Today I closed out my first month on the trail in fine style. First, allow me to modify my review of Wrightwood. It is a town worth visiting IF you do some planning first. Go past the Acorn Trail by 6 miles to hit the S2 road. You can easily hitch back into town, thus saving a 2200 foot uphill grind on your way out of town. Check in at the hardware store first to find a local trail angel, then you should have a pretty good experience.
Now, on to today. I started the day with a soak in the lukewarm tub, then headed down to the post office to grab my resupply box. As I got the the parking lot a car pulled up and out hopped Pockets. He had gone to the PCT kickoff event and just got back. He was hiking up the Acorn trail yesterday after I had come down, and he also ran into the asian couple. They told him they saw me, so he hiked to the S2 and hitched back to town to see if I wanted to hike together for a bit. He hung around town while I hiked the Acorn trail, then he hitched back up to S2 to meet me. On the way I passed a ski resort, watched deer running on the now grassy slopes, and stopped to climb a ski lift tower (pictured). Why? Because I'm scared of heights.
From there we decided we had enough daylight to tackle Mt. Baden-Powell, so we set off. The hike was long and steep, with the last stretch completely straight uphill through snow. I was just about dead. Near the top the PCT branches off from the peak trail. At that juncture we stopped to take pictures of the view, as well as of a tree that is estimated to be 1500 years old! I decided to take the summit, while Pockets pressed on to find a campsite. I took pictures of the monument on the summit, as well as the view.
Less than a mile later I found Pockets stopped on a ridge top. Looks like we had made it as far as we were going to with the available light, which was fine by me considering I had hiked 16 total miles, and done 5000+ elevation gain, all with a freshly loaded pack. Hiking with Pockets was nice. We have a lot in common, and he has some stories about alcoholism that were very pertinent, since that is something that concerns me and it is my goal to cut back.
Dinner was delicious, and I was treated to a view to the south that was stunning. It is either fog or smog in the valley below, but from here it looks like an ocean far below (we are camped around 9000 feet). I'm off quietly enjoying the sunset and blogging. I may hike with Pockets for a few days so it's important to get quiet time for peace and reflection.
