Hiking in Idyllwild

There's nowhere better than Idyllwild for clear, crisp air, mountain scenery, and hopping around on high rocks. A Webb contingent of twelve strong headed out this weekend to play in the snow and leave their workload far below. Thanks to Mr. Nichols for the photos.

Back row: Ms. Fisher, Kate, David, Justin, Kathy, Mairin, Rachel, Ali, Charlotte, Mr. Nichols, Danielle, and Susan

We don't entirely know what Susan is doing here, but we suspect she's either getting up close and personal with an ant, or leaning in for a kiss. You decide.

Muddy Buddy

On Sunday, after intermittent rain all weekend, Mr. Ball took six students to the annual Muddy Buddy race, a bike-run combination that requires partners to stay together and, especially this year, get dirty. Of course, it started raining at about 8:00 am and turned into a steady downpour by 9:00. Conditions were perfect...

Ryan, Sidney, Davis, Marcos, Mairin, and Juliana before the race. I usually don't like "before" pictures because they're so clean. In this case, that's exactly why I like it.

Davis on the final crawl.

Mairin and Juliana.

The boys after -- Davis and Marcos took 4th place in the Open Division; Ryan and Sidney took 3rd place in the under-18 division.

Mairin and Juliana took first in the under-18 division!

Mountain Biking at Big Bear

Mountain biking is one thing. Taking a lift to the top of the mountain and then endlessly flying down, so that your arms rattle and your fingers hurt from squeezing your breaks so hard -- that's another. Two vanloads full of Webb students and bikes made the trip to Big Bear on Sunday for a day of adrenaline-filled descents. We also got to soak up some fall colors, as the trees have started changing at elevation. If you can judge the amount of fun had by the number of minor injuries accrued, consider it a blast.

Top row: Ryan, Claire, Devin. Bottom: Stir, Adam, Cole, Johnathan, Jake, Sidney, Ms. Kapp, Terence.

Ryan tests his mettle early in the day.

Adam and Cole power by stunning views to neighboring ridges.

Stir, Johnathan and Jake snake through the ridge trail.

Expert rider and mechanic Ms. Kapp fixes a broken chain...

...while Ryan enjoys the view...

...and everyone else sees how many people can stand on one rock.

Adam and Claire about to enter the single-track Plantation Trail.

Sidney makes waves. Or ripples, at least.

This tree was so magnificent, I made everyone pose by it. Needless to say, they were thrilled with my efforts to stop their ride.

Terence and Devin navigate a muddy section of trail.

Claire doesn't seem to care what the trail is like -- she just keeps going and going and going...

This is Stirling catching some serious air. Sorry about the picture quality -- it's a still shot from a movie we took with his helmet cam.

Sidney, Devin, Adam, Johnathan, and Ryan show off the results of their fight with the mountain. Though they battled bravely, the mountain typically wins these sorts of encounters.

Hiking San Jacinto

The 10,000 Foot Club is off to a rollicking start this year, with two peaks already completed! Twelve Webbies climbed to the top of San Jacinto (10,834') this weekend, gaining great views to the valley below, and taking advantage of 70-degree temperatures and gorgeous skies. So far this year, 26 people have made it to over 10,000 feet. That's more than all of last year combined! Special thanks to Ryan, one of Webb's photographer-extraordinaires, for these photos.

Bob, Devin, Ms. Schnupp, David, Sidney, Tina, Susan, Alan, Terence, Ali, and Mr. Harris still below tree line

Ali, once the crew made it above tree line.

Into Thin Air

Once you get to 10,834, sometimes you just need to rest.

The official NFS marker showing San Jacinto's height.

Hiking Mt. Baldy

A total of 14 Webb students took their first steps toward the 10,000 Foot Club on Saturday, hiking to the peak of Mt. Baldy and then down the Devil's Backbone. A mere 20 minutes from campus, Baldy is the perfect way to start the hiking season at Webb. With support from each other and a few distracting puzzles ("I like coffee but I don't like tea"), we all made it to the top for the spectacular views into the valley below. We left campus in a misty drizzle and reached the peak in glorious 70 degree temperatures and sunny skies, with the clouds floating below. The hikers maintained a great attitude throughout, and are more than ready for the next challenge in the 10,000 Foot Club.

Before even reaching the Baldy Bowl trail, we took a little detour to the waterfall on the fire road.

Juliana, Mairin, Alan, and Jack power up the steep inclines out of Manker Flats.

Vicente, David, Anthony and Kyle near the Sierra Club hut.

A short break on the steep climb up to the final ridge.

The group zig-zags toward the top of the Baldy Bowl.

We reached a vast overlook about 30 minutes from the peak.

David, Brandon, Mr. Owers, Vicente, Kyle, Bob, Anthony, Terence, Allen, Jack, Mairin, Juliana, Rachel, Ryan, and Alan (l to r) at the 10,064 foot peak.

Starting our descent

Rachel pauses for a photo op

Kyle making his way down the scree in his Ralph Lauren boots. Seriously.

It's not as dangerous as it looks (see below).

Ryan takes one last moment for reflection before finishing the hike.

Mr. Owers with the Baldy Bowl behind him

On the Devil's Backbone, a thin ridge that drops off steeply in both directions

Until the next time...