Finally, at long last, the time had come to start the challenge. The anxiety in the days leading up to August 6th was ridiculous. After training hard all…
I had done multiple Baldy training hikes in the dark to make sure I was comfortable doing it solo. And to make sure there were no route finding issues in the…
It's an amazing city view from the top at night. It was a completely moonless night, so I'm glad I was comfortable here in the dark.
I made good time down in 1:32, with only one mild wipeout coming down the "choose your own adventure" section above the bowl. Total round trip time of 3:51 .…
I managed to stay awake on the roughly 1hr 25min drive to the Vivian Creek trailhead. Then I had to swap out some gear, refill water, apply sunscreen, etc. I…
I spent another 2 hours in the dark before sunrise making for 6 hours so far of pitch black hiking. And unlike the Ski Hut trail, I had no experience in the…
Morning glow on Gorgonio.
Made it to the ridge above High Camp. This side of the ridge is entirely charred from the Apple fire, but fortunately the Vivian Creek side was spared.
Nice morning view towards San Jacinto.
Made it to the top in 5:03. The last couple miles were a grind, and I hadn't seen a single person until just below the summit. But I had the summit to myself.…
A look at San Jacinto from the San Gorgonio summit. Hard to believe I would need be heading up that soon.
A look towards the ocean, then time to start heading down.
The meadow at Vivian Creek is always nice. It was still pitch black here on the way up.
Vivian Creek 100% bone dry. It was bone dry even earlier in the Spring, the first time I'd ever seen that.
Made it down in 3:13, for a total round trip time of 8:16 . I shaved a fair amount off my Gorgonio target time, which would give me a little extra cushion for…
Then I had to make the drive out to San Jacinto and the Marion Mtn trailhead. 25 of the miles are winding mountain road, which I was really worried about having…
The first couple of miles up Marion Mtn are tough. I was dragging. My initial goal was just to make it up to the flatter section on the PCT and then see how I…
I made it to the hut. Too close to turn around now.
Made it the top!! Super slow at 4:09, but I made it. In my foggy state of mind, I thought there was no way I was going to make it back down inside of the 24hr…
San Gorgonio from the San Jacinto summit. Hard to believe I was just on top of that not long ago.