Random bushwacking up steep slopes...

Yow, while hiking up Lawler with Brooks, he mentioned a Monday morning off-trail hike. They meet at the same place as the Wednesday hikers, La Canada Road, but they just decide where to go then and there.

I left the house slightly before 8AM, and yet again found myself arriving late! Doh! I got there at about 9:01AM, just as the cars started to leave, so I followed the last car up the road. The group split in two, and the final two cars took Angeles Forest Road way up into the mountains. I was getting all set to turn around, afraid that they were going all the way to the desert, when they finally pulled over.

I introduced myself, and everybody seemed pretty friendly. I'd kind of lucked out, as the other two cars were apparently full of snowshoers. Nobody was very specific about where they were gonna hike, but just sorta headed up a steep gully by the road.

I was starting to get a bit worried, as this was extremely steep, but eventually it leveled out a bit and I managed to catch my breath. It was kinda weird to be pushing through brush like that. I enjoyed it, though.

We eventually made it up to a paved road that evidently went to Mt. Gleason, then walked down to another ridge, and headed down. The ridge eventually got pretty steep, but Brooks and some others had been ahead, and it wasn't too tough to follow. All in all, it was a fun hike, and a great chance to get some off-trail experience.