Hiking San Jacinto

In the fresh snow of a late-week storm, Jack, Vicente, John, Terence, Adrian, Mr. Owers, and I set out to San Jacinto on Sunday for a rigorous hike through a wintery landscape.  Mini-spikes gave us extra traction as we navigated up to around 9,700 feet.  After that, the terrain got even more challenging as we approached the 10,834 foot peak.  

 Near the trailhead

 Terence, John, Adrian, and Jack wade through knee-deep drifts. Luckily, we didn't have to do too much post-holing.

 Terence, Adrian, Jack and Vicente at Willow Pass (9,700')

 After Willow Pass the snow got deeper and softer, so we had to abandon our hopes of reaching the peak as a group.  Vicente, however, borrowed my spare set of snowshoes and the two of us pushed on.  Since he's already climbed Gorgonio and Baldy, this was the only peak he needed to join the 10,000 Foot Club, and the others in the group graciously yielded to his attempt.

Exhausted by the final push, we collapsed at the peak.

Vicente displaying his 10,000 Foot Club medal.  Congratulations!

Taking in the view.  Baldy is off in the distance on the left, and Gorgonio is the snow-capped peak straight ahead.

 Vicente tests the winds with Gorgonio looming in the background.

 

 The valley of Palm Springs, over 10,000 feet below.

We were joined at the peak by one other hiker, who was kind enough to take our photo before we headed down.

 While Vicente and I were hiking to the peak, the rest of the group brought a snowman to life at Willow Pass.  Though we didn't all make it over 10,000 feet, everyone had a great time playing in the snow and breathing the mountain air.

Trail Stewardship in the San Gabriels

During the school's Men in the Arena field trips, each class sought a way to give back to the local community.  The freshmen class accomplished that in the San Gabriel mountains, where we worked with the US Forest Service to improve a section of trail north of Azusa.  Fifty students and eight adults worked on expanding trail, weeding invasive species, and creating water run-offs to prevent erosion.  Though we could have spent several more hours out there, we got some good work done in the limited time we had.

 Nik and Carlos expanding the trail

 Mark and Ray clear invasives

 Danny and Julian

 Cameron and Tylor

 Carlos and Armen

 Clifford, Dylan and Kevin clean up the effects of erosion and block the shortcut people were using. Staying on the main trail is one of the seven elements of Leave No Trace ethics.

 

Mr. Rosenfeld, Jayu and Francisco working on a water run-off

 The group celebrates after finishing.  On the left is Freddie Duncan of the US Forest Service.

Snowboarding at Mt. High

Heavy snows this winter have been perfect for skiing and snowboarding.  This video, produced by James, captures the snowboarding club in action.

Mt. Baldy in the snow

Very rarely do I get to take a "school trip" over winter break, but I was lucky to make it to Mt. Baldy yesterday with Shihan, class of 2011, who was home from college for the holidays. I laid in bed the night before listening to the rain, yearning to be in the mountains where it was a proper winter.  When I called around to see if anyone was interested in going up with me, Shihan was instantly excited.  Though he hasn't done much hiking, he just ran a marathon in about 2 hours and 50 minutes (qualifying for Boston!), so he has the lungs and legs to do it.  It was a tough trek to the peak, especially since we were post-holing after the Sierra Club hut, but the wind was relatively calm, and when the sun made it through the active clouds, it was downright balmy (does it have to be above freezing to be balmy?).  More than anything, it was a surreal glimpse into winter, as it coated all the desert plants with snow.

 Shihan makes his way up to the Sierra Club hut.

 Snow always makes an old trail seem new, but it can also lead to challenges in route finding.  The trail is there...somewhere.

 This rabbit seemed to know where it was going.

 We were in and out of clouds for most of the trip. Here the wisps cleared to reveal the cumulous clouds hanging in the valley.

 The final push to the peak

 We were joined at the top by another hiker, who was grateful to follow in our tracks and kind enough to take this photo.

 This sign marks the way down...at least we think it does.

 Shihan refuels under this windswept tree.

 The Devil's Backbone is the hallmark of the descent from Baldy to the ski area.

Rock Climbing at New Jack City

A vanload of dedicated climbers braved the cold in mid-November for some climbing at New Jack City. Though they all started in the gym, Dolly, Abby, Christie, Lucas, and Mairin (below) have all advanced enough to be comfortable outside now, even when they can't feel their hands.

Trail Stewardship on Mt. Baldy

A van load of Webb students traveled up to Mt. Baldy village on Sunday, where we worked on the Bear Flats Trail, which runs all the way to the peak.  We expanded trail and curbed erosion on a good mile of the trail, though there's still much work to do.  The Webb Schools works with the U.S. Forest Service on this section of trail, and has officially adopted it as our own.  It's a great way for students to give back to the mountains that give us so much. 

 The group works on expanding this section of trail, which has severely eroded on the downhill side.

 Anita carries stones for a retaining wall.

 Yoon and James sort some of the stones.

 Shaun and Cathy.

 Yoon, James, Cathy and Alan proudly showing off their work.

 In addition to the reward of a job well done, Johnny, Michelle, Alan, Cathy, Yoon, Anita, James and Shaun got to enjoy great views down into the valley.

 Alan trimming some thorny branches.

 Johnny and Shaun set a line for some widened trail.

 Michelle and Alan

 Cathy and Anita.

The crew celebrates with Smokey at the end of our day.  Then we went to the Mt. Baldy Village diner for some nachos and iced tea.