• COVID-19 Park and Trail Closures
  • Learn about the Six-Pack of Peaks Challenge
  • Shop
  •  

SoCal Hiker

  • Find a Hiking Trail
    • All Areas
    • Arizona
    • Colorado
    • Los Angeles
    • Orange County
    • Oregon
    • San Francisco Bay
    • Washington
  • Trail Guides
  • Six-Pack of Peaks
    • Colorado Six-Pack of Peaks
      • Bergen Peak
      • Rocky Mountain
      • Birthday Peak
      • Horseshoe Mountain
      • Grays Peak
    • New England Six-Pack of Peaks
    • NorCal Six-Pack of Peaks
      • Mount Umunhum
      • Mount Saint Helena
      • Mount Tamalpais
      • Mount Diablo
      • Mount Sizer
      • Rose Peak
    • Oregon Six-Pack of Peaks
      • Tumalo Mountain
      • Black Butte
      • Black Crater
      • Maiden Peak
      • Mount Bachelor
      • South Sister
    • SoCal Six-Pack of Peaks
      • Mt. Wilson
      • Cucamonga Peak
      • Mt. San Antonio (Mt Baldy)
      • San Bernardino Peak
      • San Jacinto Peak
      • San Gorgonio
  • Backpacking
    • High Sierra Trail
    • John Muir Trail
      • Overview of the John Muir Trail
      • Training
      • Day-by-Day Itinerary
      • Resupply Addresses
      • JMT Discussion Forum
    • Lost Coast Trail
    • North/South Lake Loop
    • Rae Lakes Loop
    • Red Peak Pass Loop
    • Theodore Solomons Trail
    • Trans-Catalina Trail
    • Wonderland Trail
  • Gear
  • Forums
    • Latest Topics
    • Ask a Question
    • Campfire
    • Trails
    • Trail Reports
    • Gear Wisdom
    • Classifieds
  • Login

Celebrating Three Years of SoCal Hiker!

February 3, 2013 By Jeff H 11 Comments

Three

Three years ago, SoCal Hiker was officially launched. I’ve hiked many miles since then, and I wanted to take a moment to look back at some of the highlights, and say thanks to some of the people who have shared the journey.

The idea for SoCal Hiker came as I was planning to backpack the John Muir Trail. I first hiked the JMT back in 1980 and fell in love with the Sierras. As the thirty year anniversary of that epic trip approached, I decided to re-hike the entire trail. I knew a long backpacking trip like this would require extensive planning, training and preparation. I’d have to plan training hikes, get into condition for the long miles at elevation, obtain permits, plan meals and much more. The planning itself would require a lot of documentation, so why not share that know-how with others? And so I did.

I was inspired by some of the other great hiking blogs, including Casey Schreiner’s Modern Hiker with great depth and variety; Kolby Kirk’s The Hike Guy, sharing a genuine passion for hiking; and Derek Loranger’s 100 Peaks, which was similarly motivated by a larger goal. When I started SoCal Hiker, I wanted to capture something that I would find useful myself, with trail maps, photos, a narrative for the trail, and other useful bits sometimes missing (like where to get a great fish taco after the hike).

Weekday Training Hikes

In the beginning, I was living in San Clemente and looking for others to hike with. I joined Meetup and organized my first Wednesday night hike on a popular south OC trail affectionately named the Roller Coaster Ridge. It’s not the official trail name — you won’t find in on a map — but an accurate description of the ups-and-downs of the 4.6 mile loop. As fate would have it, the first hike I led was attended by exactly one other person. Fortunately, Joan and I got along quite well. Her sense of adventure was piqued by my description of the John Muir Trail, and soon we were much more than hiking partners. But more on that later.

Walking Towards the Light

As daylight savings time came around, I added a Monday night hike on the Colinas Bluff Trail in neighboring Laguna Niguel. Very similar terrain, but six miles long. The two weeknight hikes provided a solid base for the training to be supplemented with longer hikes on the weekends. Both hikes proved very popular, and we had a growing group of regular hikers, including Kathy Sue, Vanessa, Doug, Alan and Ina, Ammie and Eric, Paul and Yoko and many more than I can remember.

I started tackling longer trails on the weekends, but even with the added mileage, I knew I’d need to add altitude. That meant heading for some serious mountains. Thus was born “The Six Pack.”

The Six-Pack of Peaks

The Six Pack of Peaks is a series of hikes up some well-known Southern California mountains: Mt. Wilson, Cucamonga Peak, Mt. San Antonio (“Baldy”), San Bernardino Peak, Mt. San Jacinto and culminating with San Gorgonio Peak — the highest peak in Southern California.  Each hike added elevation and brought new challenges. And while the hikers who joined me on these trails varied, there are a few who qualify as regulars: Jim, John, Tyler, Emily and many others from the HikingOC Meetup.

The John Muir Trail

While Joan and I were prepared for the JMT, I was hoping to round out the group with a couple more people for the trip. And thanks to SoCal Hiker, we met the other two guys would would round out our party: Jeffrey Aller and Harikrishnan Jayamohan.

