Charlie
Member
Initially supposed to be an overnight, but that 4 letter word "work" caused me to decide on a day trip or not go at all. I couldn't have hand picked a better day weather wise, if you were in the 'dacks on Monday, you know what I mean.
I went with my shadow, he never complains about the pace. I chose to go in and out as direct as possible so it was the Garden to the Southside Trail and then the Range Trail up the Orebed Brook. I love the walk for the first few miles along Johns Brook, the small waterfalls and deep pools are beautiful.
I encountered some very fresh bear sign not too far from the WJ junction, right in the middle of the trail. Those bears don't have any backcountry etiquette, do they
The Orebed trail is not bad except for typical wet spots etc.. After the trail gets pretty steep however, much of the exposed rock had water from the recent run off on top of moss that had grown so it was like ice in spots. The trail is eroding pretty badly in spots and getting wider as people try to avoid the wet exposed rock and hang on the edges. I did my best to stay in the middle but some spots were just too hairy.
Talk about hairy, that descent from Saddleback is interesting. I can see why it is not recommended to go that way with a full pack. The hike over to Basin isn't too bad, except for that bump in the middle. The final ascent to the summit actually had some ice formed on the trail and it was right where you did not want to lose your footing. So, my shadow and I were very careful there. The payoff however was huge. The view from Basin is AWESOME, it's the first time I've been and I didn't want to leave. There was only a slight breeze and barely a cloud in the sky. So after I stayed as long as possible, calculating my time back to the Garden parking lot, it was time to head back. The climb up the west side of Saddleback was interesting but not as difficult as going down. Today I am sore but it's a good sore. I should have some pics and details up on my site within a week or so.
I went with my shadow, he never complains about the pace. I chose to go in and out as direct as possible so it was the Garden to the Southside Trail and then the Range Trail up the Orebed Brook. I love the walk for the first few miles along Johns Brook, the small waterfalls and deep pools are beautiful.
I encountered some very fresh bear sign not too far from the WJ junction, right in the middle of the trail. Those bears don't have any backcountry etiquette, do they
The Orebed trail is not bad except for typical wet spots etc.. After the trail gets pretty steep however, much of the exposed rock had water from the recent run off on top of moss that had grown so it was like ice in spots. The trail is eroding pretty badly in spots and getting wider as people try to avoid the wet exposed rock and hang on the edges. I did my best to stay in the middle but some spots were just too hairy.
Talk about hairy, that descent from Saddleback is interesting. I can see why it is not recommended to go that way with a full pack. The hike over to Basin isn't too bad, except for that bump in the middle. The final ascent to the summit actually had some ice formed on the trail and it was right where you did not want to lose your footing. So, my shadow and I were very careful there. The payoff however was huge. The view from Basin is AWESOME, it's the first time I've been and I didn't want to leave. There was only a slight breeze and barely a cloud in the sky. So after I stayed as long as possible, calculating my time back to the Garden parking lot, it was time to head back. The climb up the west side of Saddleback was interesting but not as difficult as going down. Today I am sore but it's a good sore. I should have some pics and details up on my site within a week or so.
