California

The Sheep Hole Mountains are a small range not far from Twentynine Palms in the Mojave desert. The highpoint of the range is just 4613', but getting to it involves a tough Class 2/Class 3 scramble. I did this with someone else and, because I'd just driven in, we got a late start and due to the time we had to turn around before we got to the top. There were also issues with finding the best route.

The boulders you see in the pictures are quite large even if it looks otherwise.

I'm going to try this again and report back.

Pacifico Mountain (7124') is in the back range of the San Gabriels so, generally speaking, it's more of a pristine environment than the front range peaks.

I biked it using the fire road that goes almost all the way to the top, but I can't yet claim the peak.

While you wait in suspense to find out why, I'll point out that the road is most gravel. There's a gate across the road and it's currently open. It's also hunting season. And, it was a Saturday. That meant there were several cars on the narrow road. I pulled aside and stopped for them rather than risking a sideswipe.

I biked Hostetter (from the 210 and La Tuna Canyon) to Verdugo Peak. All the way up, my bike was bugging me to do a fashion shoot and I obliged it.

Rising high above Burbank and Glendale are the perpetually snow-capped Verdugo Mountains...

Oh, wait. The highest point - Verdugo Peak - is just 3,126' high. And, in February of 2023 the stars aligned and SoCal had a massive storm that resulted in even lower elevations like Verdugo Peak getting snow.

Unfortunately, that resulted in the Angeles Crest - which leads to higher peaks - being closed. So, like dozens of other people, I hiked to the top of the Verdugos as an alternative.

This post should be filled with pics from Death Valley, except I went there during a heatwave so I wasn't going to do much hiking. The first day I just lounged around Furnace Creek enjoying the heat. In the shade, not exerting myself, the heat was really great. It was, per my car's thermometer, about 118F or 120F. Others, of course, might think that's a tad too hot.

I'd hiked Josephine Peak in the Angeles National Forest a few times, but this was the first time I'd biked it. It was very windy at times. On the switchbacks I'd have the wind at my back one moment, and then it'd be pushing me backwards the next.

Once on the north side of the mountain the wind wasn't as bad. The north side is also good for snow hiking; there will usually be accumulation there after it's snowed even if the rest of the trail is dry. The north side also practically screams, "you're about to run into a bear" yet I haven't so far.

The Tarzana area of Los Angeles hosts a geological feature known as the Vanalden "Cave". I'd heard about it but never bothered to visit until now. Getting to it was OK, even if the "cave" wasn't. And, yes, I'm going to keep up the scare quotes.

I knew going in that the "cave" wasn't much and that it was defaced with graffiti, but I was even more disappointed when I got there. It's basically an overhang with a few holes in it, and it's impossible to get a picture that doesn't have spray paint in it.

If you want to amuse and amaze your future ex-friends, let them know that it snows each year in the City of Los Angeles. Yes, that's right, it snows here each year!

That's because the highest point in the City (not the County) is Mt Lukens, an imposing edifice that rises to a Himalayan 5,075' in height.

OK, so it's not that great and it's full of communication towers. So, if you hope to have kids, don't hang out there too long.

The original Del Taco location is located in Yermo, not far from Barstow in the Mojave desert. Unfortunately it was closed the day that I was driving by.

I did the "3-2-1 Challenge" in the Frazier Park part of Kern County, not far from Gorman/Lebec. The challenge involves 3 peaks, 2 county highpoints (Kern and Ventura), and 1 hike. The usual direction is from east to west so you hit Pinos first. I instead took the "Mount Pinos via Vincent Tumamait Trail" (link) which goes from west to east so you visit Grouse, Sawmill, and then Pinos.