Happy Campers

Together, we spend countless hours preparing food, planning, and finally, putting one foot in front of the other over three weeks and 211 miles. The JMT was by all measures an epic trip. My only regret was that we couldn’t spend more time out there — but this is easily remedied with return trips in the future.

Last year I connected with Ric Serena from The Muir Project. Their group of multimedia artists hiked the JMT one year after our trip, and have documented the journey in a film that you have got to see when it’s released! They’ve done an amazing job of capturing the essence of hiking the JMT, right down to the title: Mile…Mile and a Half.

While hiking the JMT was my original goal, I haven’t stopped there. My hiking partner Joan (from my first Meetup) became my fiance, and last year, my wife!

I’ve had a chance to meetup and hike (and eat!) with other hiking bloggers from SoCal — first with Peter and Derek on Whale Peak in Anza Borrego, and then with a much larger group, including Jeff and Colleen Greene (GreeneAdventures), Peter (East-West Hike), Traci (Walk Simply), David (Red Tail Trails), Josh & Amie (California Through My Lens), and Zac (Ransomed Man).

Now we’re planning our next big backpacking adventure, and taking time to explore more of the trails in Los Angeles. We’re fortunate to be so close to so many great trails, from the coastal mountains to the San Gabriels. Even the Sierras are less than a day’s drive away.

Thanks to everyone who has supported SoCal Hiker by reading, commenting and sharing with your friends. To give something back, I introduce our newest feature – the hiking forums. Ask a question. Share a trail report. Check out the forums.

Special thanks to Kolby Kirk for use of his “Three” image from one of his latest projects: 100 Hikes. 

Filed Under: Hiking News Tagged With: anniversary, gratitude, SoCal Hiker

Like what you found here at SoCal Hiker? This site is a labor of love. Share your support for the site and help us development of new trail guides and expanded coverage -- make your next outdoor equipment purchase through our advertisers.

You can also subscribe to our weekly newsletter and follow us on Facebook or Twitter.

Jeff H

About Jeff H

I'm an avid hiker and backpacker. My wife Joan and I are on the trails every weekend. I started SoCal Hiker to share my passion for outdoor adventure.

Comments

  1. Josh says

    February 3, 2013 at 9:25 pm

    Great recap and thanks for the shout out! Zac and I followed the six pack that you created last year in prep for our Mt Whitney hike and it really helped us a lot. Can’t wait to see what you do in the next three years on the blog!

    Reply
  2. ADKinLA says

    February 3, 2013 at 9:27 pm

    Congrats Jeff on 3 years! It has been great hiking with you and looking forward to some more trail miles to come. Can’t wait to see where you go next!

    Reply
  3. Traci Lehman says

    February 4, 2013 at 8:20 am

    Jeff, congrats on surviving 3 years! I have used many of your guides, especially the south county ones like Cololinaas Bluffs. Now that’s a roller coaster hike. I agree with you in regard to the trip reports with the extra details such as where to eat and get a beer after. I love that. Keep up the super work and say hello to Joan. Thanks for the mention as well.

    Reply
  4. Colleen @ Greene Adventures says

    February 4, 2013 at 8:43 am

    Congratulations on your 3 year blogiversary! We appreciate fellow hikers, like you, who take the time to write in-depth trail reports, and we look forward to hiking with you again soon.

    Reply
  5. Modern Hiker says

    February 4, 2013 at 5:30 pm

    Congratulations, Jeff! It’s great having you in this weird little hiking blogosphere we’ve got going 🙂

    Reply
  6. Derek (100 Peaks) says

    February 4, 2013 at 9:28 pm

    Congrat’s, Jeff. I’ll be approaching year 4 in June, but I still haven’t hiked the JMT yet! It’s on my list, I swear! I refer people to the 6 Pack of Peaks all the time! Too bad I missed you on the last meetup. Hope to hike with you soon. Let me know when you’re actually at home for a while and might be up in my area.

    Reply
    • Jeff Hester says

      February 6, 2013 at 1:45 pm

      Thanks, Josh! I’m glad the Six Pack is getting some mileage. I can’t wait to see what the next three years brings, either!

      Thanks, Pete! I think I’ve hiked with you more than any other hiking blogger (which is to say, we’ve hiked together twice). We need to do more of that in 2013!

      Traci, Joan says “hi!” and we’re looking forward to the next Tweetup. Maybe Crystal Cove? Seems like more people are located in OC, now that I’m in LA.

      Colleen, is blogiversary a real word? 😉 Thanks, and we’re all just bootstrapping. I know, the lame puns just won’t stop.

      Thanks for stopping by, Casey! I think ModernHiker was one of the sites that inspired me, and at the time I was way down in south OC and there were no well documented trail guides for the area. Feels like hiking is coming of age?

      Derek, I was talking to Joan about the Six Pack last night and feeling the itch to do them again. Would love to do some hiking up your way sometime, too. Let me know if you have any questions about the JMT. I have a ton of posts that I still need to write about that epic journey.

      Reply
      • ADKinLA says

        February 6, 2013 at 2:25 pm

        6 pack eh? Well I might be down for such an endeavor. There hopefully will be a charity hike of Baldy coming up in June-ish with different starting points/mileage. I am trying to see if they will do it this year, $50 a head, could be a good group hike for us Tweetup folks!

