San Gabriel Mountains
Approach
Start at the Islip Saddle trailhead for the Pacific Crest Trail.
Route Description
Hike east on the Pacific Crest Trail, passing Little Jimmy Camp and Spring in about 2 miles. This spring is the only water on the route. Continue up and along the ridge, passing the Windy Gap Trail in about 2.5 miles, the Hawkins Ridge Trail in about 5 miles, and the Dawson Saddle Trail in about 6.5 miles. The summit is about 8 miles from Islip Saddle.
This route makes a nice weekend backpack, and can be done point-to-point by leaving a vehicle at Vincent Gap and driving over Dawson Saddle to Islip Saddle to start.
The forest along this ridge is quite lovely. On south-facing slopes is a mix of Jeffrey and ponderosa pine. On north-facing slopes are white fir, whitebark pine, lodgepole pine, and ancient foxtail pines near the summit.
VERTICAL GAIN: 2400'
DISTANCE: 8+ mi.
Essential Gear
A good pair of boots.
Miscellaneous Info
If you have information about this route that doesn't pertain to any of the other sections, please add it here.
Additions and Corrections
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| Steve Larson | Route Comment | |
Hasn't voted | The spring at Little Jimmy, two miles from the trailhead, is the only water on the hike. It can be a long, dry walk, especially on a hot summer day. | |
| Posted Sep 19, 2005 11:54 am | ||
| Steve Larson | Route Comment | |
Hasn't voted | It's more like eight miles between Islip Saddle and Baden-Powell. I'm not sure I would recommend it as an overnight backpack, as the only water is at Little Jimmy Spring. Even the Islip-Baden-Powell-Islip round trip can easily be done in a day. My wife, who has little hiking experience and only modest conditioning, was able to do it in about 8 hours, including lunch breaks. | |
| Posted Sep 19, 2005 12:07 pm | ||
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