Getting that motel room was a wise decision. It had rained overnight and it was cold in the morning! I lingered in the room, watching the news from yesterday: the Pennsylvania special election senatorial race going to Democrat Connor Lamb with 49.8% (GOP Rick Saccone was expected to win bigly, according to Trump, but came in with 49.6%). Stephen Hawkings, famed physicist suffering from ALS, died yesterday, and this morning's national Walk Out Day among school students protesting gun violence. Many of Arizona's schools are on spring break this week so I'm not sure how effective that would be locally.
At 10:50am I signed out of the motel room and got on the way to the Bailey Canyon Wilderness Park in Sierra Madre, a foothills town 12 miles away. The Jones Peak trail sounded like the ideal afternoon hike: rated as "hard" at 6.6 r/t and 2240' elevation gain. I could knock out that peak before the afternoon rains were forecasted to get started.
And yes, it was a tough hike. The peak's only at 3386', much lower than the nearby Mount Harvard at over 5000'. The trail switchbacked up through mountain laurel, past an old foundation, and arrived at a bench at the summit. WTH?! By then dark storm clouds were drifting in and the winds got cold. I was in three layers but others I saw on the trail were in tshirts and shorts.
On a warmer, clearer day, with more time, I'd have done the Mount Harvard challenge, but today was not the day.
The San Gabriel mountains are an impressive range, but the main rock seems to be sand. The hillsides are not very sturdy and one can see remnants of former landslides. The higher I hiked, the more I could see of the greater Los Angeles area. There are plenty of flood basins in these foothills towns, and radio towers lined up in the lower peaks. I would not want to be down below during a flood! I could spot the Hollywood Hills and Runyon Canyon. I enjoyed my time there, but wish the weather had been more cooperative.
Despite the increase in winds and darker clouds, people were still going up as we were going down. I was now wearing my windbreaker to stay warm.
We detoured to the waterfall for a half mile on the way down, but the falls were dry. On a hot day the box canyon would make for a cool break, but now I was just tired, and the dogs were, too. Sadie went to sleep shortly after I got back to the van and snored a bit. It was 4:20pm, too late to start my return drive to Arizona (more rain is due tomorrow and I'd rather just leave).
Stopped at a Starbucks in pretty historic Sierra Madre and then drove 150 miles east to Chiriaco Summit where I took a dry campsite for the night. I was tired and went straight to bed, although I had to convince a stubborn Sadie to make room for me on the platform.
More when I get back home in a few days.
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