The best time for hiking during the hot summer months is EARLY! I like to be on the trail either before sunrise or shortly after so I can enjoy my time on the trail before the day heats up. This is also the time of year when I like to stick to the high country or look for higher elevation hikes which are usually a bit cooler than those at the lower altitudes. Mount Williamson was the perfect hike for today; a short 5 miles from the Islip Saddle trailhead with a little bit of an elevation gain and a fun climb. The early morning sunlight was brilliant as we headed up the trail which starts off on the PCT. It wasn’t long before views of Mount Islip opened up to the south on the opposite side of the Angeles Crest Highway. The hike to Mount Williamson is a fun one. We did this last year in September and I really enjoyed it. The climb is mostly steady until you get closer to the top where you leave the PCT and the trail to Mt. Williamson becomes quite steep and rugged. Once at the top we had wonderful 360 degree views. It was only us on the summit so we took our time, had some snacks and after orienting my map, I spread it out and secured it with some rocks so I could use it to identify some of the surrounding features of the area. Many of the surrounding peaks were visible including Mount Lewis, Mount Baden-Powell, Throop Peak, Mount Hawkins and Twin Peaks to name a few. To the north I could see all the way out to the Mojave Desert and to the southwest I had a nice view of Williamson Rock, which was once popular with rock climbers until the area was closed off to protect the mountain yellow-legged frog. It was barley 9 am and already I could feel the sun starting to heat up the day, so we headed back enjoying our time on the trail and the sweet, vanilla fragrance of the Jeffery pines along the way.
We wanted to try out a different route to Mount Baden-Powell, so we decided to start our hike from Dawson Saddle. It adds a little bit of extra mileage, but there are really great views along the route because much of this hike follows along the ridge once you reach the junction for the PCT. It's also less heavily trafficked then the route up from Vincent Gap. Since Baden-Powell was added to the Six Pack of Peaks Challenge, it's become increasingly popular. We actually only planned on hiking to Baden-Powell, but we had the time and decided to go up to Mount Burnham and Throop Peak which were close by. I should note that all of my photos were taken with my Android phone today. Somehow I managed to forget my camera which was a big disappointment because I love doing my photography along the way. I really enjoyed this route and trying out a new trail. After the hike we drove into Wrightwood for a bite to eat. On the way we passed by the trailhead at Vincent Gap and it was mobbed with cars! I couldn't believe how crowded it was. I was grateful we didn't go up that route today. Looks like we'll need to save the Vincent Gap route for a weekday when it's less busy. Baden-Powell is a lovely peak. It's also nice to say hello to the 1,500 year old Wally Waldron limber pine that sits on the ridge just below the summit. I'm sure he was pretty popular for photos today! It was another great day to be in the mountains!
My alarm went off at 4 am, but both of us were tired and needed more sleep. I got up, fed the cat, gave him some playtime and then went back to bed. About 6 am I woke up and knew if we didn’t hike we’d spend the day regretting it. We suited up, grabbed the packs and headed out. By 10:30 we were at the trailhead for Dawson Saddle, 7,901’. This was the latest we’d ever started a hike, but at the higher elevation the air was chilly and the winds were about 30 to 35 mph. I was glad we were starting off in the mid-morning sun. Dawson Saddle is an absolutely beautiful trail. It was built by the Boy Scouts in 1982. My favorite section of this trail is going up over the ridge where the views are incredible on either side. It’s also nicely graded so even though you’re climbing, you don’t really notice it much. Soon we arrived at the junction for the PCT where you can take a left to Mount Burnham and Mount Baden-Powell, or you can follow it to the right and summit Throop Peak and Mount Hawkins. We’d already done Throop over the summer, so our plan was to skip Throop and just stay on the PCT heading over to Mount Hawkins. As the trail skirted around Throop, you could notice some fire damage. It was still a very pretty trail and the views continued throughout the trek. Eventually, we reached the fork where the PCT heads down or you can veer left to reach the rocky summit of Mount Hawkins. Once at the summit we had nice 360 views all around. We took a break to enjoy the solitude and crisp mountain air before heading back. On the return, we passed by the use trail that heads up to Throop . We decided since we were already here, why not check it out. The trail was steep and faded in and out in spots, but it was just a short distance to the summit. Right before the peak, the trail became well defined again and the plaque dedicated to Amos G. Throop became visible. I think it may have been around 1:30 by this time, so we didn’t hang around for too long before heading back down. We got back on the Dawson Saddle trail and continued another 1.9 miles before reaching our car. After bagging two peaks in one day, sushi and sake seemed like a good idea. It was a perfect ending to a lovely day.
