The 2009 Seven Summits of Big Bear had its final group hike of the season on Sept 19th, finishing off with the “biggie” San Gorgonio. This year the Seven Summits coordinators Heather and Ted Devito of MountainFitnessCenter decided to make this final hike an overnight experience for the group. Even though summiting San Gorgonio is something that you can do in one day, the group was able to experience reaching the summit and then getting to spend a night above 10,000 feet.
On Saturday morning fifteen hikers and one canine loaded up their packs with everything they would need for the overnight trip into the wilderness. The hike started at the JenksLake trailhead at 6880 feet. Hike leaders were Ted and Heather, as well as, Equada Outfitters owner and guide Pete Fulkerson. The group climbed about 8 miles via the DollarLake route up to what would be the “base camp” at Red Rock Flat at 10,100 feet, where the overnight packs were dropped and smaller day packs were used for the final 5 mile push to the summit of San Gorgonio at 11,499 feet. The group made good time to the summit, mostly motivated by a setting sun and rumors of an amazing dinner to be had back at camp. Everyone who set out, made the summit and were rewarded with spectacular 360 degree views. Once back at base camp the group was treated to an incredible Pad Thai dinner made by Peter on just 2 small backpacking stoves. A truly incredible meal that was dubbed “10,000 foot Thai!” As the chilly evening set in, the group settled into their sleeping bags for a night under the stars. The next morning, an amazing sunrise and a breakfast of coffee and pancakes were the first order of business, followed by some relaxing, reading, packing and even a game of Frisbee golf. The hike down the mountain was definitely easier, faster and lighter. Congratulations, goodbyes and exchanges of contact info was made between new friends once back in the parking lot before the drive home.
Thanks to everyone who participated in the 2009 Seven Summits of Big Bear and a big congratulations to everyone who did all Seven Summits!
The punches will remain up on all but San Gorgonio for about 4-6 more weeks. It will be posted on the Seven Summits website when the punches are removed for the winter.
A light drizzle and cloudy skies hushed the town yesterday as we drove out to the trailhead of legendary Sugarloaf Mountain. The weather was a refreshing change, but suspense of the looming hike kept everyone quiet and observant, with almost a nervous energy in the air.
Chief the dog was the first to loosen up and enjoy the trail as he splashed through the trickling streams of the hike's first mile. Soon we were all loving it as the skies gave us a dramatic show - going from clouds to clear to fog again near the top. Views to the south were obscured but we could see far into the deserts to the north. Water-soaked trees and foliage were intensly colorful; the earth was full of life!
To those that did not make this hike, don't worry too much. The cool temps should keep moisture in the ground for some time. There's a ton to see from the ridges and switchbacks near the summit. Get out there and have a good time!
We hike Sugarloaf Mountain this Saturday, August 22, 2009. Meeting time is 9:00am 8:00am at the Sugarloaf Mountain Trailhead (directions).
This is a strenuous hike! If we're lucky, the temperatures remain cool and it will be very pleasant.
Now, this is a great time to think about hiking San Gorgonio this September. Since the San G trail is around 22 miles from Jenks Lake, and there should be around 14 hours of good daylight, you can make an estimate of how fast you'll need to go to be safe. If you average 30 minutes per mile, you can figure 11 hours of hiking, which is a lot. That gives you only 1 hour of rest and 2 hours of daylight reserve! If this is you, then you may want to consider the overnight group to San Gorgonio (more info coming soon). Faster than 30 minutes per mile, then a one-day trip is a possibility for you. More than 45 minutes per mile and I generally don't recommend hiking San Gorgonio without greater supervision - perhaps with an outfitter, guide, or suitable expert.
If you like hiking and are savvy with computers, we can use your help. I'm looking for someone to handle producing GPS maps of the hikes to post on the web site. In between buying a business and taking care of things at home, I have been testing different methods (see the Sugarlump hike for an example), but have neither found anything quick and easy or developed a regular process for doing so.
Please email Ted over the ActiveBigBear group if you think you can contribute! Thanks!
First, upload your photos to the internet through a photo sharing service. We prefer Picasa, but there are many good ones (PhotoBucket, SmugMug, Flickr, etc.). Make your album public and find the place where you can get HTML code for embedding a thumbnail album to a web page.
Next, email Ted through the ActiveBigBear group and send details, including the code provided or a link to where I can find it.
I'll add the hike, date, and a link to your album on our photo album page.
