Goals

This morning I left very hopeful as the last three activations I attempted were failures. Two due to weather and one because of a road issue. I hate to abort summits.

This morning the goal was Parker Mountain first and then over to Emma Mountain. Parker Mountain’s initial road was great. You pass a house on the right that is marked “No Trespassing”. Then it’s onwards and upwards.  I’ll be the first to admit that you probably shouldn’t take a Mercedes C class off roading, but then again I’ve never been one to have the sanity to listen to that side of my brain.

Long story short I turned to the left where you are supposed to go and the wheels started spinning and then I saw the humps in the road. Well that was enough for me, this mountain is a bust. Maybe next time I will bring the RAV4. Abort.

After Parker it was on to Emma Mountain. I thought this would be an easy one to bag. The parking is 1.7 miles after you turn off the main route onto Emma Mt. Road. The climb was pretty steep and the winds weren’t helping at this point.

Parking – The trail head is clearly marked

Windy Abort

I decide to keep going for a while. About this time gusts were about 20 mph. Not fun but doable. Then as I proceeded to head up the mountain the winds got strong. Must have been 40-50 mph. At times almost knocking me and my pack off my feet which would not have been good.

I will say this. For only climbing up a short distance the views were still awesome. Who knows maybe one of these days I will bag these two, probably in the spring. I learned my lesson about trying to activate in high winds.

Next week I am planning on going back the Angeles Crest route to maybe hit up Occidental peak.

73, WC6Q