5/1 – Day 24 – Mt Baden Powell
I got up about 6 am and had coffee and a breakfast burrito around the corner at a little coffee shop run by a very Germanic looking grandma. She reminded me of my Oma. Again another super nice person in Writghtwood who was excited to have her first PCT hiker of the season. I left the Pine Lodge at 7:40 am and headed up Acorn Rd to the Acorn Trail and the 2300 foot climb back to the PCT. Shortly after getting on the trail I became lost. I ended up cross country hiking, often on all fours, through some very steep terrain. It was exhausting, considering my newly resupplied pack weighed probably 50 pounds. I figure about 25 pounds of food for ten days. I finally found the trail maybe an eighth of a mile from the top. The hiking was great today, always above 6000 feet and quite cool.
I went through the Mountain High ski area, past Inspiration Point that had a great view of Mt. Baden-Powell. Accent passed me and we passed each other several times during the day. At 3:30 I reached the base of the four mile climb up Mt. Baden-Powell. It was about a 3000 foot climb to what I think is the highest point before the Sierra, 9399 feet. I powered up the hill and made the top by 5:30.
It was cold up there, too much LA smog for great views but still pretty neat. I hiked on for another hour and discovered a great place to camp in the forest. Accent came by about an hour later and camped close by. I made a great wrap with warmed up beef sausage, lentils, rice, and cheese. It was cold, and I did not drink enough today so I also made Top Ramen, and had Milky Way bars for desert. I hiked about 16 PCT miles and 3 miles up from town. I have completed approximately 399 miles of the PCT.