How to get there

For some reason I thought Mt. Baden-Powell is in this remote location that would take an incredibly long time to get to because you'd have to swing west to Pasadena on the 210 and then head east on the Angeles Crest Highway (Highway 2). What reinforced this belief is the frequent landslides that would cause sections of that highway to be closed for repairs. Perhaps because of that, if you google driving instructions for getting to the trail head you would get something back that says "Sorry we can't compute that for you." For all these hurdles, I never hiked Baden-Powell until recently.

In fact, getting to Mt. Baden-Powell is pretty easy. You just need to get to Wrightwood first. Then, head west on the Angeles Crest Highway for about 9 miles. This mountain is so prominent that there is no way you can miss it (below is a view from the side of the road). The highway first takes you up to around 7,500 feet, then dips to the foot of the mountain at about 6,500 feet, and this is when you should pull into a parking lot on the left side of the road. Don't worry - this is a huge parking lot and you can't miss it, either. However, you need to have a wilderness permit on display in the car. You can get an annual pass from sporting goods stores like the REI for around $30.

The mountain tends to be more interesting right after a storm has come through. However, you should be prepared for bad road conditions by bringing a set of snow chains. Also be prepared to park the car somewhere in between the trail head and Wrightwood, and walk the last couple of miles to the trail head. During those 9 miles between Wrightwood and the trail head, I saw several "road closed" signs and gates that could be shut. I have yet to find a reliable source of information on whether this section of Highway 2 is open or not. The Caltrans website or 800 number gives generic information that's not detailed enough. I just take my chances. It's worth it.

What I like about this trail

This trail is around four miles one way to the top, with an elevation gain of 2,800 feet. It's not as tiring as the hikes to Baldy or Cucamonga/Ontario Peaks. Those hikes have elevation gains close to 4,000 feet and are therefore longer and more tiring. The Baldy area hikes are also much more rocky and therefore much harder on the knees. A person in good physical condition (say, regular jogging plus a hike every two weeks) can summit in about two hours with no sore muscles after the hike. It's just generally more enjoyable and hurts a bit less than the more challenging hikes. Plus, you get to have a nice meal at the Grizzlies Cafe in Wrightwood afterwards. What's not to like?

Even though they say that the Baden-Powell trail is a popular one. My feeling is that it is used much less than the Baldy area trails. On a weekday, which is when I typically do my hikes, there are usually no more than three or four cars in the parking lot by 9am. In the most recent hike (pictures below), I was sharing the entire mountain with just two people (and their footprints in the snow) ahead of me. If you like hiking in the snow, then you would also love this trail, because it climbs the northeast side of the mountain where snow tends to stay longer.

Scenes from a winter hike

The entire hike is a collection of switchbacks up the mountain that become shorter and more frequent as you climb higher. Since I did this hike right after a winter storm, I almost had to put on these micro spikes from the very beginning.

After about a mile into the hike, I came across a nice resting spot with a long bench, where you can look down into the desert to the north of the mountain while eating a snack.

Around 1.5 miles into the hike, you will see a sign post that says "Lamel Spring". This is the last reliable source for water on the trail. The trail then becomes more gentle and less steep as you gain elevation. There are several flat spots where you can easily find places to rest off trail, like these below.

Then the trail gets steeper again, until I get to a ridge. That's when I caught up to the people producing these footprints.

There is perhaps only about 100 feet to the summit at this point, but the snow scene on this ridge is spectacular.

There is a famous named tree on this ridge that's more than 1,500 years old. This picture was taken when there wasn't much snow on the ridge.

On the summit there is an American flag, along with a monument honoring Lord Baden-Powell, the founder of the Boy Scouts. On this windy day the windchill on the summit must have been in the single digit. The hardshell was a lifesaver, but it was still too cold for me to sit down to write a referee report comfortably. So I left the paper in the backpack and went for the hot soup instead.

You might recognize the snow-covered mountain behind me as Mt. Baldy. Even though there is no snow on it when viewed from the south, there is plenty of it when viewed from the summit of Baden-Powell.