Mount Baden-Powell to the Saufley's Hiker Heaven!

Well, we survived the highly anticipated Baden-Powell, despite the sour weather that held us up in Wrightwood, and made it to paradise at the Saufley's home in Agua Dulce! Here is a quick update before we wander off into the Mojave Desert tomorrow morning.

5/18
We were going to get out of Wrightwood one way or another! We enjoyed the stay, but we we were restless to get back on the trail. We had a Trail Angel, "Deacon," give us a ride to Vincent Gap at the base of Mount Baden-Powell at 10 A.M. The three person crew, consisting of Scout and ourselves, pushed quickly through the dense fog bank to 8,000 feet, where we experienced snow across the trail....LOTS of it. Following footprints from the few people that had ascended earlier in the morning, we climbed straight up the face and topped out at 9,300 feet.
Just as we began descending down the ridge, the weather on one side of the mountain cleared and gave us 
beautiful hundred mile views and no wind, finally! As the sun warmed up the ice covered trees, we were faced with a new challenge....dodging sheets and blocks of ice falling from the tops of tough, windswept pine, spruce, and cedar trees. We bopped in and out of the clouds and dodged ice bombs for the remainder of the day until we found a cozy spot to camp at a picnic area. After eating our stuffing and jerky, we quickly climbed in the tent and sleeping bags as the temperature plummeted outside. (16 mile day; total at 390.2 miles).

Forest on the steep slopes of Baden-Powell.

Walking a knife's edge ridge at 9300 ft.



The boys on the summit



Foggy and cold descent

Clouds part briefly for a hundred mile view.

A campground tribute to little Jimmy Jenkins

5/19

 After a restless, COLD night, we packed up with our icicle fingers, ate a half-frozen bar, drank a water slushy, and hobbled out of camp like ectotherms on a Wisconsin winter morning. A short detour for the endangered mountain yellow-legged frog brought us back to the PCT. Happy to have the sun back, we cruised a quick 24 miles to a ridge-top vista point where we set up camp early around 4:30 P.M. Scout, Bert, and Ernie immediately went for the food bag. Soon, we were relaxing with a peanut butter and BBQ potato chip tortilla appetizer and gazing down below at the Station Burn and the Mojave Desert. Dinner soon followed, consisting of wild rice with tuna and cream powder. Hit the spot! As the sun melted over the horizon, we resided to the tiny tent for a few pages of Edward Abbey and John Muir.

Forest overlooking some of the Station Fire detour.

PB and BBQ chips

5/20

Up and about right behind the sunrise for a warm morning! We monotonously cruised all day through the charred remnants of the Station Fire that erased the forest 20 months ago. One of the highlights of the day came when Adam sat on a nest of red ants. A dance ensued that would have done pretty well on YouTube had anyone been taping. Although there were multiple casualties, the ants definitely made their mark. After a rolling 24 miles, we settled in early at the North Fork Ranger Station to camp. Hungry and four hours of light left, we decided to cook a feast of stuffing and tuna followed by loaded mashed potatoes. We covered both entreees with BBQ potato chips and olive oil. A couple of spoonfulls of PB for dessert, and we still were looking for more... We were not alone at camp tonight, as we shared the flat ground with thru-hikers from Georgia, Michigan, California, Maine, and Russia. The crackle of massive powerlines and yelps, trills, and songs from the thrashers guided us all to rest...

Scout and Adam resting for lunch

5/21

With 18 miles to the Saufley's in Agua Dulce and growling bellies for town food, we got up with the sun at 5 A.M. and hit the trail for a magnificent sunrise creeping up the San Gabriel Mountains. We flew down the mountains, stirred up a flock of beautiful Western Tanagers, weaved through the canyons of Vasquez Rocks, and rolled into Agua Dulce before noon. First stop...the local supermarket for cold beverages and fresh food. After vegging out front for 3 hours with our friend Grey Ghost, we trotted up the road to the Saufley's, AKA Hiker Heaven. We both were in awe...shower, toilets, fresh towels, laundry, internet, copious amounts of information on the upcoming trail and towns along the way, a shuttle service (35 miles to REI for new shoes!), bikes with baskets for groceries, large weatherproof shelters with cots, a full kitchen, TV, etc... Jeff and Barb Saufley have been hosting the thru-hiking crowd for 15 years! Multiple volunteers help them out with shuttling and many of the other challenges of dealing with 500 hiker bums over the next two months. A massive...massive thank-you to the Saufley's and their entire volunteer operation (MILE 454.4)!

Sunrise

Racer

Scout and Adam at Vasquez Rocks

Our friend - self proclaimed "Bad Chris" showing off his tan

Hiker Heaven

 
5/22
We are spending our lazy day relaxing at the Saufley's, catching up with other thru-hikers, and prepping for our next leg through the Mojave Desert...

We were both a little bummed out to miss the 21st Annual Reggae Fest yesterday, but we would like to give a special thank-you to Jim, Linda, Kestrel, and the Hotel crew for giving us a shout out for our cause. We were definitely there in spirit! Also, we would like to make a special thank-you, once again, to all the generous, loving people that have helped us along the way, through donating to our cause, sending positive energy our way, trail mail, or by taking us into their homes like their own children. One more shout out of respect goes to our friends Grey Ghost and Bad Chris for being the two biggest STUDS on the trail!

Bad Chris and Grey Ghost

Much Love,

F+A