Six Pack Kickoff: Mt Wilson

Peak	Mt Wilson
Group	Sunday Hiking Crew
Trailhead	Mt Wilson Trail in Sierra Madre

The Daylight Savings Time lost hour wasn’t going to stop us from summiting. Not today. We gathered in front of the Lizzie’s Trail Inn at 7am while the neighbors slept and made our round of introductions, used the (flush) toilets and set out at 7:30. Having been there before, none of us thought of signing the trail register, and soon our group spread out with the trail tigers out front and myself at the caboose with Adriana and Ersula.

We heard water almost as soon as we passed the last trail sign. It was wonderful to see so many yellow and purple wildflowers, and to hear the rushing water below. This was my second or third time here, and the trail seemed more manageable. First Water, Orchard Camp, Manzanita Ridge, the Toll Road: the landmarks seemed to tick away sooner, even if my time wasn’t all that faster. I spoke to a few people along the way, the two WTC instructors doing a conditioning hike, who told me about Mother Moo ice cream in town, or the backpackers who started at the Sam Merrill trail and were doing a loop to Sierra Madre. I kept on pushing ahead, wanting to tell the early group to wait for the slower hikers for a group photo. Along the way, Marcella passed me. She’s a very fit hiker who wanted to sleep in, and here she was, overtaking me between Manzanita and the toll road.

I arrived at noon and found the rest of the group having lunch at one of the picnic tables, overlooking the LA Basin shrouded in haze. I got a hot chocolate that the Mt. Wilson Observatory so kindly set out for hikers. The Cosmic Café was closed.

After a round of photos and other hijinks (friends recorded a #22kill video with pushups on the deck), we set out again. I decided to take the toll road again, the rest of the group opted for the trail accessed through the Mt. Wilson parking lot.

The afternoon heat was blurring the line in the horizon. I felt it baking my face. A merciful breeze kept things manageable.

I finished the hike just before 5 p.m., and made a beeline to Mother Moo’s for a big scoop of salted chocolate ice cream. A successful hike if you ask me.