Hillwalking - The Year Ahead

Help us put together a 'wish list' for the Brand Ramblers' 2009 treks. We'll be publishing an updated schedule in January - be sure and submit your ideas and requests so we can incorporate them in our planning discussions.

Here is Ken's initial wishlist:

Mt. San Gorgonio, 11,499 feet/3,505 meters, part 2 of the SoCal Big 3

Mt. San Jacinto 10,834 feet/3,302 meters, part 3 of the SoCal Big 3

Mt. San Antonio 10,064 feet/3,068 meters, a return to Mt. Baldy

Red Rock Canyon CA weekend camp (various Mojave desert summits)

Mt. Whitney 14,505 feet/4,421 meters, a return for Mark and a first for others

White Mountain 14,252 feet/4,344 meters

And lots more after work Verdugo hikes

Stone Canyon to Mt. Lukens

6 of the 7 Ramblers who ascended Mt. Lukens via the Stone Canyon trail on Saturday 12/6.

Despite a locked gate at the Wildwood Picnic gathering point assembled Bramblers were able to start up the Stone Canyon trail by 8:15 and summit between 10:15-10:45 AM.

Water level in Big Tujunga creek was low enough that we were able to scramble across without wading and we walked up the Stone Canyon wash until we located the trail to the west. Next time we'll go straight to the trail head - it's not a well marked as it could be!

The trail itself is partly shaded bu overhanging foliage and has a moderate incline. It's just rather long at 3.5 miles to gain the 3000' feet of elevation before coming out on the flat top of the mountain.

We're still waiting for Mike's GPS watch to dump its KML goodies. Look forward to that and photos from other Bramblers.

Next hike - Strawberry Peak on Saturday 12/20.


Sun on the final approach to the summit