In preparation for hiking in Peru, I spent the last week hiking in the mountains to the east of Los Angeles. My 82-year old uncle gamely came along to keep me company while I base-camped at Table Mountain (7500′, near Wrightwood) and Manker Flats (6200′, north of Claremont). Several of the hikes took us up to and along the Pacific Crest Trail. We averaged well over 1000′ of elevation gain as we climbed from Big Pines to Blue Ridge Campground, from Islip Saddle to Little Jimmy Campground, and from Dawson Saddle to Throop Peak. The last of these started at 7,903′, the highest point on the Angeles Crest Highway. We were very lucky to be able to do the latter two hikes as the road had been closed for over three years between Vincent Gap and Islip Saddle; it re-opened just a few weeks ago.
Manker Flats Campground is at the base of Mount San Antonio, locally known as Old Baldy and the highest point in Los Angeles County. We only hiked to the ski hut at 8200′, a steady trudge up the fire road shown in the photo below.
The next day we took it easy and hiked just a couple of miles up Icehouse Canyon to the Cucamonga Wilderness boundary. This trail differed dramatically from the one up Mt. Baldy–the rocky footpath followed a stream up a verdant valley where a flood had wiped out many of the original cabins leaving all sorts of ruins to explore.
After five nights of no showers (or shaving for Harry), we headed for a motel in downtown Palm Springs. We left the foggy, chilly nights around a campfire for the warm desert breezes and patio dining after a couple of hours sipping beers by the pool.
The next morning we joined about 30 other hikers catching the first tramup to Mt. San Jacinto State Park. From the tram station, it’s a 10-11 mile roundtrip hike to the peak with an elevation gain of 2300′. Harry did quite well, making it to Wellman Divide where he sat and rested for three hours while I continued on to the peak.
