N00b backpacking trip in San Gorgonio Wilderness, 12-13 July

simonov · Post by **simonov** » Mon Jul 14, 2008 9:31 am

Finally got a decent turn-out for one of my OCHBC n00b overnights to John's Meadow this last weekend.

Flickr photos with captions

Post by **Taco** » Mon Jul 14, 2008 10:50 am

OMFG N00BZ WTF

k00l p1c5

Post by **Hikin_Jim** » Mon Jul 14, 2008 12:52 pm

Great pix! I haven't been out to the meadow since ... since I talked to you last April in the trail camp. Nice to see it green up again. Sounds like a nice trip.

I've still got my ca. 1986 Jansport D2 external frame BP. It's a good pack for a big load for a longer trip, although it also could use a better hip belt. Still it's a better hip belt than my dad's ca. 1960 Kelty which just had a 1.5" wide canvas webbing belly band.

Wish they still made packs with zippered side pockets. The mesh ones and the elasticy/spandexy ones snag and tear easily in brush. Plus, anything elasticy wears out pretty quickly. I like the zippered ones 'cause I can put small stuff in 'em and not have to worry about it coming back out. With the open top pockets, it has to be something big like a trowel or a water bottle.

Anyway, good pix, and hope some of the n00b's take up hiking and make your investment worthwhile.

HJ

PS I love n00b backpack configurations. lol Creativity at its best. What a hoot.

simonov · Post by **simonov** » Mon Jul 14, 2008 1:17 pm

Hikin_Jim wrote:PS I love n00b backpack configurations. lol Creativity at its best. What a hoot.

Yes, ahem. You'll notice I didn't mention them anywhere, I thought I'd let people draw their own conclusions.

FIGHT ON · Post by **FIGHT ON** » Wed Jul 16, 2008 5:55 am

pretty cool you meet up with folks you don't know and camp.

He219 · Post by **He219** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 12:53 pm

FIGHT ON wrote:pretty cool you meet up with folks you don't know and camp.

Until someone turns out to be an axe-murderer ..
Watch for the ones carrying a Piolet on a summer overnighter!

EManBevHills · Post by **EManBevHills** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 4:54 pm

Reminds me of "The First Deadly Sin".
I'm dating myself. Again.

AlanK · Post by **AlanK** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 4:57 pm

EManBevHills wrote:I'm dating myself. Again.

I've always wondered -- when you date yourself, do you pay the check or split it?

simonov · Post by **simonov** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 5:35 pm

He219 wrote:
FIGHT ON wrote:pretty cool you meet up with folks you don't know and camp.
Until someone turns out to be an axe-murderer ..
Watch for the ones carrying a Piolet on a summer overnighter!

I had never met He219 when he called me out of the blue one February Friday afternoon to ask me to accompany him up the Baldy Bowl the next day.

Post by **Hikin_Jim** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 6:00 pm

One look at your heavy, wooden handled piolet and nobody'll mess with ya.

Since when are we calling ice axes piolets? Maybe I'll go abseiling this weekend instead of rapelling...

FIGHT ON · Post by **FIGHT ON** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 6:26 pm

He219 wrote:
FIGHT ON wrote:pretty cool you meet up with folks you don't know and camp.
Until someone turns out to be an axe-murderer ..
Watch for the ones carrying a Piolet on a summer overnighter!

something tells me simonov is prepared for anything like that comes his way.
wouldn't be surprised if the real reason he prefers external pack frames is because the tubes are really some sort of modified shot gun.

Rob · Post by **Rob** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 10:47 pm

simonov wrote:Finally got a decent turn-out for one of my OCHBC n00b overnights to John's Meadow this last weekend.

My son told me that he wanted to soak his feet in a mountain stream, so we made Johns Meadow our destination for July 19-20. Simonov's recent photos, together with a long, detailed write-up on Johns Meadow that HJ posted last year, confirmed the decision. At 7 a.m. on Sunday morning woke up to a sprinkling of rain and a dash of lightning. On hikeout on Sunday morning heard a siren wailing and heard what seemed to be more than usual helicopter activity.

Is Johns Meadow itself downhill from Johns Meadow trailcamp? I considered exploring downhill, but I was blocked on my right flank by manzanita and on my left flank by a group camp of a dozen giggling high school girls. Did I overlook a trail heading downhill?

Post by **Hikin_Jim** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 10:54 pm

To see the actual meadow, you would head west from Johns Meadow Camp and descend (15') to the small creek west of camp. At the point where the trail crosses the creek, there is a brief section of meadow, possibly the prettiest section with a small rill gushing over granitic rocks. The bulk of the meadow is upstream although downstream there is some meadow like vegetation. Going downstream gets you pretty quickly into some pretty steep country. Downstream, you join another branch of Forsee Creek and then Forsee Creek itself. A bit later, Forsee Creek plunges steeply down toward Hwy 38.

Sorry about the giggly girls. It's a really nice trail camp. Mid week it's really quiet. You'll have to try High Meadow Springs next. A bit (quite a bit) more hiking, but a nice area. Not as nice as Johns but far more alpine. I also really like Alger Creek as a campsite, and Dobbs is beautiful although I don't like the Momyer Creek trail. Poorly laid out and the new trailhead wastes a lot of time.

Rob · Post by **Rob** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 11:16 pm

Thanks, HJ. So the real Meadow is the lush vegetation growing along the banks of the western-most creek branch? I'll explore uphill on that side of the trail camp the the next time I pass through.

Post by **Hikin_Jim** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 11:34 pm

Rob wrote:Thanks, HJ. So the real Meadow is the lush vegetation growing along the banks of the western-most creek branch? I'll explore uphill on that side of the trail camp the the next time I pass through.

Yes.