Search found 203 matches

by davantalus
Tue Jun 16, 2015 5:42 pm
Forum: San Gabriels
Topic: Kelsey Silver mine in Lower San Gabriel Canyon
Replies: 8
Views: 242

Re: Kelsey Silver mine in Lower San Gabriel Canyon

Wow, Calcite rafts huh? Seems like you were the first in a *long* time.

I tried it once. Danced through some poison oak only to find myself covered in ticks a bit further up. We aborted mission.
by davantalus
Thu Aug 07, 2014 12:10 am
Forum: San Gabriels
Topic: 20140804 Operation: Free Klaus
Replies: 9
Views: 252

Re: 20140804 Operation: Free Klaus

Taco didn't mention how fun it was to dig Klaus free with a bunch of folks. I've pulled some folks outa the mud, but that had nothing on this... this party!

Hopefully I'll never need this particular favor returned. ;)
by davantalus
Wed Jun 04, 2014 5:15 pm
Forum: San Gabriels
Topic: 20140602 Cactus Slot
Replies: 3
Views: 137

Re: 20140602 Cactus Slot

Good stuff! I've always wondered about that one. Tickled by sharp-eyed motorist catching you on rappel.
by davantalus
Tue May 13, 2014 11:57 pm
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: Now It's Mine!
Replies: 166
Views: 24431

Re: Now It's Mine!

LOL. The canyons are full of those things. I must have made 30 of them mine at this point.
by davantalus
Fri May 02, 2014 2:46 am
Forum: News & Conditions
Topic: Gun shots heard from Iron Mtn on 4/26...
Replies: 16
Views: 330

Re: Gun shots heard from Iron Mtn on 4/26...

I heard once that the folks of Widman Ranch (just south of Iron) have something to do with the ammo business. Not surprised.
by davantalus
Sun Apr 13, 2014 9:58 pm
Forum: California
Topic: Santa Rosa Ecological Reserve
Replies: 5
Views: 150

Re: Santa Rosa Ecological Reserve

Good stuff! Looked great on my massive display.
by davantalus
Sun Apr 13, 2014 9:49 pm
Forum: Gear & Fitness
Topic: REI Dividend - It's finally here!
Replies: 73
Views: 3303

Re: REI Dividend - It's finally here!

My $40 this year is a far cry from the $140 last year. Guess I'm growing up, understanding my needs more, and amazoning most of it.
by davantalus
Sun Apr 13, 2014 9:44 pm
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: Unnamed area?
Replies: 6
Views: 217

Re: Unnamed area?

Buddy of mine made that video. Been up the canyon a few times. Not really worth the effort unless you're willing to put the time into cutting/polishing/setting the lapis.

Lower Cascade is a fun quick canyoneering romp.
by davantalus
Sun Apr 13, 2014 10:16 am
Forum: News & Conditions
Topic: Allison Mine Trail
Replies: 47
Views: 1840

Re: Allison Mine Trail

Vaguely on the same topic, anyone know conditions of the trail from Allison to Stanley Miller? I see it on the topo but have never seen any particularly obvious turnoff in that area.
by davantalus
Sun Apr 13, 2014 10:07 am
Forum: Flora, Fauna & Fungi
Topic: Ring Tailed Cat
Replies: 23
Views: 647

Re: Ring Tailed Cat

I've seen one twice in a local canyon drainage, just after dark. Beeg beady eyes in my headlamp. :D
by davantalus
Mon Feb 10, 2014 1:31 am
Forum: Gear & Fitness
Topic: What do you think of smartphone topo maps?
Replies: 8
Views: 208

Re: What do you think of smartphone topo maps?

I use "TopoMaps" and "Gaia" on my iphone. They rock. Hard.
by davantalus
Mon Feb 10, 2014 1:28 am
Forum: California
Topic: Hidden Gem of the Santa Ana Mountains- Yeager Mesa
Replies: 6
Views: 150

Re: Hidden Gem of the Santa Ana Mountains- Yeager Mesa

Man, you guys must be immune to poison oak. :(
by davantalus
Mon Feb 10, 2014 1:11 am
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: Information on Stoddard Canyon?
Replies: 2
Views: 83

Re: Information on Stoddard Canyon?

I don't know anything about the area, but at this point I think you're bringing a Ferrari offroading.

Learning some technical rope skills will open up so many opportunities that, personally, it was worth all the time and effort (AND CASH) I invested.
by davantalus
Mon Feb 10, 2014 1:05 am
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: Lost & Found
Replies: 173
Views: 7921

Re: Lost & Found

Not mine... but chiming in to say... super easy to forget! I've lost two sets of these (homemade with webbing and ultra-light biners in my case).

Good guy for posting!
by davantalus
Mon Feb 10, 2014 1:02 am
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: BALDY - Archive of Mt. Baldy-related Discussions
Replies: 430
Views: 13436

Re: BALDY - Archive of Mt. Baldy-related Discussions

I tried once but poison oak, bees, and brambles got in the way. Your best bet is trying to contact Daven Gray...


