Crystal Lake. More of a pond really, particularly in this dry year, but still a scenic site.
Heading up the Wawona Trail to Mt. Islip.
Unfortunately, a major fire came through here a few years ago and there is still evidence of it everywhere.
Great views of the San Gabriels and all the way out to the ocean. The Rose Parade and football games were on January 2nd this year, so we got to spend New…
The first sign of snow. This would have been a deep snow trek last year.
Looking towards Windy Gap and Mt. Hawkins.
Almost to Mt. Islip. It doesn't look this trail gets much use and it's normally not maintened this time of year because it's usually under snow. My dad and I…
Made it to the top of Mt. Islip. A look at what remains of the fire watchtower, which has since been moved elsewhere.
An old cabin of some sort on top of Mt. Islip, likely destroyed in the fire.
Perfect January 1st weather. Crystal clear skies with a view from Mt. Islip, down San Gabriel Canyon, all the way out to the Pacific Ocean.
Looking towards Mt. Baden-Powell from Mt. Islip.
Summit video on Mt. Islip.
After leaving Mt. Islip, the trail drops to the shady side of the ridge and the snow starts getting heavier.
And then starts getting really heavy! I'm just in my lightweight, non-waterproof trail running shoes since snow trekking wasn't on the agenda. Good thing it's a…
The trail here follows a very distinct ridgeline.
Made it to the PCT. The PCT is one of the very few places in Southern CA where you can hop on a single trail and go for 30, 40, or 50 miles (or a few thousand…
The trail is really icy in places with some pretty steep dropoffs. I was still trying to run the trail as much as possible and was on my ass a bunch of times.
A steep climb through the snow. Fortunately the super M&S grip on my SpeedCross 3s did amazingly well in the snow.
Another ocean view. This time you can see the San Gabriel resovoir as well.
Standing on a snow bank looking out at Catalina and the Pacific Ocean. Pretty cool.