So I have to admit, at the start of the Six Pack of Peaks challenge and even before, Mount Wilson gave me almost zero interest in climbing. Especially given you can drive to the top! But seriously, the altitude is not much and based on the other hikes in the surrounding area of the Angeles is did not seem appealing. Two week ago I was actually going to attempt another hike, but when I got close to the trailhead the road was closed (thank you Google).

So it was about 11am and I had no idea where to hike and didn't want to waste my drive from the South Bay. So I jumped on google maps and looked for trails nearby. I came across a trailhead right near Lizzie's Trail Inn and the Richardson House. So I figured, why not head there and see what this is about, even if it is a couple of miles at least it won't be a full waste. Little did I know I stumbled myself onto the Mount Wilson Trail.

So starting below the clouds and knowing Wilson (or Willy from here on) was around 7 miles up I just started trekking and figured I'd get up a few miles and turnaround. So I set myself a speed challenge, really get the heart-rate up and power up this trail, which slowly started to turn into a beautiful trail circling up the valley. Before I knew it I was at the base of the cloud layer and it was amazing walking into it with Willy hiding behind it. I got to a junction and decided to take a left. This put me onto what would normally be an exposed trail (but again in the cloud it was so surreal). Some really enjoyable and steep switchbacks followed and then I was on the ridge-line walking up past Sierra Madre and onwards to the rope climb (a nice surprise). All the time Willy stayed hidden above the clouds – when would I see it?? Slowly but surely the clouds started to break up as I walked along the road (this wasn't as enjoyable) and there it was Willy for all to see. The view back over the clouds was sensational. I honestly believe this is when LA looks it best, hidden by clouds. This last portion of the trail had some fire damage and hurts a little, considering the level of climb you've achieve to this point.

Once at the top (difficult to actually find the highest point – the cafe seems the highest!) I took a walk around the observatory which was so cool. Shame it was open. On descent I went back via the Mount Wilson Trail and this is easily the only way to summit Willy. A couple of wildlife encounters and back into the clouds really made this hike thoroughly enjoyable. I'd highly recommend doing it in the same conditions and my only regret was not hitting the trail head earlier as I had to rush down and couldn't stop and take in First Water and the other sites. So if you plan on doing this, plan out your day better than I did.

I can see this would not be a middle of summer hike, but absolutely a spring hike and the cloud layer just made a lovely dynamic. Willy you certainly surprised me, thank you.