Chevy,
Honestly, the most amazing part I found was that you guys started at 3 AM.
Lol! When people started saying they wanted to hike Skyline, I surely thought they'd rethink it when I started setting up the "mandatory" training hikes. Most required that they get up by 2AM so that we could be on the trail, or headed to the trail by 3AM. Surprisingly, there were no complaints or arguing from any on them! I know that as I 20-22 yr old, I wouldn't have been getting up that early to go for a hike - heck in NY last call was around 4am IIRC.
You should give some of the other classic SoCal hikes a go such as the Iron Baldy Traverse, 9 Peak Traverse, etc. The Villager/Rabbit combo in Borrego is also very pretty.
SnackingBear is hiking Iron to Baldy tomorrow. I was hoping to join him, but couldn't work out my schedule. We are hoping to hike Villager/Rabbit this winter or spring. I've been eyeing 9 Peak Traverse, but not sure about it now with the trail closures.
You might want to check out Cornell and Miller next time for a nice detour. The valley below Cornell seems to be a congregation area for deer. I've never crossed that area and not seen groups of them. You can head up the old trail which intersects the current one only yards away from Miller.
I'm hoping to camp up there this winter and hit some of the other 10k peaks. I have that zero degree quilt I've got to put through the wringer
BTW - I just purchased an A6000 this week (on it's way via FedEx). That's the camera you bought, right? I sold my '66 Nova Wagon, so I've got a little bit of toy fund money to play with