        Reply
        • Jeff Hester says

          February 6, 2013 at 2:56 pm

          Mark me down for that Baldy charity hike. I’m traveling through the end of February, but we need to get together when I get back. Since we’re neighbors, there’s no excuse!

          Reply
  7. dlockeretz says

    February 5, 2013 at 10:15 pm

    Congrats on your success, and keep up the great work!

    Reply
  8. Greta says

    February 13, 2013 at 9:50 pm

    Jeff, I just found your blog this evening and I love it!
    I am pouring over your hikes and growing more excited as I read each one.
    I hike weekly with my 4 young kids, ages 8-1.5 years.
    So far the longest hike they’ve done was 4 miles–we did Chantry Flats in the hills above Pasadena/Monrovia.
    The baby rides on my back still, but my others all hike.
    We all love it.
    I’m excited about all these new hikes I’ve discovered to try with them, and the ones we’ll grow into as they get older.
    It is my life long dream to hike the John Muir Trail–with my kids–and your blog is making me anxious for the day we can all do it!
    I am so inspired by this blog!
    Thank you for sharing your passion.
    Grateful,
    Greta

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

About SoCal Hiker

Jeff on Mount Rainier

I created SoCal Hiker while preparing to thru-hike the John Muir Trail. My goal? Create guides for the best hiking and backpacking trails with enough detail to make it an enjoyable experience for you. And while I started with trails in Southern California, I’ve expanded across the west. We hike each trail to create these guides, sharing practical advice on gear and outdoor skills. Read more…

Connect with SoCal Hiker

  • 22,754 Fans
  • 11,943 Followers
  • 21,640 Followers
  • 1,716 Followers
  • 5,279 Subscribers
  • 339 Subscribers
SoCalHiker was selected one of USA TODAY's 10 Best Hiking and Outdoor Blogs
Get our day-by-day guide to thru-hiking the John Muir Trail
Get up-to-day wildfire status throughout California

Products

  • Half Dome replica benchmark Half Dome Benchmark $39.95
  • Six-Pack of Peaks Patch for 2016 2016 Six-Pack of Peaks Patch $6.00
  • San Bernardino Peak Mug San Bernardino Peak Mug $15.95
  • Mt San Jacinto Benchmark $39.95

Sponsors

Sponsor SoCalHiker and see your banner here

Featured Posts

Hiking Belknap Crater in the Mountain Washington Wilderness

Hiking this out-and-back route up Belknap Crater you'll traverse an other-worldly … [Read More...]

Hiking to the Simpson Reef Overlook on the Oregon Coast Trail

The Oregon Coast is rugged, beautiful and often uncrowded. This bluff-top … [Read More...]

Join Team SoCalHiker at the Climb for Heroes

Team SoCalHiker is climbing Mount Baldy again as part of the annual Climb for Heroes … [Read More...]

Lastest Comments

  • Greg on Rae Lakes Loop via Kearsarge Pass
  • Tim Wilson on Rae Lakes Loop via Kearsarge Pass
  • Pam Selthun on Backpacking the Wonderland Trail
  • Calico Maps on Hiking Monserate Mountain
  • Deborah Aguanno on Mt. Wilson via Chantry Flats
Get your SoCalHiker stickers now

Get your SoCalHiker stickers!

Latest Posts

  • Hiking Belknap Crater in the Mountain Washington Wilderness October 20, 2022
  • Hiking to the Simpson Reef Overlook on the Oregon Coast Trail August 25, 2022
  • Join Team SoCalHiker at the Climb for Heroes August 23, 2022
  • Hiking the Welch-Dickey Loop in the White Mountain National Forest August 18, 2022
  • Hiking Turtlehead Peak from Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area July 15, 2022

Recent Forum Topics

  • How to deal with accidents while hiking in the winter?
  • Warm Tips for your hiking in winter
  • Some tips for hiking.
  • Keep your body warm in the winter hiking
  • The benefits of hiking, more than you can imagine!

The Six-Pack of Peaks Challenge Series

Six-Pack of Peaks Challenge SeriesThe Six-Pack of Peaks Challenge Series gives you an opportunity to explore your world while supporting a great cause. There are eleven challenges around the country. Hike or run them at your own schedule.

Flex your adventure muscles!

Learn more here.

 

Search

Tags

3-6 miles 6-8 miles 8-10 miles 11+ miles Arizona Backpacking coastal dog-friendly easy family-friendly High Sierra Trail hiking Hiking The John Muir Trail hipster inspiration JMT John Muir John Muir Trail Kings Canyon National Park LA County moderate Mount Rainier National Park Muir Monday National Park Orange County Oregon out of bounds Pacific Crest Trail peak peakbagging quote scenic Sequoia National Park Sierra Nevada Six-Pack of Peaks State Park strenuous Thru-hiking Utah vista Washington waterfall wilderness Wonderland Trail Yosemite

Copyright © 2023 SoCalHiker.net · Metro Theme on Genesis Framework with WPEngine Hosting · Contact SoCal Hiker · Sitemap · Privacy Policy

 

Loading Comments...