And if you're talking about "big horn" (the other big horn) That was blasted and completely destroyed a while ago.
by davantalus
Wed Jan 08, 2014 2:18 am
Forum: San Gabriels
Topic: 20131225 Cascade Canyon
Replies: 4
Views: 121

Re: 20131225 Cascade Canyon

I left anchors at the first two when I was there a few months back... They're pretty obvious, so I wonder if someone removed them.
by davantalus
Sun Oct 13, 2013 8:28 pm
Forum: News & Conditions
Topic: Come on in, the water's fine.
Replies: 6
Views: 128

Re: Come on in, the water's fine.

Ewww.
by davantalus
Sun Oct 13, 2013 8:15 pm
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: big horn mine lost tunnel.
Replies: 9
Views: 204

Re: big horn mine lost tunnel.

Hikin_Jim wrote: What about the lower road that goes just above Vincent's old cabin?
I assume you're not talking about the trail that leads down to Mine fork camp? If so I'm not entirely sure what road you're talking about.

I was thinking about heading up there in the next week or two... anyone know the conditions?
by davantalus
Thu Oct 10, 2013 10:48 pm
Forum: Gear & Fitness
Topic: Staying warm (3 season-ish) without bag?
Replies: 12
Views: 223

Re: Staying warm (3 season-ish) without bag?

I really like my down pants for summery weather... but they're certainly not an October bag replacement.
by davantalus
Thu Oct 10, 2013 10:42 pm
Forum: San Gabriels
Topic: Cloudburst Cyn 10/6/2013
Replies: 5
Views: 151

Re: Cloudburst Cyn 10/6/2013

I love your canyon shorthand. Nice report. :)
by davantalus
Thu Oct 10, 2013 9:57 pm
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: big horn mine lost tunnel.
Replies: 9
Views: 204

Re: big horn mine lost tunnel.

Found another tunnel down low on the very bottom of Mine Gulch That's interesting. Could you PM me the coordinates? I'm quite curious about it. It seems hard to get to because the trail is in a cliff. I was wondering if anyone has been to this other mine. It's not another mine, it's just a differen...
by davantalus
Fri Jul 12, 2013 11:02 pm
Forum: News & Conditions
Topic: Prairie Fork - Lupine Road (3N39)
Replies: 44
Views: 737

Re: Prairie Fork - Lupine Road (3N39)

Heard it was shut two weeks ago. Dunno if that's changed though.
by davantalus
Fri Jul 05, 2013 5:53 pm
Forum: San Gabriels
Topic: Big Iron 6/29/13
Replies: 10
Views: 283

Re: Big Iron 6/29/13

Holy lolz. :D
by davantalus
Tue Jun 11, 2013 11:40 pm
Forum: News & Conditions
Topic: General Conditions
Replies: 424
Views: 15759

Re: General Conditions

Awww Milksnake. :(

I'm confused about "lots" of poison oak. How many LA canyons have you done? LSA has less than most, if not all.
by davantalus
Tue Jun 11, 2013 11:23 pm
Forum: News & Conditions
Topic: Allison Mine Trail
Replies: 47
Views: 1840

Re: Allison Mine Trail

I find the approach from down canyon much easier. The only thing you have to do is find the turnoff from canyon floor up the switchbacks.
by davantalus
Wed May 15, 2013 1:33 am
Forum: News & Conditions
Topic: Vincent Gulch Trail (East Fork)
Replies: 14
Views: 281

Re: Vincent Gulch Trail (East Fork)

I've done it three times... but the most recent was about two years ago now. The car shuttle takes forever and I'm guessing that not much has changed. I can give you some advice on campspots but they're mostly obvious.
by davantalus
Fri Apr 05, 2013 4:59 pm
Forum: Desert
Topic: Death Valley
Replies: 3
Views: 125

Re: Death Valley

RichardK wrote: PLB WILL work.
That's a pretty strong "will". I can think of a few conditions which would cause both to fail similarly. A subset of those conditions are unfortunately typical use patterns for me.
by davantalus
Sun Mar 24, 2013 12:11 pm
Forum: Gear & Fitness
Topic: Best Starting Mountaineers Gear Rack
Replies: 9
Views: 300

Re: Best Starting Mountaineers Gear Rack

The Reverso 4 is indeed lighter but apparently it handles smaller diameter ropes a bit better. In addition to that it allows two ropes to be used at the same time (if a double or twin ropes setup is used) which allows the lead climber to belay two climbers up once he has reached the top belay stati...
by davantalus
Sun Mar 24, 2013 12:06 pm
Forum: Desert
Topic: Death Valley
Replies: 3
Views: 125

Re: Death Valley

Great views. Thanks for sharing. :)

Are you still allowed to drive up those trails or are they protected now?

I wonder what SAR thinks about the ResQLink vs. SPOT? Think the additional radio transmitter helps them?
by davantalus
Thu Mar 21, 2013 12:26 am
Forum: Gear & Fitness
Topic: Best Starting Mountaineers Gear Rack
Replies: 9
Views: 300

Re: Best Starting Mountaineers Gear Rack

Out of curiosity, why do you go with the Petzl Reverso 4 instead of the Petzl GriGri 2 device? I'll take a stab at that question: It's kinda like driving a manual vs. an automatic. Modern auto's are better in just about every way, but some people like the "control" and engaging visceral f...