Mt. Baden-Powell

A snow trek for the Ages!! Mnt. Baden-Powell

I had been wanting to do this hike for a good 2 months and i could never find anyone willing to commit with me. I finally got a work friend and his 11th grade brother in law to roll with me. We started out early, so early in fact that when we got to Big Pines Ranger station it wasnt even open yet. So we decided to not wait another 90 minutes for a day pass and just chance it. I really didnt want a 100 dollar fine ticket so when we parked the Element i put 5 bucks and a note explaining our situation in the window. Brillant me though, i locked the doors and there was no way for a Ranger to even get the money!!

Hike Away

I was surprised at how easy it was to get there. We cam from Quartz Hill, CA. We took 138 to Longview Rd then followed it all the into Wrightwood. We came out at Big Pines Ranger Station and made a right and followed the 2 all the way till the road was closed. There is a parking lot on the left to park which was real nice. So we depoloyed from the truck and right away I was blown away by the beauty and how much snow was on the gorund.

Trail Blazin

We get out and check out the easily spottable wood sign that says:
Lamel Springs - 1.5, Baden-Powell 3.7, Windy Gap 9.4, and Little Jimmy Campground 11.3. I was stoked!! Well seeing how there was at least 6-8 inches of snow at the base we knew it could only get worse. Worse than that the trail was covered by snow and we had no idea where it started or ended, other than the big wooden sign. So we blasted off and it was easy going for a good 40 minutes. Well we came to a point where we lost the switch back and I had carefully strayed across the mountain which had become a very slippery and icy slope and no hint of a trail anywhere. I took a moment to melt some snow with my pee and while I turned around I found the switchback that we missed. We seriously missed it by 6 feet. So we went up and contiuned. About ten minutes after that a group of guys came up behind us and blazed right by. We liked this bcuz now we were following there footsteps and not making our own. We just assumed they knew where the trail was....MISTAKE

Down and Out

img:766416:aligncenter:medium:]After several stops we finally came to the Lamel Springs sign, which was only 1.5 miles up!! i had already eaten 1 apple and 1 rice crispy treat. I was also downing water like crazy but i felt good and was ready to destroy this trail in knee deep snow!! So we rested for ten and shoved off. My friends came to the hike quite unprepared!! I'm talking Vans, 1 pair socks, jeans, regular gloves, no snacks, and 2 smart waters. I carry a 100oz camel bac, gatorade, snacks, xtra sox, xtra gloves, and a jacket. My pack weighs on average 20-30lbs each time I go out....I only weigh 127 i might add. Well we got to about the 2 mile mark and my buddies had to throw in the towel, they were hungry, cold, and their sox were drenched. I gave them my keys and decided to carry on alone. I quickly pulled out my last apple and crispy treat and devoured them. My snacks were cut in half bcuz I had shared mine with my buddies, I'm a nice fella I guess. Well I kept going for about another 40 minutes. I followed what I thought was the trail left behind by the group before me. Was about 400 ft from the top of the Mnt. and tracks were going everywhere and had no clue which one to follow. I picked one and shoved off, got about 5 steps in and sunk chest deep into the snow, made two more attempts to try and get around the depth but every way I stepped it was the same. I looked down in the hole I had made and my feet werent even touching the ground. My better judgement took over my desire to want to reach the top and decided to call it a day and go back down. I took a few good photos with my Canon T3i and double timed it down, I was starving!! All these photos were taken from my Droid X. Will post others later. To get down the trail I decided to slide from switchback to switchback. Note next time do not do this!! I fell several times and if it wasnt for my huge knife and great agility I proly would have hurt myself badly. This was also not good for my recently surgery repaired elbow!!

You've won this time Sir Baden-Powell....

BUT I SHALL GET YOU THE NEXT TIME WE MEET!!

Conclusion

This wasn't a total loss really. We had a great time seeing the gorgeous Angeles Forest and we also learned a few lessons in what to do differently next time. Looking at a Topo map I found on the internet I'd guess that I made it to the 8600ft mark. I will keep an eye on the weather and if it warms up soon I'll try again. If not I'll go at it in the Spring. If you're in the area this is a for sure hike not for the faint of heart or 1st timers.

Extra pics

Felt like Luke Skywalker on Hoth


These are the pictures shot with my Canon T2i with 35MM Lens



I'm hoping Santa brings me a 75-300MM lens for xmas



If anybody is down to hike this sucker with me just shoot me an email.

Finally!!

So me and my bud Daniel finally got back out to Baden-Powell. We tried it in the winter and had to turn around. Well this time around we went when the wheather was much nicer. We took the same route as we tried last time, Vincent Gap to summit was approx 4.1 miles, took us 3 hours up and 1 down. The switch backs were killer!! All in all it felt great to accomplish a goal that was earlier not attainable. 4th highest peak in Angeles Forest conquered.

Summit at Last

A few camera phone pics from the summit of Mt. Baden-Powell (9399ft)

Images

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