Big Pines, Blue Ridge, PCT, Wrightwood, CA, 6 Miles RT, 1,302' +/-, 8,187' Max Elevation, November 5, 2022

November 05, 2022

Today we headed back to one of our favorite trails in Wrightwood, the Blue Ridge Trail. I was so happy to be back again and seeing the gorgeous golden color of the black oaks in autumn. We hiked the trail up to the campground and from there traversed northwest along the PCT. We soaked in the spectacular views of Mt. Baden-Powell and listened to the winds blowing through the big pines. I was in my happy place! Along the way we met a group of happy PCT hikers. We shared trail stories and then parted ways to continue to our own destinations. The day was simply perfect and my heart was filled with joy. At about three miles in we turned around and made our way back. We had another destination to cover that day and it was to our favorite diner in Wrightwood, the Grizzly Cafe!

Blue Ridge, 4.9 Miles RT, 1,201' +/-, Max Elevation 7,919', October 20, 2019

November 05, 2019

It was a great day to take in some Fall color. We headed up to Wrightwood to hike along the Blue Ridge Trail where I knew the black oaks would be showing off some of their Autumn foliage. It was crisp and cool up in the mountains today, while back in Burbank it was almost 100 degrees!

Camping Table Mountain and Blue Ridge Trail, 4.9 Miles RT, 1,201' +/-, Max Elevation 7,919', June 20 and 30, 2019

July 06, 2019

We had a another relaxing camping trip to Table Mountain in Wrightwood this weekend. We set up camp in the afternoon, took a nap and then did a short evening hike up the Blue Ridge Trail through the majestic Black Oaks and up to the top of Blue Ridge. I love this trail. It was very peaceful on a Saturday night, since most of the day hikers were gone. Before heading back to camp, we stopped off in Wrightwood and picked up a pizza and a bottle of wine. We spent the rest of the evening enjoy food by the fire. When we turned in for the night, the forest was extremely quiet. It’s usually windy up on this mountain, but on this night it was very still. In the morning we woke up early and did a quick hike on the Table Mountain hiking trail. It’s about 2.5 miles and goes around the perimeter of the campground. It has great views of Mt. Baden-Powel and all the way out to Palmdale. It was another great weekend spent in the mountains!

Backpacking Test Run to Blue Ridge, Wrightwood, CA, 7 miles RT, 8,116' Max Elevation, 1,404' +/-, September 2, 2018

September 03, 2018

I had my mind made up about wanting to transition from day hiking to backpacking. Once I get my mind set on something, I obsess over it until it happens. After spending a couple of weeks doing research, I felt confident enough to head over to REI and make the investment. We spent the following day setting up camp in the living room and practicing packing our backpacks. Sunday morning (also my birthday), we headed out with all our new gear to Wrightwood to hike the Blue Ridge Trail. The Blue Ridge trail was a perfect trail to get a feel for the new packs with the additional weight we’d be carrying on a backpacking trip. I picked this trail because it’s well maintained, it’s not too steep and there is no scree which makes it a great place for a worry free trial run. There’s also a bit of altitude (over 8,000’ at the ridge) and about 1,000’ of gain in two miles. Both of us carried over 20% of our bodyweight which slowed us down from our normal day hiking pace. But backpacking, to me, is a different mindset. It’s not about rushing to bag a peak or hiking to be at a certain place by a certain time. This is a quote from one of my hiking books that could not sum up how I feel about backpacking any better:

“Once you realize that the road is the goal and that you are always on the road, not to reach a goal, but to enjoy its beauty and its wisdom, life ceases to be a task and becomes natural and simple, in itself an ecstasy.” - Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj

I believe backpacking is going to take us on exciting new journeys into the wilderness and offer us amazing experiences that will make our lives even richer. In a few weeks, we’ll be setting up camp for the first time to enjoy our first overnight in the forest. I’m really excited about all of this and looking forward to many adventures to come!

Big Pines to Blue Ridge, 4 miles RT, 1,585 +/-, February 25, 2018

February 27, 2018

Until I started hiking, I never thought I’d get to see snow here in Southern California. After spending 27 years of my life in Pennsylvania, you’d think I’d be over it. I guess I’m not. This past weekend we drove up through Angeles Forest with the intent to enjoy some snow. The plan was to do a short hike along the PCT from Islip Saddle to the beautiful Little Jimmy Campground. My husband had been feeling under the weather all week, so it wasn’t a good idea to do anything strenuous. When we got to Islip Saddle, however, the wind chill was so cold, we opted out. We got back in the car and headed over to the Blue Ridge Trail. This was one of the first trails we ever hiked in Wrightwood. It’s a great go-to trail when you just want to hike along a mellow trail through a pretty section of forest that will lead you to a nice vista on top. While I wasn’t expecting to be knee deep in snow, I was happy to at least get to see a little bit on some sections of the trail. They want another storm this week, so fingers crossed, Southern California will get to see a little bit more winter!