| Peak | Mt Wilson |
|---|---|
| Group | N/A |
| Trailhead | Chantry Flats Trailhead |
The dreaded Mt. Wilson :/
You’d figure with the experience gained from achieving the trek up to Mt. Baldy, Mt. Wilson would be easy. Not so. I learned a lot from this trek.
We had eaten what I thought was a brunch heavy enough for us to gather up enough energy for this trek. This meant however that we would start later in the afternoon rather than early in the morning. This was mistake #1.
We started at 2:20 pm in the afternoon. It was warm.
I had read what I thought was enough about the trail. We reached the falls and only then I found out we had went passed the trail up to Mt. Wilson. We had to trail back to the trailhead up.
Once we got back on track we saw lots of cool creeks and falls. The trek up was woody and nice all the way up to Sturtevant Camp.
Up at the camp it get more woody and was definitely much more harder. Luckily we had enough water.
We got up a series of switch backs and encountered two individuals in white camouflage pants, boots and white shirts. Their first mistake was asking where the lake was. I asked them what lake they were talking about. To which they stayed silent. There was a couple trekking down so we took the opportunity to pass these two questionable individuals while the couple passed us and run up to the rest of the switch backs. I think this we I spent most my energy.
The switch backs were definitely hard and left us winded. Once we reached the top we walked around all the buildings, a small museum and found a bathroom! This was definitely a plus. We were almost the only ones up there.
Once we decided to trek back down, we bumped into those two individuals again and we also passed them as quick as we could. We decided to run the way down. As soon we reached the camp however I wasn’t able to keep up with my wife. We had heard from a lady we had passed that the gates at the parking lot would be closed if we got there after sunset so I gave the keys to the car to my wife as she ran the rest of the way down.
I started feeling as my energy was totally gone. I got lightheaded, dizzy and really tired. That was at around the 4th mile. It must’ve taken me about almost 2 hours to get back to the parking lot. At the time I felt I was going to pass out but somehow I made it.
Once I found my wife up at the parking lot I felt nauseated. I felt really sick and wasn’t able to think straight. On our way down I felt really nauseated and threw up. We decided to stop at a 7-11 and get a soda. I had a feeling my sugar levels were probably low. Sure enough a few minutes after I drank soda, which I hardly ever drink, my body felt normal again.
So the lesson learned from this trek was to fuel up and make sure I keep enough food to keep my energy levels up and also to start hikes earlier in the day rather than in the afternoon. The heat along with the energy spent did not did me any good.
Although the views up the peak were awesome, the experience and because I didn’t fuel up the way I should makes me think twice about ever doing Mt. Wilson again.
Overall :/ is the feeling about this trek.
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