Vincent Gap to Mount Baden-Powell

Started at the Vincent Gap parking lot

The start to an 8 mile hike

Well kept trails all the way up

Higher we hike, the less trees there were

Almost there....

Wally Tree, said to be over 1500 years old

Keep on trekkin'

The views were worth it

Lil random Boy Scouts, what troopers!

Signing the registry

The gang for the day

Always more epic when there's a flag at the peak

Trail: Vincent Gap to Mount Baden-Powell

Location: near Wrightwood, California

Miles: 8 miles round trip

Time: 6 hours

Hiked: June 6, 2015

Mount Baden-Powell fell on my hiking radar recently and I was so excited to hike it this weekend! Always a fun time hitting the trails with a different group of friends. So I rounded up Caitlin, Alexis, and Will and off we went Saturday morning. It's a bit of a trek to get out there for all of us, but it was definitely worth the drive, I think it took us an hour and a half from Chino. Mount Baden-Powell is out near the cities of Wrightwood/Valyermo area, near Mountain High Ski Lifts. 

We hit the trail around 8:30 am. We knew the elevation gain was 2,800 feet to the top, so we prepared ourselves with hiking poles for this hike. I definitely thought they were helpful. The trail was gorgeous all the way up, with all the different trees, and different views of California left and right. 

This trail was named after the founder of the Boy Scouts foundation so we saw a ton of troops on the trail. 2 young boys left an impression on me though. 2 miles in about, 2 boys around the age of 9-11 years old passed us. They were quiet and polite from what we could see. We looked around wondering why they were hiking by themselves, where they're parent or Scout leader was. After they passed us though, we quickly forgot about them since we were struggling a bit the higher we hiked. But 15-20 minutes later, a lone man was coming up the trail. Once he caught up to us, he mumbled "Those kids are too fast for this old man!". Mystery of the lone kid hikers solved. But props to those boys! No complaining from them on an 8 mile hike. When I was that age I don't think I'd have been such a trooper. 

Once we got to the peak, we had a 360 degree view of the San Gabriel Mountains and it was amazing. I think we finished the hike around 3 pm. We wanted to hike out to Big Horn Mine since it started at the same trailhead, but we were tired and adding an extra 4 miles to our day sounded a lil brutal. So we left and decided we will have to head back soon to camp and explore the mines on another day.

Happy National Trails Day!

Until next time Wrightwood!