We knew there would be snow on this hike; just not as much snow as there actually was! Courtney O and I signed up for the 2018 SoCal Six-Pack of Peaks Challenge together; we completed the Six-Pack of Peaks together in 2016. When we saw Mt. Baden Powell was listed as an alternate hike for Mt. Wilson we said we would hike Mt. Wilson, telling ourselves Mt. Baden Powell was nowhere near as difficult of a hike as Mt. Wilson. So our story begins . . .
There were only six people on the mountain today; we met a couple in the parking area, they headed up before us. Then as we were hiking up another couple passed us up on the trail; that was it, only six of us. The lower section of the mountain had clear switchbacks but the higher up you got the trail went all over the place (we had our micro spikes on and use our hiking poles). In many areas we were hiking straight up the side of the mountain in knee deep snow (at times deeper). It is normally about four miles to the peak but today it was 4.59 miles to the peak (according to my Garmin GPS), that's how crazy the trail was.
As we got closer to the ridge Courtney got nervous and started wondering if we should continue on, she ended up having a complete melt down. At this time the couple we met in the parking lot was heading back down the mountain, so I asked if the ridge was icy; I was told there was very little ice, that the hiking was good to the peak; we were almost there. I assured Courtney we would be okay but also told her we could turn around and head back it she wanted to. She dug in deep, faced her fears and kept hiking to the peak even though she really wanted to turn around and head back down the mountain. We made it safely to the peak, took needed photos to prove we made it and checked the weather with a gadget my husband gave me before heading down; it was 40F, but the wind chill temp was 32F. So, at 2:20pm we headed back down the mountain.
On our way down, I wanted to save time, so we went straight down the mountain side in between the switchbacks through knee deep snow, the snow was powder, so it was fun plowing through it and sliding down on our bottoms at times. Once we got lower on the mountain we couldn't do this anymore because it was too steep, so we stayed on the switchbacks. We did get back to the Jeep before dark, pulled out of the parking area at 4:30pm (arrived at 9:00am). It normally takes us five hours to complete this hike, but today it took us five hours to get to the peak, but, it took us less than two hours to hike back down.
So, after completing todays hike Courtney and I decided to count Mount Baden Powell this as Peak #1 in the Six Peak Challenge since it ended up being such a strenuous and challenging hike. 1-12-2018
Responses
Great hike log @tdmore! I’m glad you had a great hike, and no mishaps in the snow. It’s good that you got some info on the trail to the top from the other folks before proceeding. Often Baden-Powell becomes treacherous in the winter. It’s no longer a hike — it’s winter mountaineering!