Snow Hiking In Los Angeles: Mt. Islip

Posted on March 18, 2013 by Kyle Kuns

Two weeks ago it snowed as low as 3,000 feet in Los Angeles. Last week temperatures got into the 90’s for a couple days (what happened to spring?). I hiked up to Mt. Lowe with Scott last Tuesday and saw no remains of snow on the north slopes. I realized that without another storm, I might only have one more chance to hike in snow this year. So, I drove up to Islip Saddle and hiked the Pacific Crest Trail to Mt. Islip on Sunday. There was no snow at the trailhead and at first I thought I was too late.

Pacific Crest Trail near Islip Saddle. (click to enlarge).

Pacific Crest Trail near Islip Saddle Trailhead. (click to enlarge).

By a quarter mile into the hike snow appeared as I traveled on the north slopes. It was of the icy variety so I put on my microspikes.

Icy snow on the Pacific Crest Trail between Islip Saddle and Little Jimmy Campground.

Throughout the day the presence of snow was uneven. At times almost completely melted away.

Pacific Crest Trail between Islip Saddle and Little Jimmy.

At other times snow was abundant. However, it almost always had an icy feel to it. When I reached Little Jimmy Campground, I enjoyed seeing that a Boy Scout Troop had camped overnight. I’m really looking forward to backpacking this year starting with my upcoming Grand Canyon trip the first week in April.

Pacific Crest Trail between Islip Saddle and Little Jimmy. (click to enlarge).

By the time I made it around the north face of Mt. Islip the snow was essentially gone with only small patches remaining. So, I took off my microspikes until my return.

Pacific Crest Trail at Windy Gap.

The presence of at least some snow along parts of the trail without a north facing orientation enhanced the view as I made my way to Mt. Islip.

View from the Islip Ridge Trail. (click to enlarge).

While there wasn’t snow on the trail for the entire hike, there was enough to enjoy and feel like it was more of a snow hike than not. I took my time on this one and savored what could be the last remnants of this unusually dry winter. If we do get another storm soon, at over 6,600 feet in elevation at the trailhead, this trail is bound to get more snow.

Gallery Update #11: Snags

Posted on March 11, 2013 by Kyle Kuns

My Gallery Updates are about sharing photos I’ve added to the gallery section of this site. The galleries are my way of creating a visual approach to searching for hikes by having collections of photos that link to information about hiking to where each photo was taken.

This week I added a new Snags Gallery. One of my favorite blogs (Backyard Biology) recently posted a piece (Dead tree wildlife condo) describing the role that snags (dead or dying trees that are still standing) play in nature. Previously I didn’t know there was an ecological term for the many standing dead trees I photograph. Here’s a few in different contexts.

September 2011

Above photo taken from the Devil’s Backbone Trail.

May 2012

Above photo taken from the Islip Ridge Trail.

December 2012

Above photo taken from the Mt. Hillyer Trail.

February 2012

Above photo taken from the Silver Moccasin Trail near Little Pines Loop.

May 2012

Above photo taken from the Pacific Crest Trail between Islip Saddle and Little Jimmy Campground.

Weekly Gallery Update #8: Header Images

Posted on January 26, 2013 by Kyle Kuns

My Weekly Gallery Updates are about sharing photos I’ve added to the gallery section of this site. The galleries are my way of creating a visual approach to searching for hikes by having collections of photos that link to information about hiking to where each photo was taken.

Side note for bloggers: One of the reasons I chose the Twenty Eleven Theme was because it has lots of different features and functionality. I expected that over time I might grow into it. A feature that recently caught my attention is the option to have random headers load with each page click (WordPress bloggers can find this feature in themes that support it from the dashboard by clicking on the Appearance and then Header tabs).

Since a key component of my blog is to provide visitors with a visual means to find hikes, it makes sense to use the header area to assist in that goal. I think that having a randomly appearing header image with each page click helps emphasize discovery. This gallery will work a little different than the others as the images will be organized in alphabetical order by trail name instead of by most recently added. This will allow someone who wants to know more about a trail in the header image to quickly find it by clicking on the link below the gallery image. Also, because I need to crop the images to make them header sized, I’m including the whole image in the gallery as well. I will update this gallery more often than the others to periodically inform people of this functionality. Presently, there are ten header images, five are shown below. The rest of them can be seen in the Header Images Gallery.

Pacific Crest Trail, October 2011

More photos of the Pacific Crest Trail from Mt. Baden-Powell to JCT Dawson Saddle

Lower San Gabriel Peak Trail, December 2011

More photos of the Lower San Gabriel Peak Trail.

Silver Moccasin Trail, February 2012

More photos of the Silver Moccasin Trail between Charlton Flats and Little Pines Loop

Upper Sam Merrill Trail, January 2012

More photos of the Upper Sam Merrill Trail

Valley Forge Trail, November 2012

More photos of the Valley Forge Trail

Weekly Gallery Update #4: Blue Sky Backgrounds

Posted on December 20, 2012 by Kyle Kuns

This week I’ve added five photos to the Blue Sky Backgrounds Gallery. Having taken well over 15,000 snapshots in Angles Forest in the past two years, I started seeing unintended patterns in my photography. Over time, recognizing these patterns has made me conscious of trying to add more snapshots to the series. It turns out I have a predilection for the simplicity of a subject set against a blue sky.

February 2012

Above photo taken from the Dawson Saddle Trail.

July 2012

Above photo taken from the Icehouse Canyon Trail

June 2012

Above photo taken from the Pacific Crest Trail between Mt. Baden-Powell and the Dawson Saddle Trail.

June 2012

Above photo taken from the Chapman Trail.

April 2012

Above photo taken from Mt. Waterman

Introducing Weekly Gallery Updates

Posted on November 29, 2012 by Kyle Kuns

I originally conceived of this blog as more of a website. Presently, it’s a little bit of both. When I started I had no concept of what a blog was as I had never followed one before. While I do something to add content almost daily, I can go weeks without publishing a post. Most of the time and effort I spend creating content is to be found on pages that don’t show up in news feeds and don’t have the ability to be tagged. My current ratio is roughly one post for every six pages I create.

Lately, I’ve been thinking about that ratio. At its core, this endeavor is about sharing my enthusiasm for hiking in Angeles Forest and hopefully inspiring and helping others to go there too. In order to reach more people and emphasize better what can be found on the pages of this site, it is clear I need to post more. At the same time, I’ve fallen way behind in updating key features I feel are central to how I want my site to work.

The gallery feature that I originally felt would be an important component of this site has gone neglected for far too long. This feature gives one the option to visually search for hikes by looking through galleries of photos that link to information about hiking to where the photo was taken. In part inspired by the WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge, I’ve decided to implement my own Weekly Gallery Update, where I publish a post of a few photos that I’ve added to one of my galleries. This will help keep me on track updating my galleries, generate a post that alerts others of the new photos that were added, and introduce new readers to this visual approach to navigate my site.

This week I’ve added five photos to the Trails Gallery. All photos in this gallery have a portion of trail depicted in them. For me, these are places I really enjoyed the experience of walking through.