My longest thru-hike (so far) is the 211-mile John Muir Trail, which I’ve hiked twice. The Pacific Crest Trail beckons me, but at 2,650 miles from Mexico to Canada, it would take a five-month commitment to thru-hike, and that’s if I were lucky enough to avoid calamity along the way. Fortunately for those of us…
Recently I received an advance copy of Shawnté Salabert’s new book Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail: Southern California: Section Hiking From Campo to Tuolumne Meadows. Shawnté has been active in the SoCal hiking community, and we were lucky to chat with her about her experience writing the book. SCH: How long have you been hiking?…
This year we had over 1,200 hikers join our 3rd Annual Six-Pack of Peaks Challenge! As I write this, there are 364 finishers – registered challengers who have logged hikes up all six peaks at least once in 2017. Together, we’ve logged 2,957 peaks, hiking 39,305 miles – enough to hike entirely around the world 1.3 times;…
At this year’s Six-Pack of Peaks Challenge Finisher’s Party, we tried something new: a photo booth. Judging by the response, it was a hit. Here’s a gallery of ALL the photos from the photo booth. You can download yours or use the share buttons to share them on your favorite social networks. You can click…
Black Butte is an extinct stratovolcano that sits east of the Cascades, rising 3,076′ above the surrounding plain. This symmetrical cone-shaped butte is home to an active fire lookout tower, as well as a historic cupola that you can easily imagine must have been the coolest summer digs ever, with spectacular views of Mt Washington,…
The Forest Service requires you to display an Adventure Pass in your parked car at many of the trailheads used for our hikes on SoCalHiker. The rule of thumb is that if there are any improvements at the trailhead (pit toilets, picnic tables, etc.) an Adventure Pass is required. The following interactive map will let…
If you’ve been hiking or camping in Southern California, you know about the Adventure Pass. Many trailheads and campgrounds on National Forest lands require the pass, available in both daily ($5) and annual ($30) versions. Does the trailhead you are headed to require an Adventure Pass? We have an interactive map that shows them all,…
I have a lot of hiking and backpacking guides on my bookshelf, but Deborah Wall’s Base Camp Las Vegas: 101 Hikes in the Southwest is a guidebook that threw me a curveball. I received a copy from the publisher while I was traveling and didn’t get a chance to take a good look at it…
On May 21st, #TeamSoCalHiker joined The Heroes Project for the annual Climb for Heroes hike up Mt Baldy. Our 117 team members raised $20,761 — more than any other team. And we hiked, laughed, and had a great time. Many of us even summited 10,064′ Mt San Antonio — aka Mt Baldy, some for their…
It is with an exceptionally heavy heart that the friends and family of Dean Diomedes announce he has climbed his last mountain. He passed away last weekend while hiking with a couple of friends at San Bernardino Peak. Dean was an adventurer, an OCR racer, a jiu-jitsu student, a Boston sports fan, a devout Catholic, a…
I’ve run into Sam a half dozen times on my trips up Baldy. Every time, he’d pester me with questions. Always in his Korean-accented English: “When you start?” “How many time you climb Baldy?” Every time, he’d smile and proudly exclaim, “I climb Baldy 100 time last year.” And every time, I’d look at his…
On Sunday, May 21, 2017, Team SoCalHiker is joining the Climb for Heroes for the third consecutive year, and you can join us! This annual hike takes place on Mt Baldy and raises funds for The Heroes Project. This non-profit works with veterans who have lost one or more legs in service to our country, redefining what they can…
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