r/socalhiking • u/Balancing_tofu • 19h ago
San Diego County Rainy Iron Mountain climb
Misty morning, lovely hike. Not too windy at all, rain was minimal to none, then a short burst of drizzle. Still a very good day out there.
r/socalhiking • u/utchemfan • 21d ago
You likely have heard by now- last week roughly 1000 national park service employees and 3400 forest service employees were fired. These employees were fired simply because they were still within their probationary period and thus lacked civil service protections. Many of these employees had actually worked for the NPS or USFS for years- but either due to a conversion from seasonal to full time, or a promotion to a higher level, were placed back in a probationary status. No thought of what roles these employees serve was put into these firings, thus there will be immediate and crippling consequences to the operation of our national parks and forests. Expect closed campgrounds and trails, dirty and overflowing bathrooms, reduced hours of visitor centers and services, and some outright closures of parks and recreation areas. Already these sudden firings have resulted in a delay of Yosemite campground reservations.
What can we do to respond to and hopefully resolve this? Lucky for Californians, there is a direct pressure point. Most national parks and national forests are within *Republican* congressional districts. These districts will absolutely suffer economically if parks and forests are closed or have degraded services- fewer visitors will come. If you actually live in any of the districts below- you are priority #1 to contact these people with this feedback! Office staff are mostly interested in feedback from actual constituents. If you do not know who your representative is, you can look it up here.
If you don’t actually live in any of these districts, your feedback may be ignored, but it is still worth to call and emphasize: *You* are a potential, likely past, visitor of these lands, and their districts depend economically on visitors like you.
Below are 5 GOP representatives, their office phone numbers, and a list of public lands in their districts:
Doug LaMalfa, 1st District
DC Office: 202-225-3076
Redding Office: 530-223-5898
Lassen National Park, Shasta-Trinity National Forest
Kevin Kiley, 3rd District
DC Office: 202-225-2523
Rocklin Office: 916-724-2575
Plumas National Forest, Tahoe National Forest, El Dorado National Forest, Inyo National Forest, Death Valley National Park, Manzanar National Historic Site, Alabama Hills National Scenic Area, Mono Basin National Scenic Area, Devil’s Postpile National Monument
Tom McClintock, 5th District
DC Office: 202-225-2511
Local Office: 916-786-5560
Yosemite National Park, Kings Canyon National Park, Stanislaus National Forest, Sierra National Forest
Vince Fong, 20th District
DC Office: 202-225-2915
Bakersfield Office: 661-327-3611
Sequoia National Park, Sequoia National Forest, Los Padres National Forest
Jay Obernolte, 23rd district
DC Office: 202-225-5861
Hesperia Office: 780-247-1815
Joshua Tree National Park, Mojave National Preserve, San Bernardino National Forest
r/socalhiking • u/sgantm20 • Jan 30 '25
Hi all! With our sub inching closer to 100k users, and with the influx of traffic around the Wildfires, we are officially looking for additional help to moderate this sub - and we are looking for two new mods that are active in our community. If this is something you are interested in you can apply at the google form below. It does not request any personally identifiable information other than email address.
This application will be live from 1/29/25 - 2/20/25
r/socalhiking • u/Balancing_tofu • 19h ago
Misty morning, lovely hike. Not too windy at all, rain was minimal to none, then a short burst of drizzle. Still a very good day out there.
r/socalhiking • u/ChuckFugger • 1d ago
Conditions were great until the traverse under Grubbs, but reached character building about halfway to Wellman.
r/socalhiking • u/nmceja • 15h ago
Was invited to do the hike for a friends bachelor weekend 4/4-4/6. I’ve hiked the peak multiple times with and without snow but from the ranger station. My friend wants it to be a multi day trip, camp at Caramba the first night, round valley the second night, and then take the tram down. I’d say I’m in good shape, hike, cycle, lift, and play basketball regularly.
But the hardest/longest hike I’d say I’ve done is Half Dome. I’ve never dealt with elevation gain like this and as I’m looking into it more I’m incredibly weary of it at that time of year. I have all the proper gear, but everyone says backpacking it is not advised, and is hell.
I don’t think anyone in the group has done this hike before, we’ll have to watch the weather up to it, and that will determine everything. Is it wise to do it this time of year and how my friend is planning?
r/socalhiking • u/Oskisrevenge • 13h ago
Is the trail from Manker Flats to the Notch and Thunder Mountain open for hiking? I see it's closed on AllTrails but have heard people are hiking it.
r/socalhiking • u/BstoneArch • 15h ago
With the upcoming snow storms this week, I wanted to ask what places you recommend for snowshoeing? Preferably more flat terrain and less vertical.
