I did this hike with my new buddy Scott who I met hiking Baden-Powell three weeks ago (that hike is also logged). This was my first time using this route (Mt. Wilson Trail from Sierra Madre) to summit Mt. Wilson. I've done Mt. Wilson from Chantry Flats via Upper Winter Creek and Gabrieleno Trails as loops or out & back more times than I could count over the past 10 years. I've always heard this route was the most difficult, and I would tend to agree. It's slightly longer distance and more elevation gain than starting from Chantry Flats. It just so happened that we were experiencing a significant mid-winter heat wave in So Cal/LA area when we did this hike (85-90 deg during the end of Jan), and since Mt. Wilson is lower elevation and the routes all climb the southern face of the San Gabriels this can be a very warm hike in hot weather. For this and other reasons, we started before dawn in the cool early hours. It's amazing how many more people are coming out to hike the peaks these days, and there were already a few others on the trail (never used to see this prior to 4 years ago). We hiked at a fast pace making good time but unfortunately, I couldn’t get many pics due to our minimal stops, and my phone running out of memory. We did get someone to take our pick at Orchard Camp, and I got a good pic of the Sun coming up behind Gorgonio as we started out in the early morning.