Solo in the Snow: San Bernardino & East San Bernardino Peaks

With a moments' notice, I learned what I could and headed out to tackle San Bernardino Peak. The journey there involved some snow travel through early spring conditions. What a scenic trail this was!
**GEAR**
Packed Items (Baseweight): 17.4lbs
Worn Items: 3.2lbs
Carried Items: 1.2lbs
Consumables: 8.9lbs
Total Pack Weight: 26.3lbs
Pack
Sierra Designs Flex Capacitor pack
Trash compactor bag
Daiso day pack / food bag
Plastic bag
Clothing & Footwear
Tops
Sierra Designs Long Sleeve Pack Polo
Sierra Designs Ultralight Trench
Mountain Hardwear Ghost Whisperer puffy jacket
Sierra Designs Elite DriDown Hoody
Bottoms
Wrangler Performance Stretch hiking pants
ExOfficio Give-N-Go boxers
SmartWool Merino NTS 250 baselayer bottoms
Footwear
Altra Lone Peak 3.0 trail runners
Outdoor Research Sparkplug gaiters
Defeet Wool-e-ator socks
Reebok no-show socks
Black Diamond Contact Strap Crampons
DIY Crampon bag (2x plastic pouches, 1x transparent bag)
Glasses, Hats, & Gloves
Contact lenses
Rewetting drops
Scattante bliss sunglasses
Ultimate Direction Desert Hat
Louis Garneau short cycling gloves
Louis Garneau long cycling gloves
Black acrylic hat
Trekking Poles
Pamase carbon telescoping poles
Shelter & Weather Protection
Naturehike Taga 2
Naturehike Taga tent
Naturehike Taga poles
Naturehike Taga guylines
Naturehike Taga 6" Y-stakes
Naturehike Taga tent stuff sack
Naturehike Taga stake stuff sack
Naturehike Taga pole stuff sack
Sleep System
Enlightened Equipment Revelation 10F quilt
Enlightened Equipment Hoodlum 0-20F
Enlightened Equipment quilt straps
Enlightened Equipment stuff sack
Therm-a-rest Neoair XTherm pad & pump sack
MEC Air Pillow & stuff sack
Ear plugs
Cooking Gear
Storage
Plastic bag
Pots
GSI Halulite 1.1L hard-anodized aluminum pot
Stoves
BRS 3000T titanium stove
Fuel Containers
Isobutane canister, 8 fl oz MSR
Other
Daiso lighter
Snow Peak titanium spork
Scrubbing sponge
Biodegradable soap in small container
Folding windscreen, for alcohol stove
Hydration
Smart Water 1L bottle
Propel 750mL sport bottle
Gatorade 750mL sport bottle
Aquatabs water purification tablets, 20L
Essentials
Navigation & Safety
Garmin Fenix 3 GPS watch
ACR ResQLink+ PLB
CAMP Corsa Nanotech ice axe
Paracord, 8'
Blue carabiner
Victorinox swiss army knife
FOX 40 whistle
UST 7 stormproof matches & striker
Sun & Bug Protection
Neutrogena SPF 100 sunscreen
Lip balm
Electronics & Photography
iPhone 7 Plus
Energizer Vision HD+ Focus (incl. 3 AAA)
Spare AAAs, alkaline
Phone tripod
Proster anemometer
GoPro Hero 4 Silver
GoPro mini tripod
GoPro spare batteries
First Aid & Repair
Moleskin
Bandaids
Tegaderm
Ibuprofen, 200mg
Acetaminophen, 325mg
Diphenhydramine 25mg
Imodium (Loperamide HCl)
Antibiotics, 0.9g bacitracin zinc
Alcohol swabs
Kinesio tape
Afterbite
Petroleum jelly
Vaseline lotion
Salt
Midnight melatonin
Sewing needle + thread
Nitrile gloves
Duct tape
Tenacious tape
Tear Aid, Type A
CELOX 2g clotting powder
Hygiene
Long handle toothbrush
Mini toothpaste
Floss picks
Toilet paper squares
Purell
Multipurpose Utility
Paracord, 40'
Friendly Swede white ditty sack
Velcro strips
Ziploc bag with ID, credit card, cash, keys

[@DehTastic]

If you haven’t done so, can you please do a review of your Garmin Watch?

