Mt. Baden-Powell

The first 36 miles of Section D is a fairly steady upward haul along the Blue Ridge. The elevation gain is nearly 6500′ from I-15 to the peak of Mt. Baden-Powell. Along the way we passed the town of Wrightwood, where we had a resupply box and my Dad’s brother waiting for us. Thanks for meeting up with us, Uncle Sid!

Uncle Sid had planned to join us for a few days with his pup, Cow. Cow is so named because when he was very little, he looked like a little cow with his black and white markings. It was really nice to see him and have some new company on the trail.

I am a scout, so climbing up Mt. Baden-Powell was kind of cool. The mountain is named after Robert Baden-Powell, who started the Boy Scout Movement more than 100 years ago. At the top of the mountain there is a marker with Scout Law inscribed on it. I had to learn this when I became a scout!

We got to the top at sunset, and got a beautiful view west towards the Pacific and of greater Los Angeles slowly lighting up as the sun went down.

We decided to set up camp not far from the top. Once the sun went down, we were left with the wind. We were very exposed and it blew all night. In the morning our sleeping mats were full of debris – little pebbles, leaves and sticks – that had hammered us through the night.

When we woke up, Los Angeles was under a thick blanket of clouds. Uncle Sid said he had never seen LA look better 😉

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