Wrightwood

Day 20 - April 25

Mile: 364.5 to 374

up/down: 1350/3050 feet 

No new birds today. 

Another town day, this one with a little help from our friends. We woke to the coldest temperature of the trip, 25F with wicked 20+ mph winds. Getting going was brutal but we had an appointment to keep. We continued to traverse the ridge top passing many ski fixtures for Mountain High Ski Resort. The most interesting was the giant holding ponds, impoundments for snow making water we guessed. We made Inspiration Point at mile 364 at 9am and true to his word there was my friend Randy with his wife Perri. We scooted down the hill in their car, picked up our box at the hardware store, then proceeded to demolish about a million calories (Susan and I) at a local cafe. It was great to see them and spend a few hours together. All good things must end and the trail awaited. 

Baden-Powell on the right

Holding pond. Unfortunately no birds. 

We started where we left off and continued on toward the largest mountain we will climb in the San Gabiels on the PCT, Baden-Powell.  We got to Vincent Gap and the start of the four mile and 2800 foot climb to the summit. Staring up at the deteriorating conditions and calculating the amount of light we had left, we pulled the plug on the day. We are now stealth camping near the trailhead parking area and will give it a go tomorrow morning. The weather is predicted to be better for one day before the next storms system arrives. That's all we need to get over and to much lower elevation. As I sit here typing this in the late afternoon, at nearly 2000 feet lower elevation the last night, the temperature is plummeting, snow pellets are falling, and the wind hasn't let up. Not going up the mountain was the right decision. 

View down to the desert 

A huge thank you to Randy and Perri for making the effort to help us out. It sure save a lot of time and hassle getting in and out of town. And it is always great to spend time with special friends.