Icehouse Canyon
Los Angeles is a huge
metropolis, but it takes less than an hour to get from the sprawled
suburbia to the quiet of the mountains. I find it necessary to
occasionally breathe thinner air and to push exhausted muscles up just
one more slope.
This past Saturday, my friend, Jim Leigh, and I did some trekking in the San Gabriel mountains, north and east of Los Angeles. We chose to start near Mount Baldy, a familiar spot for both of us. We hiked up Icehouse Canyon, to a saddle, and then eventually made our way to the Timber Mountain peak. The entire trip was a bit over 13 miles, with a climb of almost 3500 feet. The attached photographs were taken on that hike.
 | My 2002 Acura RSX Type S. It gets me where I am going. This was taken at the trail head. |
 | Icehouse Canyon is a mixture of light, shadow, water, and rock. |
 | There were numerous ruins in the lower part of the canyon. It is close to Mount Baldy Village, so perhaps it was once more popular. |
 | The view of Telegraph Peak from the upper part of the canyon. |
 | The Icehouse Saddle was at the top eastern edge of the canyon. There were paths to several nearby peaks. This is a view of the western side of the saddle |
 | The path leads ever onward... |
 | Telegraph Peak on the right, with the snow-capped Baldy on the left. |
 | Jim Leigh, on the trail towards Ontario Peak. The snow was very hard and icy, and we were not equipped with crampons or ice axes. We chose to backtrack to the saddle and choose another path. |
 | Ontario Peak, from below. Maybe some other day. |
 | The day was quite clear, and fine-grained structure could be observed on even far-away canyons. |
 | The northeastern view from the top of Timber Mountain. Far below, I-15 runs to the desert. |
 | More desert-views from the top of Timber Mountain. |
 | Snowy San Grigornio, standing tall 1500 feet higher than Timber Mountain. |
 | On the path down the mountain, this fossilized tree stump was observed. |
 | Running water in Icehouse Canyon. |
 | Streams and falls, fairly close to the trailhead. |
Comments
Nice shots but where's the most important one? That is, the picture of the photographer?
Posted by: eliz | April 1, 2003 05:16 PM
Beautiful pics....wish I were there!
Posted by: Darlene | April 2, 2003 12:25 PM
Hi Jeff..loved the pics, but like the other poster says...where's the pic of the photographer?! Anyway...my friend and I have never hiked Mt Baldy..we usually hike Mt San Jacinto and Gorgonio. The tree stump was cool! Check out my hike pages for some neat local and not so local places to hike. Take care. Rebecca
Posted by: Rebecca | September 4, 2003 07:19 PM
Guess it would help if I'd originally posted my correct website address!...typos happen! R
Posted by: Rebecca | September 4, 2003 07:31 PM
Thanks for the nice comments in my guestbook :-) I've worked very hard over the last couple years to build my website..originally designed to promote my breeding stallion it has grown to encompass 35+ pages. Could you please email me directions, if convenient, to the trailhead below Icehouse Canyon. We are always looking for new and interesting places to hike. Also, we have our yearly Zion hike planned for November..all are welcome. R
Posted by: Rebecca | September 4, 2003 11:11 PM