Big Bear Snowshoeing (SoCal) Feb 14th

[teotwaki]

I made a day of it by getting in early Saturday. Left my house at 0'Dark hundred (4:30 AM) and was up there by 7 ish.

Snow coverage was good. Initially I went to the Big Bear "Discovery Center" to inquire about good routes. At first they tried to steer me to some flat 1/2 mile trails by the lake. I had to work hard to convince them that I was not a neophyte and wanted more of a backcountry experience and that hills were fine.

I ended up going across to the south side of the Lake to Mill Creek road and 2N10. Snow buildup was supposed to be better.

SPOT "okay" location where I had lunch, just use the ZOOM


2N10 is somewhere down there.....

After a little bit I came to virgin snow!


My tracks and no one elses' tracks!! :victory:


Branching off into deeper and stickier snow


Sometimes I'd have these 6" balls of snow build up under my shoes. Both tiring and annoying!

A little bit of rocky terrain when I ventured cross-country

 

[teotwaki]

A view back to the lake


Posing for the lunch break

You can just see the SPOT unit on my pack.....

Heading back out there were more folks piling into the area so I'm glad that I got out early.


I was out about 4 hours and enjoyed great weather. Temps in the low to high 20s kept me from overheating.

 

[teotwaki]

Some photos from the area

Heading up "back way" on 38


Need ice? East end of the lake.

Later in the day from the North Side of the Lake looking back towards the ski slopes

My favorite photos looking west on the lake towards the dam where the clouds were trying to crawl into the gap

 

[ujoint]

Great pics, it's nice to get up to the snow!

 

[HanzoSteel]

Great pics, so how many miles do you think you hiked. I hike alot and can do 10-12 miles but in the snow its different and its something I've been wanting to do but not sure how tiring it gets, and I'm sure the altitude is a big factor.

 

[Haggis]

Great photos. I like the enveloping clouds of doom shots.

I was out a couple of weeks ago, but the snow was horrible. Big clumping balls clung to the shoes something terrible. More work than fun that was. We had crotch deep snow but a warm up last weekend has melted down the forest snow quite abit so now there's too much brush poking through. Now it would be more of a trip and tangle fest than a snowshoe hike. Who ever introduced monoflora rose to our area needs his nether regions nailed to a stump with a rusty nail.

 

[FourByLand]

Jim,

Great shots! What kind of shoes are you using? More traditional or new school?

How many miles did you log? I am thinking about getting into this.

 

[Willman]

Great shots!

I need to get out!

Thanks for the bump!!!

 

[adventureduo]

Awesome Jim! I need to do that someday. Big Bear looks beautiful.

 

[teotwaki]

I was using MSR Denali Evo snowshoes that have the tilt-up wire bail to support your heels when ascending a steep slope. I did not have to use the optional tails for more flotation.

Using the GPS track from my Garmin 60C and the MapSource distance function I come up with about 4.5 miles total. Farther than I thought so I feel better now. :ylsmoke:

I also loaded up my pack for the "unknown" since I was out alone and there was a storm lurking out there:

Goretex pants
Goretex jacket
Insulated overpants
Goretex overmitts
fleece balaclava
Windstopper fleece gloves
insulated hooded jacket
first aid kit
compass, whistle, maps, green laser, strobe, SPOT, GPS etc.
30 meter rope, 8mm
4 carabiners, mini descender, 2 Tibloc ascenders
3 Nalgene water bottles with insulated covers
lightweight snow shovel
some food
foam sit pad


The pix of the clouds over the dam brought to mind two movies:
"The Mist" http://www.metacafe.com/watch/833520/the_mist/

and "The Crawling Eyes" (50's SciFi) http://www.metacafe.com/watch/213747/the_crawling_eye/

 

[Scenic WonderRunner]

Very Nice.......Jim!


Thanks!..........:beer:



Now just where is my Snowshoe Smilie....when I need him>?!!!



.:costumed-smiley-007

 

[FishPOET]

Great report and pics. The cloud crawl pic is fabulous.

 

[FourByLand]

I was using MSR Denali Evo snowshoes that have the tilt-up wire bail to support your heels when ascending a steep slope. I did not have to use the optional tails for more flotation.

Using the GPS track from my Garmin 60C and the MapSource distance function I come up with about 4.5 miles total. Farther than I thought so I feel better now. :ylsmoke:

I also loaded up my pack for the "unknown" since I was out alone and there was a storm lurking out there:

Goretex pants
Goretex jacket
Insulated overpants
Goretex overmitts
fleece balaclava
Windstopper fleece gloves
insulated hooded jacket
first aid kit
compass, whistle, maps, green laser, strobe, SPOT, GPS etc.
30 meter rope, 8mm
4 carabiners, mini descender, 2 Tibloc ascenders
3 Nalgene water bottles with insulated covers
lightweight snow shovel
some food
foam sit pad


The pix of the clouds over the dam brought to mind two movies:
"The Mist" http://www.metacafe.com/watch/833520/the_mist/

and "The Crawling Eyes" (50's SciFi) http://www.metacafe.com/watch/213747/the_crawling_eye/

Jim,

Thanks for the detailed report and the list of good to get me started!

Did you come across any wildlife?

 

[jeepmedic46]

Great pics, Thank you as well for that list to help me get started as well. What type of pack do you use?

 

[teotwaki]

Jim,

Thanks for the detailed report and the list of good to get me started!

Did you come across any wildlife?

I saw lots of fresh squirrel tracks and a few ravens but that was it.

At the trailhead there were two gals who were beginning snowshoers and they seemed to be husband hunting.... :sombrero: