still fuckin with climb cuz climb pays: the ILX hiking thread

my mom snowshoes. it seems pretty fun if you like snow.

http://pullharder.org/2008/01/24/our-whitney-stroll/

i had to google to see what a winter ascent of whitney would be like- pretty entertaining it turns out

snowshoeing is pretty fun, but ive not done anything very challenging in them. ive done lots of backcountry ski touring and highly recommend.

whitney is skiiable no? bring skis shasta

this view was blowing my mind today:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2595/4164972814_a177bcdce8.jpg

ytth was standing way too close to the edge for my comfort:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2764/4164926482_6e8ae86039.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2758/4164902474_9470560ce8.jpg

shiiiiiit

the weird thing was: we kind of picked this place to hike at random, then driving to it we were wondering if it was gonna suck - scenery looked real flat and boring. 15mins later we were driving up a damn mountain.

photos don't do the place justice, not by a longshot

I would really like to try snowshoeing! Unfortunately, DC is not known for reliable snowfall, though we did have a couple of inches yesterday (now mostly gone). How much snow is the minimum for good snowshoeing?

Oooh just1n3 that looks like a lovely hike!

the 2nd two photos were taken on a trail called "prairie falcon trail"... eg, the most badass trail name of all time.

wow that shot is amazing!

i'm not sure about snowshoeing min fall. i was going to go to a class at rei a while back but something conflicted and now i am kicking myself.

hopefully not while wearing snowshoes...

table rockin tomorrow!
wanted to do pinnacle loop but i think we are abbreviating so as to include some less hikingly inclined family members.

went on an xmas ramble with my bf. it was nice, like a ~4 mile gentle rolling hills thing. hilariously, it led up to this vista that i swear looked out over on a nuclear power plant-esque thing. "ITS BEAUTIFUL," we screamed. this was at ijams nature center in south knoxville.

did yall hear about that hiker that held on by his fingertips to an icy ledge for 6 hours?!

!!!!!!!!!!

maybe it was the sleep deprivation but i found this hilarious today
http://photos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs175.snc3/20269_221064296588_506836588_3296159_1772404_n.jpg

</3rd grade>

today's hike up in mt tamalpais state park:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/821832/east%20peak%2C%20mt%20tam%2C%20jan%20%2710/P1010982.JPG

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/821832/east%20peak%2C%20mt%20tam%2C%20jan%20%2710/P1010985.JPG

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/821832/east%20peak%2C%20mt%20tam%2C%20jan%20%2710/P1010992.JPG

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/821832/east%20peak%2C%20mt%20tam%2C%20jan%20%2710/P1010998.JPG

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/821832/east%20peak%2C%20mt%20tam%2C%20jan%20%2710/P1010994.JPG

oh man, awesome!

table rock has so many awesome boulders

http://photos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs195.snc3/20269_221064281588_506836588_3296157_6490617_n.jpg
http://photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs175.snc3/20269_221064231588_506836588_3296151_1452983_n.jpg

view from top
http://photos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs195.snc3/20269_221064306588_506836588_3296161_616047_n.jpg

it was v nice but kinda doesn't hold a candle to the west coast! but now i get why they call them the blue ridge mtns:
http://photos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs175.snc3/20269_221064291588_506836588_3296158_1420967_n.jpg

i kinda love the more gentle nature of the eastern ranges. they feel more ancient, and the vistas are more infrequent, and well-earned

better foliage thats for sure

i dunno bc like in winter pnw is still green whereas se is brownnnn

love the south's clear skies, tho!

but NE is snowy!

east tn/west nc/southern va is like, still green and all kinds of shit in winter

rockies--clear skies AND green AND snowy. except for the beetle kill lodgepoles-- that's v. brown. :(

how is west nc green if west sc is brown?
tricky.

its a different region iirc

is it???

iirc a trip up the watershed takes you through both wsc and wnc but maybe your wnc is a different area than mine :D

The mans and I walked up to the Greenbriar school and the Walker Srs. homesite in the middle of the night (and snow) the other night. It was so beautiful! It looked like no one else had been up there since the snowfall, and there were soo many cool, identifiable animal tracks in the snow (bear, BABY bear, raccoon, squirrel, rabbit, deer). The snow was so glittery.

aw.
i had a dream about hiking last night that was pretty lol.

so far star trek v is worth it just for these:

http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp95/tza/rock.jpg
http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp95/tza/sigg.jpg

hahahaha actual lol

Joshua Tree last weekend, on the 49 Palms trail.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4067/4472704504_1cd36192cb_b.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4010/4472704642_fb65dcd09e_o.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4032/4471925891_d4b4b45759_b.jpg

so cool

damn time constraints prevent me from going to the olympics this weekend. can only go thurs, when hurricane ridge road is not open :(
i will still trek around the rain forest a bit, though. not climb, tho :(

Few shots of recent visits lake district
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4010/4464762410_4944c305b7.jpg
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4022/4409162112_1fd891a6a7.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2576/4461428583_5d6fdda902.jpg
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4034/4432384239_cb9855a6e9.jpg
Would go every weekend if i could.

that last one is incredible!

that last shot is awwwesome

Apparently that lake is well known for the air force training its jet pilots there. The planes fly below you, didn’t see one that day :(

how high is treeline there? must be really low because arent the valleys almost sea level?

It's around 1500ft, nothing crazy.

just weird cause when i look at mountains here and see south facing treeline i think "ok, thats about 11000 feet."

i was totally weirded/thrown by the fact that the mountains in WA were as short as they were. i'm used to CO/MT mountains, so yeah, it's a little weird to hit a 4k treeline, or see rugged-ass peaks that i know are "only" 6 or 7k

yeah getting lots of vert over the valley always adds something-- why sopris looks so 0_0

beautiful shit yall

joshua tree is the park i most want to visit in the states

got a fancy backpack finally

The JT trail is actually called 49 Palms Canyon (I forgot the Canyon in the first post). It's very well constructed, with stone "staircases," and is obvious enough that it'd be hard to get lost. No shade along the way, so best to do it outside of Summer.

I've been out for a few short hikes this past month. My current fun is in firming up my plans for a 150 mile hike on the Pacific Crest trail at the end of July.

how do you all feel about hiking alone?