PCT Day 23

Wrightwood to Little Jimmy Campground

22.7 miles (2.1 off trail miles)

Mile 383.9

As planned, my alarm went off at 5. Al was sleeping in, as he planned to grab a hitch to Inspiration Point, 8 miles down the trail where we’d meet. I didn’t want to skip any of the PCT, so opted to go back to where we had exited the day before.

Stretch and KP we’re both waiting on new shoes to arrive at the Wrightwood post office, so planned to hike out in the afternoon and meet us that night in camp.

By the time I had gathered my gear and chugged some brown breakfast drink, Sue was ready to roll. She dropped me off at the base of the Acorn Trail, gave me a final hug and was on her way.

I spent the next hour making the 2.1 mile, 1500 ft ascent that would bring me back to the PCT. Along the way I was spoiled by the epic sunrise perched above the sleepy cloud covered valley.

The wind was ruthless as I rejoined the PCT at the top of the ridge. The temperature was in the low 30s before factoring in wind chill, I was cold as hell. Unfortunately, this would be a theme that permeated the remainder of the day.

I made it to Insperation Point by 9 and parked my booty at a picnic table while I waited for Al to pull up in his hitch. I didn’t have a phone signal, so I was banking that our plans would play out as discussed.

Within minutes I saw a car approach with Al in the passenger seat, but the problem was that it didn’t stop…I checked out my map to scan what laid ahead and figured they had mistakenly gone to the visitor center a mile ahead. Hoping that was the case, I grabbed my pack and headed off in that direction.

Sure enough I turned a corner to see Al heading my way. Reunited, we set off together towards Baden Powell mountain.

It was an easy hike through the pines to the base of Baden Powell. We took a short break before beginning the ascent.

Four miles of steep switchbacks later I arrived at the junction before the summit. I found a nice cedar to sit on while waiting for Al to catch up.

The views were incredible. The mountain staring at me from across the valley was partly cloud covered, but it’s fierce summit refused to relinquish its snow covered summit to the hazy plumbs.

Once Al caught up we made the short trek to the summit and enjoyed a fantastic 360 view of the surrounding landscapes from 9399 ft.

Pictures snapped, we pushed on towards Little Jimmy Campground where we planned on camping.

The final miles were made interesting by the hellish winds that tried pulling us from the ridge.

We stopped by Little Jimmy spring to fill our bottles before hitting camp. The water pouring from the mountain was cold and crystal clear. This would be the first time I opted not to filter my water.

By the time we reached camp and pitched our tents it was around 6. The winds still ripped at our clothes, but thanks to the addition of our warm base layers it was bearable.

We enjoyed dinner at a picnic table with an assortment of other hikers including, Ron and Dodo from Israel, Yogi Bae from Houston and Alpha from Riverside. It was a nice way to end a long day, but as the sun sank the temperatures dropped sending us scattering to our tents.

Back in my tent I thought of KP and Stretch, who I hadn’t heard from all day. I assumed they were somewhere on down trail from us heading towards camp in their new shoes. Guess I’ll find out tomorrow.

P.s. Alex got his trail name today! He was dubbed Diva after repeatedly asking about showers, laundry and other creature comforts that the trail obviously lacks. He’ll learn real soon…