[@ng8899]

Omg I’ve been watching your videos for some months now and I just barely realized you’re from San Diego!!! So am I! Lol love you’re videos, I’ve learned so much from them. Thanks! :)

[@AdventureArchives]

Very nice! -Thomas

[@HikingNerd]

AdventureArchives Thanks Thomas! I love the work that you guys do at AA, the production quality is unparalleled.

[@edwardkenny2356]

Excellent video. Thank you. My first time staying at Limber Pine was 1999. 🙂

[@oligraves706]

Super inspired to take off work and try to bag this. Love the channel

[@developingdaddy]

Wow the view at 13:20! And 24:47! I'm partial to Chick-fil-a sauce though.

[@KV_Aventuras]

Wow! Nice film Jimmy. After watching how beautiful these peaks are, I'm almost tempted to say the Eastern Sierras are overrated. Partly because I live in San Diego (and San Bernardino is a lot closer) and partly because these two peaks were so beautiful and empty. You had them entirely to yourself. Luckily those of us in California can hike most everything. So, I don't have to favor anything. Looks like I'll be heading back to the Mill Creek Ranger station soon. What a wonderful place we live. :-)

[@trailkrum]

I've been to many neat places all across the US, and there are even more places that I can't wait to visit and hike in. The LA area has never made the cut for one reason or another. That being said, I had never heard of the San Bernardino and San Gabriel mountains until very recently. Seeing videos like yours is having me seriously reconsider visiting the area. Thanks for sharing!

love the vids

Very good!

[@mentallyilldarkjeroid5378]

I would've hiked to the beaches of Lake Gregory and filmed teenage girls with my high-zoom camera. Why not be like African Americans that live in Detroit and smash the sign that says San Bernardino Peak along with elevation and then laugh, "Nigga smashed the sign." Just like in a Night Hawk Monitoring security video some blacks went into a car dealership, hopped around on cars denting the hoods, shot a few paintballs with paintball guns they stole out of Walmart a few minutes earlier, than threw them under one of the cars so the cops wouldn't catch them with them. Anyway, people should buy up my "Impact" and "Dance of Death" James Grider novels on Amazon so I can accrue money and afford to buy a car. James Grider is a kind of character who would want to kill the park rangers so the mountains are open to everyone without a permit. Also, the problem of taking number 2 when hiking is one needs to wash the shit off his ass afterward so that means boiling snow and using your hand, a little tougher than just using your hand and a faucet at home.

[@The_Almighty.]

Man I would love to hang out with you man and go hiking with you just because you're an avid hiker you seem very chill to and I'll be very comfortable with you

[@blitztim6416]

I view that peak every day. I have always planned to hike it. Someday. Now we have had a fire on the slopes and the trails will probably closed for years.Thanks for showing me what I've been missing. Try the South Fork Trail.

[@tacocruiser4238]

I did this hike a few months ago. It was harder than I expected (mainly due to the distance).

[@shupingyin8082]

hi Jimmy, great video. you camped exact same camp spot I camped at three weeks ago. I have the following questions: 1) is the among of snow similar to San Gorgonio you did one week ago? I'm backpacking San Gorgonio next week. what to see if I need crampons or microspikes are okay. is Ice axes absolutely necessary? I remember you video last week. you said the ranger said micro spikes and trekking poles are okay. 2) do you hike solo? you must have good mountaineering experience. 3) do you bring tripod to your hikes?

[@HikingNerd]

Hi Shuping, I think I saw you in your friend's video which gave me the inspiration to get out there the next day. To answer your questions: 1) From East SB peak, San Gorgonio looked about the same as it was a week ago. Unless a major weather system rolled through recently (I don't think so), I wouldn't expect there to be much change. Regarding an ice axe, it's only useful if you have one and can use it properly. Just having it (without the accompanying skills) can give a false peace of mind and might be worse if it makes you take bigger risks that you wouldn't otherwise take. The only part where I felt better having the ice axe was where I was cutting sideways along the slope towards the peak (9:55 in the video), though the steps are well cut and the slope shields you from any northerly winds. If I managed to somehow fall down, I think I would be able to stop myself in softer snow using poles or whatever else I can do. There's a decent amount of runway it seems until the trees/rocks and the slope angle isn't too steep. I have a pretty low risk tolerance and did not know what the conditions would look like until I got there so that's why I had the axe. 2) I don't predominantly hike solo but for mid-week adventures (preferable because I don't always make a permit reservation in advance and it's a little less crowded), it's hard to find a good group so I'm okay exploring on my own. This is my first season of "mountaineering" so I err on the side of caution whenever I'm in doubt. Having a Personal Locator Beacon helps me justify a solo trip to others but I'm pretty good about risk management. 3) I have one of those small, flexible Gorillapod-type tripods. I find a full-size tripod unnecessary because I can usually find a decent natural spot for the camera (or I'll give up that shot).

