EISPIRATEN

I knew it had been a while since the last time I was up here, according to my photo library that span is just over six years. Not that I expected things to change, after all the mountains are much older than us and still look pretty much the same. Because it was supposed to be another blazing day down here I wanted to get a bit of elevation and maybe cool off a bit. I chose B-P because the trail is almost all along the north side which usually means shade. Leaving home before 7am was a bonus, so I reached the uncrowded parking area in about an hour and as a result I hit the trail right at 8am. This is another one of those trails where I have to remind myself about pace, since it's steep from the beginning I didn't want to just tire myself out. The shade was nice, although at this time of year the morning sun filters through the trees. When the trail switches around to the east side of the mountain it was rather warm, but the views of the Baldy area were enough of a distraction so I didn't mind the heat. I took a short break about halfway up, enough time to have some Australian Liquorice - yes it's spelled that way - which was mighty tasty, which made me think I should make a video about the best foods from the 99-cent store. Only a few people were on the summit when I arrived, so I did a bit of socializing and then wandered over to sit in the shade for a while. On the way back I took a slight detour to walk along the ridge, which offered some great views into the depths of the canyon. After that I piled some rocks and branches over the areas where switchbacks have been cut, probably hoping in vain that it will actually deter people. Another detour led me to the dry Lamel Spring, although I did see a few wild roses blooming. I was thinking about another break, but a couple was sitting on the bench when I got to that point so I just kept going down down down. This excursion is pretty routine but it was nice to get out after too long sitting around the house.
Random thought - this is an amazingly clean trail, the only trash I picked up was a couple of Jolly Rancher wrappers.
Time up: 2:00
Time at summit: 0:30
Time down: 1:25

Photos:

View of Baden-Powell from Inspiration Point.


Plenty of instructions at the trailhead.

I like the way the switchbacks here appear to go off into the wild blue yonder.

Nature hard at work.

I had a pretty good sweat going by this point. It was also a reminder about the different climate zones passing through on the trail.

One of my favorite views in all the San Gabriels - peek out over this ridge and also look up to the summit.

Lonely summit marker.

This has the old name of North Baldy, even though the date of 1954 is well after it was renamed.

View down into the canyon - seriously steep.

Thanks! I await your list of 99-cent Store snacks.

99 Cent store favorite: jelly belly “belly flops”.