San Bernardino Divide – Over Night

John’s report:

In preparation for their Aug-Sep 10 day backpacking adventure into the High Sierras, Jack, Uwe, and Klaus did an overnight backpack into the San Bernardino mountains for conditioning and to shake down their gear. Srisuda and I joined them. We left my place at 0730 Sunday 1 July and drove to Forsee trailhead and met up with Jack and Dorie. We loaded up with packs that were significantly heavier than we are accustomed and departed about 1000. The pace was quite slow as we talked our bodies into accepting the additional weight, higher altitude, and uphill grind. We tried to stop at least once an hour to ensure hydration and nutrition. Just below the SB ridge line, we came to Trail Fork Spring, currently just a small water seep. It would have been great in an emergency but it was more of a curiosity than emergency. The water made the ground wet but there was not enough to fill bottles without significant wait. The break was a welcome relief after such a long haul up that mountain. Within a few hundred meters we topped the ridge line a bit east of Anderson Peak. The trail was very good as we progressed along the ridge passing Shields and Alto Diablo. We were en-route to High Meadow Springs Campground and arrived about 1645 and set up camp. There was a small spring just below the camp site.

I was not able to access the available water as the little pond was too small and there was insufficient running water. I have a plastic container that requires running water or water deep enough to immerse the bag. But, the three others all had different types of pumps that worked well. We filled all our containers and enjoyed enough ice cold water to wash and brush teeth. We had dinner, sat around talking until the sun went down and the temperature dropped 25 degrees. The camp sites were acceptable but not ideal. The campground was situated on the side of steep slope where each site was created beside a large tree. They all looked level to the naked eye but they were not necessarily so. When I climbed in my bag, I immediately rolled to the right. The only solution was to reposition the tent which wasn’t really an option in the dark so I just struggled to find comfort and didn’t sleep very well.

Got up at 0530 and got the gear packed. Made a nice breakfast of oatmeal and blueberries with hot coffee. My little jet boiler worked wonderfully as it boiled a liter of water in under a min. We decided to use the cool morning to capture a couple peaks in the area so took off at 0700 and made our way on the trail to Charlton and Little Charlton Peaks. Now I only need Jepson to complete those 9 peaks. After a couple hours we returned to the camp site and completed our packs for the return trip. The most difficult part of that leg was negotiating the uphills. Just when you think you are done climbing, you aren’t. We took a decent break at the beginning of the downhill segment. We started down a few minutes after noon. Srisuda took the lead and just flew down the trail. She said she was in a hurry to get it over with. I was able to keep up with her by expending much effort and jogging at times. With only one very short break, we reached the parking lot in 2:20. The guys arrived about 40 minutes later. A note about Uwe….don’t try to keep up with him on the uphills and a note about Srisuda…don’t try to keep up with her on the downhill. Everyone has their strengths!

Dorie missed the turn to the Forsee trailhead so we took Jack to the main road to wait for her. Then we all headed home. The temperature on the mountain was a wonderful 72 degrees. Maybe a bit warmer in the sun but very nice. As we descended hwy 38 into Redland, the temperature gauge kept climbing to 93. The trip took a little less than 2 hours but home was a welcome sight. I sent them off with some avocados and mangoes. Now we are looking forward to the next adventure before everyone gets tied up in their personal activities.

Uwe’s notes:

On the hike down we stopped to see if we could locate Dorie at Big Bear lake. We were able to text her and she aimed a little mirror at the ridge line where she suspected us. It worked! We were about 8.5 miles away on the ridge and were able to see very strong flashes. Jack also tried to aim a mirror her direction, but the sun’s position high above and back behind us made it difficult.

Stats:

Day 1: ~ 8 miles /4000ft gain

Day 2: ~ 12 miles ( 8 with packs) / 2000ft gain

 

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