[@shupingyin8082]

thanks for your reply. the scenes that show you walk away in the video, you actually taking them by putting the camera on the ground and go back to retrieve it? that's a lot extra distance. you made the hike seems really easy.

[@HikingNerd]

Yup I'm usually too busy enjoying my hike to remember to setup the tripod for more trail shots, but occasionally if I come across a nice scene that I want to share with you guys, I'll pull out the tripod from the side pocket and set it up so I can walk away from it (and go back to retrieve it). I just do one take and hope that it turns out okay. Since the shots are about 10-15 seconds long before I'm out of the frame, it only takes me 30 seconds total to capture a shot. The extra distance hiked is marginal if you actually consider time spent on the trail (even a few minutes of retrieving amounts to a fraction of your total distance during a 6 hour hike). For me, hiking supplements the other physical workouts that I do, like cycling or badminton (where I can actually safely push my physical limits over and over again). I've never truly pushed my limits on a hike because of the increased risk (unknown variables + remoteness), but I've still been able to get stronger by hiking at an acceptably strenuous pace. Lightening the pack and other things that people tend to focus on is only part of the equation if you're trying to hike long distances -- improving one's fitness is an option that will provide more benefits (health, wallet, safety) to most recreational hikers.

[@shupingyin8082]

i don't usually take videos. I'm a photographer. check out @pingphotoisin on instagram. there I post some of my adventures. there is climb for hero hike on 5/21. are you going? I'm going with the Socal hiker team. hope see you out there or hike with you sometimes

[@atarplace6806]

Hi Jimmy, Great series of videos! From your videos I purchased 2 Sierra Designs Flex Capacitor packs for my son & I. :) Thanks for putting your gear list on your videos. I can't seem to get all my gear into the new packs :) Could you do a video on packing your gear from this video & the winter load out on your La Cloche Silhouette this winter? I watched with interest when you packed your gear on this video but I couldn't catch the detail of gear and how you packed it into the Sierra Designs Flex Capacitor pack. Your videos are very well done as are your reviews of gear - plenty of detail and not rushed. Thanks!

[@HikingNerd]

Hi and thanks for the kind words. There's nothing special that I do when packing my gear that others haven't shown (you can see Andrew Skurka's video on how to organize a backpack). I only have two things that compress (down quilt and insulating layers) and the rest just have to be put in like Tetris blocks. I generally keep the sleeping bag at the very bottom of the bag unless I'm going on a multi-day trip (then I'll put the food at the very bottom since it's dense). I haven't had to resort to putting anything in the side pockets (though some people like to carry their tent poles or other bulky items there). Are you sure 60L is enough for all your gear?

[@JPAnderson07]

I did this peak back in October and your video is making me want to go back! Couple o' questions: 1. What software do you use to edit your videos? 2. When hiking, did you do most of your recording with your GoPro? If so, did you use a chest/head strap or anything like that?

[@HikingNerd]

I just use iMovie to edit (I'm using a 2012 Macbook Air that isn't powerful enough to run anything else more sophisticated). And I record all the shots except the timelapses with my iPhone 7 Plus. To conserve battery during an hour-long timelapse, I'll use a GoPro on a small tripod. I don't have enough processing power to stabilize my GoPro videos using software otherwise I would probably use it more.

[@rayachheuy]

Once again beautiful. How long did it take you?

[@HikingNerd]

It used to take me about an hour to produce a minute of final footage from start to finish (excluding the export and upload) but now I've changed my style and it's much quicker. I generally have about 15GB of raw video files that I have to sift through and piece together into something coherent.

[@rayachheuy]

I just got back from Limber Pine, and man was I tired lol. I'm definitely gonna come back for an overnight.