We started the day early, meeting at the trailhead at 5:45 to hit the trail before the day’s heat. Following the Mt. Wilson Trail from Sierra Madre we reached Orchard Camp, the halfway point, in about an hour and a half. Is part of the trail had a few fallen trees that were new to us (we hike to Orchard every few weeks), but these weren’t insurmountable obstacles on the trail. We took about a 20 minute break at Orchard Camp for snacks and water and then continued on.

The first 2 miles to Manzanita Ridge were a steady climb with a few narrow sections and a couple parts that felt a little technical because of the rocks. Overall the hike wasn’t feeling too strenuous up to this point. We took a short break at Manzanita Ridge, chatted with another hiking group then hit the trail once again. After about a half mile or so the trail met up with the fire road which would also take us up to the peak. We opted to continue on the trail because it looked like it off for a little bit more shade and be a little bit shorter. Compared  it to the hike down where we did take the fire road, it was definitely a bit more difficult however the scenery was much prettier on the trail. At this point with less than a mile to go I hit my wall. After a couple climbs on rocks, I found my pace again, though one of our scouts started having some trouble. We ended up tracking slowly and did eventually make it to the peak. Including stops it took about five hours to go from the trail head to the Cosmic Café at the peak. There we got cold drinks and indulged in some pie.

I stuck around for about an hour at the peak just exploring the astronomical museum as well as some of the structures around Mount Wilson. With literally billions of dollars of communications and research equipment as well as interesting technology history and beautiful scenery, it really was an enjoyable time at the peak.

Soon enough though it was time to turn around. As usual the trek down was harder for me than the trek up. While we did make a time going down the mountain it was definitely very difficult and my feet were sore at the end of the hike. Strava registered 17.2 miles total distance, 5004 feet elevation gain.