Gosh, am I behind on my posts... The past month has been quite eventful, although not necessarily with hiking. I decided to share my latest hike to Mount Baden Powell, a kick-butt trail in Angeles National Forest. Since I have not done much hiking in the past 30 days, I felt completely unprepared for this one. At 9 miles round trip and almost 3,000 ft elevation gain, this trail just promised not to disappoint with the views, hence I sacrificed my sleep, gathered my remaining hiking strength and headed to the trail head.
Starting this trail early is the key. At 8 AM, the weather was already rather warm for the hike uphill. On good thing about this trail is switchbacks. The elevation gain is very moderate and relatively paced, but don't get me wrong, it's still elevation gain. The views open up as you get higher and higher. On one side, you see the flat and somewhat developed land (north) and on the other side, mountains and, far in the distance, signs of LA civilization.
I must admit, the north side reminded me of Fresno, not really a pleasant reminder overall. But the south side (picture above) was what I was looking for - peaceful and remote from hustle and bustle. It was not long until I reached the top, much less tired than I thought I would be, perhaps because of company distracting me with conversation from continuous incline. In fact, I think this is why I only took one picture on this hike, somewhat abnormal for me, but probably indicating that I actually was present in that moment in time.
The hike back was a bit lengthy, but beautiful nevertheless. Something to say about hiking in the pine forest...
Starting this trail early is the key. At 8 AM, the weather was already rather warm for the hike uphill. On good thing about this trail is switchbacks. The elevation gain is very moderate and relatively paced, but don't get me wrong, it's still elevation gain. The views open up as you get higher and higher. On one side, you see the flat and somewhat developed land (north) and on the other side, mountains and, far in the distance, signs of LA civilization.
I must admit, the north side reminded me of Fresno, not really a pleasant reminder overall. But the south side (picture above) was what I was looking for - peaceful and remote from hustle and bustle. It was not long until I reached the top, much less tired than I thought I would be, perhaps because of company distracting me with conversation from continuous incline. In fact, I think this is why I only took one picture on this hike, somewhat abnormal for me, but probably indicating that I actually was present in that moment in time.
The hike back was a bit lengthy, but beautiful nevertheless. Something to say about hiking in the pine forest...
