Hi-

I am considering visiting Southern California during the week of December 7-11. I would be in Santa Barbara for December 5 & 6.

I am an experienced 4 season hiker in the northeastern US mountains (Adirondacks, NH White Mountains, Vt Green Mountains). I would however prefer to leave my snowshoes behind. Crampons and ice ax travel allot easier, so I can bring those if there is a compelling reason to. But no snow or little snow is preferred. I am not interested in any vertical, technical climbing, just hiking. Approximate preferred difficulty 6-12 miles RT distance and 2K'-5K' vertical gain.

What would you recommend for someone looking for some hikes within a close proximity to the Santa Barbara/LA area ? I am looking at Channel Islands and San Gabriel mountains. What are some of the better hiking books and/or web pages for more info ?

Am I correct to assume anything in the Sierra would be full on winter by then requiring snow shoes (like King's Canyon NP) ?

Thanks for any info in advance.
John

San Gabriel mountains, San Gorgonio wilderness and San Jacinto are the main 3 local mountain ranges. In December there usually isn't too much snow yet (although it varies by year), so you can get by with crampons and ice axe most of the time.

Lots of peaks are on here. Another good source is the Hundred Peak Section from the Sierra Club. It pretty much covers every peak in Socal: http://angeles.sierraclub.org/hps/hpslist.htm

The Station Fire closed off the western half of the San Gabriel Mountains, so a good chunk of opportunity got lopped off. Lots of good stuff left, though. Check here for a starting point on what might still be of interest. Farther East the San Jacinto and San Bernardino Mountains have plenty of options. Leave the snow gear at home. Even if it snows, there will be plenty to do that doesn't involve all that regalia. The desert peaks further east may also be of interest, and are almost guaranteed to be snow-free, as well as spectacular.

Someone else recently posted something similar to your situation. If you are in Santa Barbara, you're only about a 20-30 minute drive south to Ventura, which is the jumping off spot for the ferries to the Channel Islands.

The hike I did, on Santa Cruz Island, was this:

Day 1: Dropped off at Prisoner's Harbor
HIke in to Del Norte (spend the night)

Day 2: Hike to Scorpion Ranch (take ferry back to Ventura)

Here's a link with more info:

http://www.nps.gov/chis/planyourvisit/b ... amping.htm

Awesome hike, and if your in Santa Barbara, it will be way closer than driving down to either the San Gabriels or San Bernardinos. If you decide to steer clear of the Channel Island, though, Mt. Baldy (after people kick a trail through the newly fallen snow) would fit your parameters.

Gusto

Hey MCGusto,

What was the camping like on Santa Cruz. I've only camped on Catalina at Blackjack and one of the beaches on the west end. I hated the Blackjack CG. I didn't even spend the night there. The sites are too close to gether and too well maintained. I snuck off and found a flat spot to camp out of sight. I woke that night to find the grass crawling with earwigs! Thousands of them. Creepy. I'd like to try one of the boat in only spots and rent a kayak.

Good hiking around SB. Though most of it burned in the last 2 years.
Channel Islands are great.
Good beach hiking at Carpinteria State Park > head south
Up north 1 hr to Pismo Beach & Grover Beach Dunes. Check that out on Google Satellite. That point to the south has some real interesting stuff.
If you have some time to drive Sequoia NP or Joshua Tree NP are half day drive away.

The Channel Islands are well worth a quick trip, even if it's just the half day trip to Anacapa. If you can swing it, a two day trip to Santa Rosa or San Miguel (both of which area 3.5-5 hr. boat ride each way) would be awesome. A nice glimpse of what the California coast looked liked a couple hundred years ago.

For one day hikes around the LA metro area, I'd say my first pick would be Mt. Baldy, the Ski Hut trail. Even if it snows, you likely wouldn't need anything more than a ski pole, ice ax and maybe crampons, maybe. The N. side of Mt. Baden-Powell is also good, though it can get icy weather permitting. Vivian Creek on San Gorgonio is a longer day (5300' gain) but a great hike as well. A good 1.5 hrs. from LA center (without traffic) though.

I think the hiking at Pt. Mugu S.P. is great, as is the hike to Eagle Rock in Topanga S.P.

You'll be very close to the Los Padres National Forest. I haven't hiked much in the southern section down by Santa Barbara, but have done a fair bit of hiking in the northen part (Ventana Wilderness). It's a very rugged area with peaks rising to 5000' from a sea level base, and hosts a variety of microclimates ranging from chapparal to redwood forest. December is a nice time of year since it's relatively cool and fog, bug, and poison oak free. While Ventana is a 4-5 hour drive from Santa Barbara, it's along one of the most beautiful coast highways in the world (CA Hwy 1)

Thanks for the relies everyone, sounds like it will be real easy to fill up a week and then some. I have some reading to do. Anything with Redwoods is a huge draw for me.

Sean Kenney wrote:Hey MCGusto,

What was the camping like on Santa Cruz. I've only camped on Catalina at Blackjack and one of the beaches on the west end. I hated the Blackjack CG. I didn't even spend the night there. The sites are too close to gether and too well maintained. I snuck off and found a flat spot to camp out of sight. I woke that night to find the grass crawling with earwigs! Thousands of them. Creepy. I'd like to try one of the boat in only spots and rent a kayak.

Here are some pics from the hike:

On the way to Del Norte



View from Del Norte Camp


Del Norte Camp (Only 5 or 6 sites, I believe) - No water


Hiking into the clouds. (This part of the hike you are traveling along a ridge and can see the ocean from both sides).


Montanon Ridge is in the background. You go over that ridge, and actually skirt along the top of it for a portion of the hike.


Looking back at where we had came from while ascending Montanon Ridge.


Hiking above Scorpion Harbor


Coming in at Scorpion Harbor


(All these pictures were taken in April).

Here is a good website for hikes in the Santa Barbara area: www.santabarbarahikes.com
Lots of good day hikes within 20 mins. of SB even though some are still closed from the recent fires. If you have time for a trip to the Channel Islands, do it! Trips to the islands leave from Ventura, not Santa Barbara.[/url]