Mount Baden-Powell is one of the highest summits in the Sierra Madre, which runs east-west through Los Angeles County, topped by the mighty Mount San Antonio (Mount Baldy). However, it is located on the north flank of the range, not readily visible from most vantage points in the Los Angeles metro area. When it is visible, its setting far back in the field of vision renders it less than obvious it has the size and prominence that it actually does. On the other hand, it is one of the more visually impressive and prominent peaks when viewed from the high desert around Palmdale and Adelanto. The summit is topped by a memorial to Lord Robert Baden-Powell, founder of the Boy Scout movement. The Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) runs very near the top, and it is a very popular day-hike destination for area hikers; a nice weekend day might see 100+ make the top.

There are two ways to reach the top, both trailheads of the PCT from different points along Angeles Crest Highway (State highway CA-2). The Islip trailhead is farther west and makes for a long day hike to gain the summit, while the Vincent Gap trailhead is closer and the more popular starting point for a hike up Baden-Powell. Even so, the Vincent Gap starting point makes for a four-mile, 2800-foot gain one-way hike to the summit. In 2005 a section of the highway was washed out in a storm just west of the Vincent Gap trailhead, making the Islip trailhead nearly impossible to reach. So Vincent Gap it was.

I headed out to California two days after wrapping up the semester at ASU, my plan to spend a week hiking a bunch of prominence peaks in the Southern California region. I spent the first night at my brother’s place in Cucamonga, visiting with his family, and rassling with my 7-year old niece Emma and 4-year old nephew Rawlins. We had burgers then watched Earl and The Office; when we all crashed I noticed I had a scratchy throat… when I awoke the next morning I was bummed to discover it had progressed to a full-on sore throat and raspy cough. Damn! However, I felt okay otherwise so I figured I’d get going. On the way out I picked up some medicine and hoped for the best. I drove the 50 or so miles up Interstate-15 to the CA-138 junction, then took the back way (Lone Pine Road) directly into Wrightwood, catching highway CA-2 from there. Another 10 miles or so and I was at the Vincent Gap trailhead, arriving about 7 a.m. in clear, cool weather. I was the first and only person there. I relaxed for awhile, letting the sun come up more to warm things up. In the meantime I walked over to the road washout to check it out. I started the hike around 8 a.m.

My self-assessment after waking up some more was I felt good overall except for a very sore throat. I popped in some gum to chew while hiking to keep my mouth and throat moist (and mouth shut), and this worked very well to keep me from exacerbating my sore throat with the cool, very dry air.

The trail from here to the top is very simple and straightforward: nearly 4 dozen switchbacks wind up the north ridge of the peak at a consistent grade upwards, then the top. The lower trail was kind of tedious, since my views were obstructed by the thick forest, so I mostly kept my head down and just thought about putting in the time. I took breaks every 20 minutes or so; slowly the views became more expansive, looking north across the Mojave Desert. Periodically a switchback would be marked with an old sign, with most letters long since rubbed off; there was enough writing to glean that the signs were put up by the Boy Scouts, and that they listed the distance traveled (to the hundredth of a mile), elevation, and switchback number. Not all switchbacks were marked this way, but I surmise many of these signs have been removed or simply rotted into nothingness; they look at least 20-30 years old.

After about two hours, and making slow but steady progress, the slope started to ease somewhat, and the forest thin out. I was now starting to gain the high ridge, a small but exposed ridge coming off Baden-Powell’s summit. Finally, after some turns, I crossed a rise and there it was, the top. By now I had traveled about 90% of the uphill, and here was my first view of the top. Curiously, it’s a bald summit, lightly sprinkled in a sparse forest of pine (and some bristlecone) on its slopes. For a short way the trail is perched high on a catwalk, not too narrow, but narrow enough to look down a long ways on both sides. I stopped briefly at a large Bristlecone Pine, dubbed the ‘Waldron Tree’ by the scouts. From here it was a short push to the top. I arrived a bit after 10 a.m.; the weather was spotless in all directions and I spent some time relaxing and enjoying the views. While on top I checked out the memorial, the actual top, and tried to pick out landmarks where I could. The deserts were easily visible to the north. To the south it was mostly mountains, but lower down all I saw was the haze of the Los Angeles basin.

The hike down went easy enough, and it took my just over an hour to make the walk out. On the way up were a few hikers; when I tried to say ‘hi’ I discovered I couldn’t talk above a rasp! I was back to my truck by noon, and I spent about 30 minutes relaxing, setting up my camp-chair and having some cokes while I just sat around for a bit. In time, I drove back out to Wrightwood then took a back way into Palmdale, enjoying the drive as the road descended from the heavy forests through transitional flora down into outright desert. I worked my way into Palmdale and stopped at a Walgreens for some more medications, and a lunch at Denny’s. I had planned to continue west toward Gorman and camp for the night near Burnt Peak, but I was feeling kind of run down. I was concerned my sore throat could develop into a full blown cold, so I played it safe and took a hotel in Palmdale. I crashed by 4 p.m., awoke a bit around 8, then slept another 10 hours solid. I guess I was under something. In any case, when I awoke the next morning I felt okay – not 100% - but good enough to tackle Burnt Peak. Whatever I had wasn’t causing me any nausea or making me gack or anything like that. However, I could still just barely talk. Well, onto Burnt Peak…