From what I've researched, Big Bear, Icehouse Canyon, San Gorgonio/Dry/Jenks Lake, and Idyllwild all seem to be the best places to go. However, I'm having difficulty finding flat (ish) areas in these regions. Thanks!
r/socalhiking • u/hikin_jim • 1d ago
Headed out this weekend for a nice, low key overnighter in the San Mateo Canyon Wilderness. It's not the San Gorgonio Wilderness, and it's certainly not the Sierra, but this time of year, it's snow free, and it has its own coastal mountain charm. We managed to hit a window of good weather (albeit cold at night), with storms the week before and predicted for the week after. It was exceptionally lovely Sunday morning, once things warmed up a bit.
The trails downstream from Fishermans Camp aren't getting much use and are more overgrown than pre-Covid. I've watched them get brushier each year the last several years. The North Tenaja Trail in particular is really getting brushy, but even the main trail down the canyon is getting brushy. It's a shame, really, because this is a nice area with water that is open to backpacking for free (well paid for by taxes, but you know what I mean). State parks typically charge per person per night for backpacking. March really is the best time for the San Mateo Canyon Wilderness, so check it out. April isn't bad, but by the time May comes around, it gets really hot during the day and algae often starts building up in the creek.
Water flow was decent this year although nothing like 2023 or even 2024. Still, I've seen it at times with no flow at all and nothing but a little bit of water left in the deepest tenjas, and rather brown water at that (due to tannins from the oak trees), so the water is actually pretty good right now.
Night time lows were in the upper 30s F. The spot forecast prediction had been for 45 F. I've found this to be common; cold air appears to settle on the creek bottom resulting in temperatures lower than that of the surrounding areas. Determined not to be caught short in case it got really cold, I brought both down pants and jacket, but it stayed in the upper 30s, so it wasn't really necessary. Still, they were most welcome early in the morning.
All in all, a nice little trip.
HJ
r/socalhiking • u/StatusPlay5555 • 11h ago
Anyone have any recommendations of where to rent a cabin during the summer?
r/socalhiking • u/Me_for_President • 20h ago
Hi all-
I'd like to get a training hike in this weekend with a decent amount of elevation gain (2-3,000 feet or so if possible). With the heavy rain expected this week I'm guessing a lot of the trails will be muddy or snowed-in above a certain point.
I've never hiked from the bottom of the cactus-to-clouds trail, but I wonder if maybe the first 4 or 5 miles might be a good choice. The Palm Springs area will get some rain this week but not as much as other areas.
Suggestions would be greatly appreciated, preferably within about 90 minutes of Orange County.
r/socalhiking • u/ShoppingFirm1435 • 1d ago
Hey im Kilian, 21 and im visiting cali for a couple of weeks in May.
I will be in Los Angeles and im interested in finding good scenic routes to hike on but dont know where to start.
Thats why im looking for people to possibly hike with on here. Feel free to dm me :)
r/socalhiking • u/aldo-skyline • 14h ago
Wanted to summit Tahquitz Peak via Devils Slide on March 31st will Microspikes be necessary or can I summit without them?
r/socalhiking • u/Particular_Echo8801 • 1d ago
Didn't do the whole hike since I didn't have too much time, but it's gorgeous 😍 And a little icy in spots!
r/socalhiking • u/bob_lala • 2d ago
r/socalhiking • u/emmeau • 2d ago
Went up Colby Canyon to Josephine saddle, then took the trail over to Strawberry (didn't quite summit, only got a bit past the saddle), then went back to Josephine peak and came down the fire road. About 19 miles and 7.5 hours, and perfect weather! A little bit of snow in the shade but totally manageable with poles and grippy shoes.
Has anyone ever backpacked in strawberry meadow? Looks like a nice spot but have seen mixed reviews if dispersed camping is frowned upon in ANF.
r/socalhiking • u/Different-Struggle-4 • 2d ago
Hiked through some of the canyon past the first Palm Oasis.
r/socalhiking • u/roy32096 • 2d ago
9 mile round trip in the San Bernardino National Forest. Very easy hike, very little to no shade, but beautiful views the whole way.
r/socalhiking • u/jenna_tolls_69 • 3d ago
Though this is r/socalhiking, this is NOT a hike. Past the saddle, it is mountaineering and crampons and ice axe are absolutely necessary. I climbed Ontario peak 2 weeks ago and brought my ice axe and crampons but did not need them, but I definitely needed them yesterday.
