With the snowing
melting fast, I wanted to try and get one more snow camp this season so I
headed up to San Jacinto for a S240. I
left mid day for the nice drive up to Idylwild.
The town was pretty empty since the two main routes from LA are closed
due to storm damage. When I arrived at Humber
Park and there only a few cars there. I
got my gear together and started up Devil's Slide. There wasn't any snow at the start and I made
good time. A volunteer ranger checked my permit
about 2/3 up and we chatted for a bit.
There started to be snow on the northern slopes but I didn't need to use my
newly acquired microspikes. I got to the
saddle and found snow about 1' - 3' deep.
I put on my snowshoes and looked for a good camping spot. I found a nice level location next to a large felled tree. I brought my GoLite Shangri-La 2
tarp to try it out in the snow. It was
easy to setup using my homemade snow anchors. I melted snow for water, made an early dinner
and settled in. I read and listened to
podcasts for a while until the sun set and I feel asleep.
The night started
pretty warm but cooled quickly. My Tyvek
ground sheet froze and had to use my fleece liner. I woke up at 5 and got an early start. It took some time to dig out my snow anchors
since the snow froze up pretty good. I
packed up and started back to the saddle in the dark. It was a quick hike down to parking lot.
I think my equipment
is pretty good for next winter's snow camps.
I need a larger dry bag for my sleeping bag and liner in order to get more room
inside my pack but everything worked great.
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| Humber Park |
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| Saddle Junction |
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| Tarp in the snow |
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| My kitchen |
