6/14/2023
Section: Mile post 374.0 to 394.0
Distance: 16.53 Miles
Moving Time: 08:15 hrs
Elevation Gain: 4,676 ft
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Today’s stage starts with a healthy climb up to the summit of Baden-Powel, named after one of the creators of the Boy Scouts, before straddling a ridge for around half of the rest of the day. This ridge also constitutes the border between the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument and the Sheep Mountain Wilderness which we hopped between for most of the day. After dropping off the ridge we passing through Little Jimmy Campground where the PCT descends to highway 2, which is currently closed. From the highway, the path climbs back up another ridge before returning to the highway and paralleling it for 2 miles. After returning to the highway at mile 390 the PCT typically descends into a small valley but is currently closed here to give the California Mountain Yellow Legged Frogs a chance to rebuild their population. Out of the massive respect that I have for amphibians and animals everywhere, we walked highway 2 the last 4 miles to Buckhorn Campground.
We woke a little after 5 and got going pretty quickly. I had purchased some Cajun bean pouches for breakfast and they were heavy so I was happy to eat one for breakfast this morning. After breakfast we said goodbye to Anna and her mom, wishing them luck on their SOBO adventures, and wearily began our morning climb. We jumped on the switchbacks and didn’t stop until we reached Lamel Spring where I topped us up to 2 liters each and we kept going. About 700 feet from the top we hit consistent snow and so followed a boot pack that wasn’t messing around and straight lined it for the top. Once there, we took some pictures and ate a snack at the monument for Mr. Powel that is located near the summit. I’m at the point now where I could eat though my entire bag of food for a week in one sitting. I’m not even kidding - I could just sit and eat and eat till it is all gone. I did stop myself at a Power bar and fruit leather though and Amanda and I kept going.
We continued on the ridge, trying to stay on the south and western facing aspects as much as possible to avoid the snow. We bagged Mt. Bunham and Throop peak as well on our way. The trail turned north and headed down to Little Jimmy Spring and campground. We refilled our water at the spring and took another break at the campground a little further down the trail. On our way between the spring and the campground we saw a SOBO hiker but, aside from her, the trail was very quiet today.
After our break at Little Jimmy Camp, we dropped to the highway at Islip trailhead, where I took some very “Abby Roads-esque” pictures before, begrudgingly, we put in another 1500 feet of climbing over Mt. Williamson. Dropping down off the west side of Mt. Williamson, we returned to the road and then climbed a much smaller hill paralleling highway 2 on the southeast side before returning to it at the Eagle’s Roost Parking area. Here we went and took a look at the Frog sign and recorded a video pledging our solidarity with these little amphibians. After a short break we started the 4-mile road walk.
Walking on the road seems like it would be a nice, simple change of pace from the trail but, actually, it’s pretty miserable. The road is hard and unforgiving and the cyclist tat passed us both ways didn’t help. I wish I had wheels some times on this trail. We walked the center of the road for 4 miles. No cars made for an apocalyptic kind of feel. Just as our feet were really starting to protest, we reached the access road for Buckhorn campground and descended down to it. Because the highway is closed, this beautiful campground was eerily empty so we took the best spot by the river and proceeded to make a much needed dinner. I had some freeze-dried chicken fried rice and Amanda had some wild rice stew. Afterwards we conducted our typical evening activities. Another NOBO hiker named Sean came by and said hello. He was very knowledgeable about California Flora and Fauna so we talked with him a while about the animals we had seen and learned a lot. After a while Sean returned to his campsite and we got into our tent for the night, listening to the croaking of frogs.