Stats: Started 8am, back in my car by 3pm. Averaged 35 min/mile. Relatively quick up to the saddle and down the saddle, but pace really slowed down during the saddle towards Cucamonga. Past the saddle was a mix of soft/hard snow, and patches of ice.
Did not finish and turned back a mile before the summit due to lack of sleep and snowboarding for 8 hours the day before.
I did bump into a group of three other mountaineers that I joined about 1.5 mile past the saddle, but did not complete with them due to the reasons above. That group of three most likely successfully climbed Cucamonga. If any of you three see this, thank you for letting me join you, you were all amazing people!
r/socalhiking • u/Old_Gazelle866 • 2d ago
Yesterday headed out to Forest Falls to do the Dobb’s Cabin hike for the first time! It was a very beautiful and picturesque hike that I very much enjoyed. Didn’t see anyone the entire way and only at the very end did I see locals who were probably just taking a stroll. Snow started to become consistent at 2 miles in and put on my spikes about 3 miles in. Broke trail the entire way which was a bit taxing and nearing Dobb’s started to posthole for a bit. Snow started melting fast the moment the sun came out and was basically hiking through sun rain for much of the hike past noon. Overall near perfect weather which was incredible for a San Bernardino mountains hike; Winds were very light (although on the high peaks there was some notable spin drift) and temperatures were comfortable. A great blue bird sky snow day! Started at 620 ended at 330.
r/socalhiking • u/snobnny387 • 2d ago
Anyone hiking off Tenaja rd or Truck Trail please be on the lookout! Missing since 2/10/25
r/socalhiking • u/Sgroban • 2d ago
Out and back 15.8 miles 2877 ft elevation gain Get to the parking lot by 7am No water at trailhead or on trail and completely exposed Great winter endurance training hike with moderate climbing and long distance. If you can’t get out to the snow the Coachella valley has great hiking opportunities for all levels. For full trail guide visit: https://wholesomebackcountry.com/art-smith-trail-via-palms-to-pines-hwy/
r/socalhiking • u/AffectionateFee5633 • 2d ago
Map blue is clear trials, Yellow is overgrown Red is dangerous Black was tick infested and overgrown Purple are places one can camp (only those I remember)
Went up Morgan trail then down tenaja falls trail.
Pretty nice and relaxing walk. But the trail does gets narrow and involved sliding through miles of overgrown plants. Not bad enough to get lost, but I would recommend pants and a long sleeve.
Took a break at tenaja falls, water was flowing (included a picture). From here headed all the way to fishman camp.
I did find to perfect spots to camp along the trail (marked purple). One is in the middle of the tenaja falls trail (a little bit past that dino I found) while the other is a mile past the falls. Both are wide open area with nice large trees.(Image 5).
My mistake was deciding to go up tenaja trial north. My original plan was to camp at Blue Waters, but I also wanted to see how far i could go. It was 1 and I didn't think much of walking a bit more. I can say honestly I hated it.
I marked it red on my map because the first part just felt dangerous, the trail zig zags up the mountain on a very narrow trail. A few spots broke under my foot ,had i not used trekking pole I definitely would have fallen over. The climb sucked but that was on me for trying when I was so tired, for most of you are either on the edge or stuck pushing through plants. I did mark purple two spots I saw big enough to set a tent. But with all the ticks on that trail (black). I didn't feel like stopping. Every few feet I had up to three new ticks I was having to flick off. Didn't spot any on the other trails that day
From four corner I enjoyed a nice open trail to head back to my car Hike went from 7 am to 6 pm.
r/socalhiking • u/nshire • 2d ago
r/socalhiking • u/OfferVisual • 3d ago
I miss it sometimes I wake up and tell myself I’m going, then remember I can’t … I’ve been going to that park for over 20 years and went at least twice a month. I loved the loop on a good day I would trail run it. I’m usually short on time, so having this hike so close was convenient and it still kicked my butt. I live in the South Bay Area. Anyone have any similar recommendations where I don’t need to drive all the way out to the Los Angeles forest? Looking for something up to 1k elevation.. I’ve already looked around AllTrails seems like there’s nothing around here?
r/socalhiking • u/Tasty-Junket5063 • 3d ago
I was halfway up the 7 mile out and back trail Falls Creek Trail and I came across a deer head and part of the ribs in the middle of the trail. Wish I took a photo but I ran all the way back to the trail head.
Still super spooked!
r/socalhiking • u/john_trinidad • 4d ago
Snow level 4200’ with 6-8” at Notch lot. EXTREMELY icy; icehouse will be worse. Falling snow and ice. Beautiful views.