This was a hike I did with a couple of ladies from my neighborhood.  It was pretty last minute but, in many ways, meant to be.  First off, I realized it was exactly 50 days before my 50th birthday.  What better way to kickstart a countdown to a milestone?

As we started the hike, my hiking partners pointed out that this trail intersected with the PCT.  It was the first time I’ve done so.  It was especially momentous given my plan for when I’m 80. My goal is to do the PCT in 30 years, give or take a few years.  I volunteered my daughter to do it with me and she u hesitatingly agreed.  By then, she will presumably be about my age now and maybe also have an empty nest— perfect conditions for this sort of endeavor.  I volunteered my husband and my son to be trail angels.  Perfect plan, right?

As for the hike, it was an unusually cool day.  By the time we got to the top and despite it being July and having experienced record heatwaves days prior, we needed jackets.  It made the trek very pleasant indeed.  At first,  there were almost no views due to thick clouds all around.  We rationalized it was a trade-off:  cool temps for views.  Then suddenly gusts of wind blew through just as we were about to start our journey back down.  We didn’t get 360 views but we were grateful for the views we did get.  We lingered at the top a little longer to do another round of pics.  Lucky, magical timing!

Given that I’m logging this hike over 2 months late, I can’t remember everything.  Other highlights I do recall include (1) spending a few minutes with a chipmunk ? who was extra friendly and chatty;  (2) seeing “Wally Waldron” up close (for those who aren’t familiar, it’s a limber pine whose claim to fame is that it’s the oldest living tree in the San Gabriel mountains.  It lives on the edge of a windy ridge with no protection on any side — totally exposed — and is twisted and gnarled but yet holding on & surviving.  What a great metaphor for life!)

A distinct “lowlight” was the drive up the 2 highway from La Canada.  As we neared the trailhead, we encountered a lot of rocks and mini boulders on the road.  We tried our best to maneuver around them but there were just too many.  Maybe the rockslides were too recent to have gotten the chance to be cleared or for roads to be closed off.  All I know is we nearly turned back and also discussed option of taking a longer route after the hike in order to avoid the potentially unsafe and tire/piercing conditions.  We even saw a stopped vehicle with 4 guys changing their flat tire.  We asked if they needed help but they said they had it handled.  Good news is we saw them later on the trail, during our descent and they seemed to be in good spirits.  Waylaid but not blocked.  More good/auspicious news (though not quite music to our ears) came in the form of the familiar and welcome sound of trucks with scrapers in the distance as we started our hike.   We guessed (correctly) they had been dispatched to clear the fallen rocks.

Another case of all’s well that ends well.  Best part was successfully bagging another peak. ✅