Gray's Peak - Bagged!

My buddy Patrick and I bagged Gray's Peak today on our mountain bikes. Here's a picture of me at the peak with Big Bear Lake behind me. It was about 3.5 miles one way, all single track, kinda up and down (but mostly up, of course), and not too difficult of a climb. The downhill part, oh man, that was fun!

The downhill from Gray's Peak was like a roller coaster... very fast and smooth. We road down about 2 miles, then shot over to the Hanna Flat campground, which was basically more epic single track. The campground itself was really nice... reminded me of Mammoth... I'd like to take the family there before it gets too cold. Here's an interesting picture of one of the bathrooms. Which door would you choose?


We doubled back and ended up with about 14 miles and very sore legs... only because it was my first big ride in almost 3 months. Overall it was a great ride, about 25 degrees cooler than at home, and only about an hour away. I don't know why I don't go up there more often.

San Bernardino Peak - Bagged!

Every year, the guys from the church do a series of hikes, mostly for the purpose of training for a larger hike. This year, there are no large hikes planned, but they started off with a doozy... to the peak of San Bernardino Peak.

The hike was about 16 miles round trip and about 4700 feet of elevation gain. It was a little challenging, especially since there were some large spots of snow towards the top. But that just made it more fun! It took us about 10 hours to complete.

The trail was amazingly maintained. A nice even ascend, very clean and wide. Towards the top there was some minor overgrowth, but no big deal. And the views... oh man, the views were incredible. From the top, you can see Big Bear Lake, San Gorgonio Peak, Santiago Peak and the entire IE. I took some pictures with my camera phone, but they're not as clear.





Five of us started, but only Kevin and I made it. There were some flared up injuries and time constraints that kept the others from bagging the peak.

It was a great day with great views and great company.

Tour de Corona 2006

This year we started at 9:00, went up Bedford, up Main Divide all the way to Santiago Peak, back down the same route, hitting the single tracks, back to my house to enjoy some tasty beverages, grilled meat and UFC 65.

Here's a cool map of the planned route...



The ride started with 16 of us:
Dave (me)
Rich
Brian
Joe
Bob
Skippy
Frank
Patrick
Bart
John
Cody
Jeff
Jeff Jr.
Tony
Adrian
Lamond

... and ended with 8 at the top. Here is my attempt at showing the losses suffered by the Tour de Corona 2006. The thick yellow band represents the size of the group at each position...



Inspired by "probably the best statistical graphic ever drawn" by Charles Joseph Minard, here is Napoleon's March.

Can't wait 'till next year!