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Summited Baden Powell on 06/29/17, great hike.
HWY 2 road closure at Grassy Hollow Visitor Center. YES, the DOT website is WRONG! The road is closed 2.6 miles further up than the DOT site says, adding 5.2mi to your hike.
This will turn your original 8.3mi/2800ft hike into a 13.5mi/3800ft hike. It really changes the dynamic as you now need to account for more disposable resources.The good: Walking down the HWY2, in the middle of the highway, overlooking the San Gabriel’s, was quite an awesome experience. It was almost eerie not seeing or hearing cars driving down the road (they are locked/gated.)
The bad: You add and extra 5.6 miles and about 1,000ft of elevation to the total hike (These numbers were GPS spec’d) And on the way back to your vehicle, around mid day, the blacktop from the road will roast you. We all are experienced hikers, but everyone in my group started to form very small friction blisters due to the shear heat being absorbed from our shoe soles walking on the HWY2 blacktop towards the vehicle. Be prepared for this and bring some Leukotape/moleskin/ductape…to each his own!
Would I do it again? YES! It was a once in a lifetime experience to hike on a closed highway! However, the added mileage and elevation IS NOT FOR A BEGINNER and “maybe” a limit tester for an intermediate hiker.
For reference, I went through 2.9L of water on a 79-82 degree day with tree shade cover during the hike. MOST of the water was drank on the blacktop to and from the vehicle on HWY2 related to the sun exposure and heat buildup on the blacktop. Bring 4L to be safe. Also, this is a very straining hike, bring more food than you think you’ll consume, trust me.
Did you have any shade on the road walk portion?
Road walking can be miserable. Road walking in bright sun on a hot day? Intolerable.
There was absolutely no shade on the road walking portion. Infact, the tarmac was so hot that everyone was starting to develop hotspots/blisters on the way back to the truck. You are correct, that portion was MISERABLE on the way back. However, it was a ton of fun on the way up to the summit as it was nice and cool in the morning, no sun in sight, hiking down a two lane highway without a car in sight. Neat in it’s own regard but we definitely payed for it on the return back.
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