Fireroad 451*

OK, maybe not quite that hot. But a bona fide scorcher nonetheless, so much so that my Reddingite heritage of 110+ days all the time all summer long came in quite handy. You can clearly see the numbers in the photo of my Vector, right? Plus it made sure that I would have the whole 9.5 miles of fireroad and trail pretty much all to myself, coming and going.

It is now July, and officially time to start ramping up for the summer trip. I had wanted to do what I did last 4th and take the Idlehour trail from Henninger Flat over to the top of Mt. Lowe. But there were so many bugs in the shady parts of the Toll Road leading up from Henninger I thought better of dropping down into that deep creek canyon. Plus I indulged my abiding and totally psychological aversion to descending into faraway and lightly travelled canyons. Seriously, last summer when I was stuck in the Kern Canyon I was really kinda weirded out, even before the 2AM bear visit. I stuck to the high road, since straight-up hilly miles and hours on my feet were the goal anyway.

It has been a bit over 3 years since I'd hiked that way, so it was kind of cool to revisit, even if it was just a staid old fireroad in bakin' hot conditions. Other than a couple of runners (I'm guessing) training for Angeles Crest 100, it was just me until I got to the jct with the trail that comes up from Sierra Madre. Met 3 guys on bikes who wanted some beta on the lower part of the way I'd come up, since technically Henninger Flat and the Toll Road are supposed to be closed. But there aren't any signs any more, and the washed out sections have been transformed into singletrack with good tread. No rangers came out and yelled at me. I had thought about maybe grabbing some friends and some picnic food and heading up later in the afternoon to have dinner and then watch some fireworks from that lovely little bench overlooking the SG Valley that the campground sits on. Maybe next year, if I'm in town. I would much rather be in Mineral King though.

It was a mellow and uneventful descent. I saw no one. Not one person. No animals either, come to think of it. But oh, the trash!

I had half a packful that I chucked at the observatory and then picked up a few bottles, a drink box, a fabric softener sheet (?) and an empty yogurt gallon tub the last quarter mile before the parking lot, which leads to my oft-repeated and at this point partially rhetorical Question of the Day: What the fuck is wrong with people? Do you suppose they don't use trash cans at home either?

*our old UCLA mountainbiking column, but it's apropos so it stands