Happy Holidays 'Bramblers' Everywhere!

With the end of Daylight Savings a few months back the Brand Ramblers went into hiatus except for the 2nd Annual Return to Mt. Baldy on Saturday November 21. We'd been getting fairly slack in documenting our activities but thankfully Paul and Joel were able to snatch some low-end video (hacked iPhone) and high-end still photography on this trek and the Bergfilme above is the unexpected result.

We're already planning trips to Half Dome and Mt. Whitney in the Spring - stay tuned for more information as details become available.

Happy Holidays everyone! See you on the trail in 2010!

Vital Link - revisiting an old friend

After 2 months of Brand Library-to-Mt Thom conditioning scrambles we're headed back to the venerable Vital Link trail on Monday July 6 for a summer reunion. Summer is NOT the ideal time for this trek but it's all conditioning and introducing new 'Bramblers' to its unique joys (and something tells me Paul will love this one!)

For first timers finding the going too steep it is perfectly okay to turnaround midway and pack it in early. The trail gains 700 feet in the first 20 minutes (traveling at an average 3 mph) so frequent short breaks are the order of the day. The trick is to keep them short, 10-20 seconds, to keep the momentum. A mid-hike break of a few minutes also makes sense depending on the weather and condition of the party.

For those not able to make the summit (a lookout bench astride the rim at 2900 feet) there is a good turning point at 1.2 miles (2200 feet) or about 35-40 minutes into the hike. The total trek is ~3.6 miles and an elevation gain of ~1700+ feet.

Bring lots of water and/or Gatorade and trekking poles ready do work well in this setting.

Back on top and new hikes

Sun, Ryan, Paul and Elliott stretch out on Mt. Baldy

5 Bramblers returned to Mt. Baldy for a leisurely ascent up the Ski Hut trail from Manker Flats on Saturday 6/20. Actually the first time for Elliott but a return for Ryan, Paul, Sun and Ken who previously summited their first time last November 22. As before we returned via the Devil's Backbone trail and descended the ski lodge maintenance road. This time we added Strongbow cider to the summit menu and managed a 30 minute nap (see photo).

New weekly hikes have been scheduled (see Google Calendar at the bottom of the page) for conditioning hikes on Monday from the Brand Library and a more leisurely (i.e. moderate) hike on Thursdays to either Verdugo or Griffith Park destinations.

No definite plans yet for the outstanding 'Big 3' peaks now that Mt. Baldy has been 'bagged.'

Back to Mt. Baldy - June 20

Bramblers continue to toil with a legacy system

Bramblers have been keeping busy on local trails without excessive updates and photo documentation. Twice weekly sunset hikes to Mt. Thom via two routes and a return to Griffith Park for a jaunt up Fern Canyon and Hogsback Ridge means lots and lots of cider, snacks and cabanos!

Now it's time again to head back to Mt. Baldy as we commence this year's 'bagging' of the Big Three - Mount San Antonio (10,064'), San Jacinto Peak(10,839'), and San Gorgonio Mountain (11,499').

With less than two weeks to go we're not scheduling any special 'warm-ups' - in fact Mt. Baldy is really a 'warm-up' for the remaining peaks - still to be scheduled for this summer.

Interested parties should confirm their intentions asap for this Saturday morning trek. We'll be leaving again from the Manker Flats campground parking area and plan to complete the same 12-mile round-trip round in 5-6 hours.

Regularly scheduled weekly 'sunset hikes' will be announced soon - stay tuned.

May Sunset Hikes to Mt. Thom

Twice weekly sunset 'conditioning' hikes are the order of the day for the month of May. The Monday Brand Library to Mt. Thom 'scramble' has proven a worthy alternative to the Vital Link workout and we'll continuing with regular weekly ascents through the rest of the month (excluding Memorial Day). Since this 'scramble' is so demanding we're also following up with a weekly easy-to-moderate Thursday trek up the Las Flores motorway (aka 'fire road') to Mt. Thom.

The final scramble just below the fire road

• Mondays: Brand Library to Mt. Thom, 5:30-7:30 PM | Google Map
• Thursdays: Las Flores Motorway to Mt. Thom, 5:30-7:30 PM | Google Map

Atop Mt. Thom with Glendale & Eagle Rock in the background
We're in the planning stage for a Monday Memorial Day hike - nothing too wild, and also looking at a return to Mt. Baldy in June.

Brand Library to Mt. Thom Sunset Scramble

Following last Monday's revival of scheduled hikes with the return to Mt. Thom via the Las Flores 'motorway' (fire road) the 'Bramblers' are returning to the Brand Library trail AND Mt. Thom on Monday 4/27 for a brand new 'Sunset Scramble.'

Previous ascents along the trails behind the historic Brand Library have terminated at the lookup point (the benches) - this time we'll continue the 'scramble' all the way to Mt. Thom!


And unlike last week's Las Flores jaunt to Mt. Thom, this time we'll have some 'cabanos' to accompany the cold cider!

The last Brand Ramblers Brand Park sunset hike


Google Map

Next Up: Return to Vital Link for some endurance training - Wednesday 4/29.

PS: We'll also be celebrating relocated-to-ATL Brambler Brother Harvey's birthday (4/26) with this ascent. If 'scramble' can be associated with with name and place - it's Harvey and Schollywood! We miss you!

Carousel to the Stars: Fern Canyon to Mt. Hollywood Sunday 3/15

The Brand Ramblers 'spring forward' to celebrate Daylight Saving Time with this first weekend hike of 2009.

Carousel to the Stars is just a clever name for this pleasant and scenic light-to-moderate hike from the eastern side of Griffith Park to the center point peak Mt. Hollywood which sits behind the Griffith Observatory.

It's spring in the park already, now almost 2-years since the devastating brush fires of May 2007. With the reseeding and recent rains the hillsides are a lush green and are not to be missed. See the accompanying picture of Hogsback Ridge for a winter view - the vibrant spring green will soon give way to the typical summer/fall scrubby brown in no time at all. Just another reason to get up close and enjoy the renewal of the park first hand by a stroll across this backbone ridge to Mt. Hollywood.

We'll meet at the Merry-Go-Round parking lot at 8:15-8:30 AM, Sunday 3/15 and head up Fern Canyon, around Mt. Glendale (really, there's a Mt. Glendale!) and proceed across Hogsback Ridge to Mt. Hollywood (see map below).


View Larger Map
Total round trip should be about 5-miles and depending on our pace we can return to the parking lot by 10:30 or so. Alternately some 'Bramblers' might consider descending to Griffith Observatory after Mt. Hollywood for a break at the cafe or a peak inside for exhibits.


There's more hikes planned - see the calendar at the bottom of the page. Next Wednesday at 5 PM we'll kickoff the first afterwork 'Sunset Hike' of 2009 with a return to Vital Link in Burbank. This fitness/conditioning trail is well known by 'Bramblers' and we expect many more visits as some of us prepare for more strenuous hike later in the year (Mt. Whitney and the Big 3 of SoCal are already in planning).