After waking up at the bottom of a canyon, we began a 7000+ foot climb into the mountains around Wrightwood. It was a gradual climb, rising out of the desert over 20 miles. It took all morning, but eventually we reached the top.
At the top, we saw a large group of hikers we had seen in McDonald’s. We sat and rested with them before starting the descent to the highway, where we would hitchhike in to the city. We walked past the lifts of Mountain High ski resort and made it to the highway, where an improv actor picked us up on the way to Wrightwood.
It was a cute little mountain town that definitely catered to hikers. The grocery store had all the common hiking foods (Knorr sides, Nutella, snickers, etc) marked and in their own special section. The market even gave hikers a free hot dog.
Since it was memorial day, lodging was scarce, but we managed to find a room in a small motel right in the middle of town. The manager let us squeeze five hikers into the room and gave us extra towels and soap for showers.
We ate dinner in town before going to bed, sharing beds with people we barely knew. In the morning, we had breakfast and ran into some friends who had night hiked into town. They had done 40 straight miles to get there.
After breakfast, we finished charging our phones, getting food for the next few days, and eventually made our way to the trailhead one by one. Today we would climb Mt. Baden Powell, a 9400 foot peak. The climb was steep and my pack was heavy with food (and summit beers.)
I had hiked alone in the morning and reached the summit without knowing anyone up there. As I waited for the people I stayed with the night before, some new friends came to the summit. I offered them some beer and we celebrated the summit together.
After the second long hard climb in two days, we headed down the mountain to Little Jimmy campground.