10 November 2008
BSA: Mt. Islip Hike
Posted by admin under: Outings .
In the mountains north of Los Angeles is the Angeles Crest Forest. I’ve camped there off and on for the last 20 years or so. This past weekend, my Boy Scout troop decided to hike one of the mountains there, Mt. Islip. This is our first prep hike for next year’s Mt. Whitney backpacking trip. I was woefully out of shape and I felt every foot of the 1700 foot elevation gain. It’s only 2.7 miles, but I realized that I am going to need to do some serious training if this short jaunt felt this tough.
It’s a popular hike and we passed almost a dozen other day hikers enjoying the spectacular views available at the peak including the Mojave Desert to our north and Catalina Island to the south, a span of over 100 miles. We camped at a favorite cabin run by an organized group of Boy Scout dads. It’s appropriately nicknamed Dads’ Cabin. After we practiced making a backpacking meal (there was a functioning stove indoors that we did not use), we laid out our campsites and a few of us prepared to sleep under the stars (or a small tarp in my case). During the night, the wind picked up fiercely. My tarp was staked down well, but the flapping was just so loud and annoying that one of the other dads retreated to the cabin to get some rest. I felt guilty so I packed it up and watched the stars before dozing off in my cozy down sleeping bag. I was awoken by a sudden downpour of rain. I could have wrapped myself in my tarp, but I decided this was all the excuse I needed and slept in the cabin instead. My son and a couple of his buddies just hunkered down and let the water roll off their tarps as they slept like burritos in a steady salsa rain.
The next morning the water that had fallen was frozen and there was a light misting of snow on the trees about 1000 feet above us. We got the old Franklin stove in the cabin roaring so the guys could thaw out and make breakfast. They packed up their gear and we headed back home after another great Boy Scout outing. Sweating in the sun on the hike, being blown around by the midnight wind, drenched by early morning rain, and crunching through the daybreak ice was quite a collection of memories for a 24 hour period. It was great fun and I can’t wait to do it again albeit with a body in better shape.
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