01/02/15
Los Angeles County, California
First hike of the new year and what better way to start of than with my best friend, Emily! The drive was a lot more hectic than usual. If I followed my GPS and took the west route along the CA-2 East through Glendale, I would have been blocked by a gate that is closed during the winter season. Luckily I had to drive east to pick up Emily so my GPS naturally re-routed me to the east entrance along the CA-2 West. I also didn’t realize that the hike was so close to the Mt. High Resort. We hit some pretty bad traffic along the CA-138 West because of the resort and wasted about a good hour before we finally reached the trailhead.
The Big Horn Mine has a lot of history behind it making it a very adventurous hike. You can read all about it here.
The Vincent Gap Parking Lot was relatively empty with a few families enjoying a day out in the snow. Children were sledding down the small hills while their parents talked around a stove. Laughter filled the air and made it a truly heart-warming scene. The hike begins along a fire road (Big Horn Mine Rd.) with very little elevation gain. There was a good amount of snow along the trail with some sketchy ice patches along some narrow paths. When you hit a fork in the road, keep right to continue on to the mine. The beautiful route keeps you refreshed and energetic. You’ll be at the mine before your body gets a chance to tell you you’re tired.
The mine itself is pretty fun to explore. Bring a nice headlamp if you want to go deep inside.. There is some lingering trash that is tied up to the roof to help guide people out of the cave in case they get lost.. Bleh.
Distance: ~3.6 miles (Out-and-Back)
Elevation Gain: 633 ft.
Final Elevation: ~6,900 ft.
Directions to Vincent Gap Parking Lot: Use the following coordinates in Google Maps to route your directions to Vincent Gap Parking Lot.
34.373008, -117.752235
The hike begins along the gated fire road. It is hard to miss.
Los Angeles County, California
First hike of the new year and what better way to start of than with my best friend, Emily! The drive was a lot more hectic than usual. If I followed my GPS and took the west route along the CA-2 East through Glendale, I would have been blocked by a gate that is closed during the winter season. Luckily I had to drive east to pick up Emily so my GPS naturally re-routed me to the east entrance along the CA-2 West. I also didn’t realize that the hike was so close to the Mt. High Resort. We hit some pretty bad traffic along the CA-138 West because of the resort and wasted about a good hour before we finally reached the trailhead.
The Big Horn Mine has a lot of history behind it making it a very adventurous hike. You can read all about it here.
The Vincent Gap Parking Lot was relatively empty with a few families enjoying a day out in the snow. Children were sledding down the small hills while their parents talked around a stove. Laughter filled the air and made it a truly heart-warming scene. The hike begins along a fire road (Big Horn Mine Rd.) with very little elevation gain. There was a good amount of snow along the trail with some sketchy ice patches along some narrow paths. When you hit a fork in the road, keep right to continue on to the mine. The beautiful route keeps you refreshed and energetic. You’ll be at the mine before your body gets a chance to tell you you’re tired.
The mine itself is pretty fun to explore. Bring a nice headlamp if you want to go deep inside.. There is some lingering trash that is tied up to the roof to help guide people out of the cave in case they get lost.. Bleh.
Distance: ~3.6 miles (Out-and-Back)
Elevation Gain: 633 ft.
Final Elevation: ~6,900 ft.
Directions to Vincent Gap Parking Lot: Use the following coordinates in Google Maps to route your directions to Vincent Gap Parking Lot.
34.373008, -117.752235
The hike begins along the gated fire road. It is hard to miss.
Start of the trail.
Beginning of the trail. Plenty of snow!
Continuing on... Amazing.
Some narrow paths.
Fork in the road. Keep right.
Love it. Emily ruining my shot!
What? Already there!
Not too comforting...
Some timber beams leading to the entrance of the mine.
Entrance of the mine.
Stay quiet and try not to touch anything!
I wonder where this goes.
Made it out safely.
#8!
Final Thoughts:
The hike was relatively easy especially with
the light breakfast that I had. But damn it… I hate that traffic just
had to ruin this trip. The traffic caused by the Mt. High Resort was
exhaustively frustrating. I was stuck for a good 3 hours before I
finally made it back on to the I-15. I guess it is something to
sacrifice if you want snow.. Other than that, I don’t see this being a
problem in the off season. Oh, I think I forgot to mention.. it was
surprisingly warm!
Chris’s Difficulty Scale: 2/10
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