Gravel Riding in the San Gabriels

I've spent the last couple of days down in Altadena hanging out with my Mom and riding some amazing gravel.

Yesterday I rode up to the summit of Mount Lukens starting in the Arroyo Seco.

Then connecting to the Angeles Forest Highway above Gould Mesa Campground and on to the Mount Lukens Fire Road. Still fog shrouded!

Rising above the fog deck was awe inspiring.

Fingers of fog in the upper Arroyo Seco

The flowers along the lower half of the climb to Mount Lukens were amazing. 

 Looking east to the mountains above Altadena

Hard to believe about 15 million people live down there. The view from the summit of Mt Lukens.

The descent was good fun on the gravel bike. The road is maintained and frequently traveled so it's in good shape. Not many rocky sections and lots of smooth rolling dirt.


Today I headed up Sunset Ridge Road to the Mount Lowe Fire Road on up to the Mount Wilson Road. The fog down low kept it cool for the climb and provided great moody scenery.

 Just above the fog layer the views opened up. Looking west to Mount Lukens where I was yesterday.

The paved Sunset Ridge Road is quite steep but once it transitions to dirt and becomes the Mount Lowe Fire Road the grade eases and provides terrific riding.

The old tunnel along the route just before the Mount Wilson Road

The upper reaches of Eaton Canyon

San Gabriel Peak and the road on whence I came.

I descended down the paved Mount Wilson Road to the Angeles Crest & Forest Highways. Incredible terrain, nice flowers, great riding surfaces and no crowds made for a delightful pair of rides.

Tioga Pass Ski Days

The high country got a good solid freeze and high pressure was building in, so I hitched up the trailer, camped up in Lee Vining Canyon, and went skiing.

Day One: Kidney Chute

The first day up we skied up from Tioga Pass under pretty skies.

On Dana Plateau

Mt Dana

Looking Southeast from the top of Kidney Chute. Grant Lake, Mono Craters, White Mountains

Ann & Olive blissing out in the chute. Perfect corn skiing!

Kidney Lake

Snack time at the bottom of the chute.

I headed west and skied down the Dana Fork back to Dana Meadows.

Day 2: West Face of Mt Dana

The next day Jason came up looking to ski something fun and mellow, so we toured up from the pass.

We cruised over to the northwest ridge to look at the chutes and admire the views. Dana Lake and Mono Lake

Matt, Ann and Ben contemplate their next move

Jason and I skied the big mellow bowl

To a fun avalanche path

Looking back at the runs lower on the west side of  Dana

Day 3: Tioga Peak & Pt 11365

Skiing in this zone is popular no doubt. The next day I opted to get off the beaten path and head up to Gardisky Lake to ski the slopes above.

False White Mountain (center) is a magnet for skiers.

From Gardisky Lake I skinned up these low angle, south facing slopes to pt 11365. Later I hit the north face of Tioga Peak on the right.

Fine views of Mt Conness  (left) and North Peak (right)

Mt Dana & Tioga Pass

Gardisky Lake and Pt 11365

Day 4: White Mountain

Next up I decided to ski the north slopes of White Mountain.

After an exciting creek crossing I cruised the pretty meadows near Sawmill Campgroung

Mt Conness

Lots o sun cups

Ptarmigan!

There are some very attractive chutes off the northeast of ridge of White Mountain

 Eventually the gorgeous bowl north of White Mountain appeared. I skied from the skyline left of center.

 
Views from the ridge

Mt Conness

The slog out was nicely punctuated by several interesting features.

Twas always nice to return to camp and relax after skiing.

So much fun!

A Month of Gravel

Been awhile!

The last three weeks of May brought winter type storms to the high country interspersed with short warm ups. Some folks were finding good skiing in north facing couloirs but most found perpetual transitional snow - not so good.

Got the gravel bug and rode a bunch.

Revisited some old favorite spots

Typical May day this year.

Check out the butterflies!

Nice to get up in the Pinyons with Joe and Adrian.

My May gravel binge culminated in racing Lost and Found with Chris up in Portola

Lifted a couple of pics of the race from the internet.

So pretty.

Felt great and got a decent result.

Post race festivities included dancing to the band Afrolicious. Wore myself out! That's me in the black and white ball cap on left.

Good times!

Hoping for one more push of skiing here soon before summer kicks in.