Angeles National Forest
Activity: Backpacking
Date: June 14 & 15, 2019
6.5 miles, 1700′ elevation change, 5.5 hours duration of hiking, rated Moderate
This hike was in the Angeles National Forest in early Summer. Everything about it was perfect, plenty of natural beauty, nice fresh air, a good workout, temperature around 70 and the view from the summit was wonderful.
I will say the flying bugs were out in force. They were mostly the annoying little flies. We had bug repellent and that kept them from landing on us, but we wish we had the face netting that we saw some PCT serious hikers using. By the way, at the spring at little Jimmy’s we had a long talk with some of the long haul Pacific Crest Trail hikers which was fun and interesting. They relayed tales of hiking through rain storms, trudging through snow, blisters so bad that they became infected and forced them to seek medical attention and kept them off the trail for a week. They said that after about a week or so of hiking all the PCT folks are hobbled with bad blisters, but after that their feet just harden. They told us about how many rattle snakes they had seen in our mountains right near their feet and that quick reflexes are what saved them.
I did this backpacking adventure with my good friend Dexter, and my 15 year old son, Alec, on Father’s Day weekend, which made it a great Father’s Day!
The hike stomped on the accelerator from the get-go as it was steep right out of the parking lot. (Don’t forget your Adventure Pass for parking). The middle of the hike was a more gradual elevation change, but the last part going up to the top was again rather steep.
On the top were great views in every direction. One direction was the Mojave Desert, another view the San Gabriel Mountains, and another the ridge line. On the top is the ruins of an old cabin which was neat to checkout.
We went up on Friday and there were a few people camped in the area designated for camping. Around sunset a bunch of Boy Scouts started filing in. I must note that on Saturday when we came down the parking lot was full, cars were parking haphazardly, and there were big groups going up. So if you are going on the weekends be prepared to have plenty of company.
After talking to a solo backpacker camped near us, we heard that a great hike to do is from Little Jimmy’s to Mount Baden-Powell. There is a trailhead and parking area for Mount Baden-Powell, but according to the hiker, who was scouting out the hike for his group of boys next week, it had an even more aggressive amount of elevation change all at once instead of the hike we were on which was a little more spread out. I think I will have to put his recommendation on my list and camp here again and try the hike to Mount Baden-Powell via Little Jimmy’s. He also mentioned that Mount Baden-Powell is a rite of passage for the Boy Scouts and there is a monument to the founder of the Boy Scouts there.
Islip sits at 8,250′ above sea level and is a Moderate hike. We loved it and having the nice spring at Little Jimmy’s was great. We still carried a lot of water just in case, but we did some refilling and it worked out wonderfully. We still filtered the water just to be safe. But it tasted really good. Highly recommend Pursuing Balance Through Adventure on the Islip Saddle via Little Jimmy’s in the Angeles National Forest.
Thanks for joining Dexter, Alec, and I as we were Pursuing Balance Through Adventure backpacking in the Angeles National Forest. Now that you are inspired why not make your own adventure, but before you do please, oh please COMMENT, LIKE, FOLLOW, and SHARE. I know a lot of you tell me that you are checking out the website, but if you don’t say hello once in awhile I do not know that you are even there.
A storm on a high mountain can be a match for even the hardiest man, a cliff or crevasse or expansive ocean is unquestionably a less than 100% safe place to be. But an even greater risk than these is not to take them at all, to allow life to pass by in safe, forgettable shades of gray. – Author Unknow
Roger Jenkins
Pursuing Balance Through Adventure
