation as you make your way from 9400 to 10,064 feet in just a half a mile. You will defiantly feel the elevation at this point, so take your time and cheer your fellow hikers as they make their way up the beast towards the top.

Hikers making their way up the last hill to the peak of Mt Baldy on the “Climb for Heroes” event

Once you make it to the top join they many throngs of hikers as they take their pictures with the MT Baldy Plaque and don’t forget to get your 5th coin and say thanks to another veteran. Take your time at the top, enjoy the view. Its all down hill from here.

Some of my team members and myself at the summit on Mt Baldy during the 2016 Climb for Heroes event

Veteran Kionte Storey , Gyalbu Sherpa and myself on the Mt Baldy Peak during the 2016 Climb for Heroes

Once you have made your way back down to the Mt Baldy Ski Area “Notch” you can decide whether or not your want to hike down the last couple of miles on the dirt road or take the Chair Lift down for $12. Supposedly its only slightly faster then walking down, but if you have some tired dogs (feet) you may find it worthy of your $12. At the very bottom in the parking lot don’t forget to turn your coins in for “Swag”, and take advantage of the food that Tender Greens is serving. It was another great event this year and I’m looking forward to hiking with friends again next year in support of this great cause. Until then you can check out more information on this organization below.

The Heroes Project

Video of the 2015 Climb for Heroes Event.

Climb for Heroes 2016

by sdpacatc | Mar 16, 2016 | Hikes, Uncategorized

Climb for Heroes is coming April 3rd 2016. This is the 4th year this charity event has been held on Mt Baldy. The event is a 12 mile round trip hike from the MT Baldy Ski Area up to the top of Mt Baldy at 10,034 feet. The event is being held to raise money to send wounded veterans on life changing expeditions to some of our worlds tallest peaks. These trips help heal these wounded veterans both mentally and physically as they look deep inside themselves to find what it takes to conquer these peaks.

If you would like to join this event or donate you can follow this link here to the main page :   https://www.crowdrise.com/ClimbforHeroes

If you live in San Diego and would like to join my team and or donate on behalf of my team here is my link : https://www.crowdrise.com/bradspiess-ClimbforHeroes/fundraiser/bradspiess

This is a video I made from last years event. I hope to see you on the mountain.