Boy Scout Mountain

Right outside of the town of Wrightwood lays Mount Baden Powel, a mountain named after the founder of Boy Scouts. While in town a snowstorm passed over, but it left its mark. As I ascended the mountain small patches of snow grew into large massive blankets of snow. Miles were spent following nothing but the footprints of those who have gone before me. It took a full twenty mile day to escape the snow, but eventually I was able to set up camp on dry ground. These early encounters with snow are hopefully preparing me for the snow covered Sierras I will go through in a few weeks. -Noel Nelson

Back on the Trail

Hot Springs
Slack line over river
Reaching for the Sky

 

After Big Bear it was back to the grind. Long days and big mileage. Although my motivation before was to make it to Big Bear my new motivation was to make it through the never ending desert to a hot spring. A true oasis in the the middle of nowhere. After a couple days trecking though very hot and dry canyons the hot spring was finally in sight. Multiple tubs are built in layers, connected only by the waterfalls as one flows into the other. In addition to the hot springs, the river flows through, so there are small cliff jumps as well as a slack line over the water. The original plan was for my hiking buddy Harry and I, to stay for a couple hours and move on but the spring enticed us to stay the entire day. That night I slept on the shore of the river with a view of the stars shining through the opening in the canyon. All in all it was a good stop. -Noel Nelson

Eagle Rock

At mile 106 there is a rock formation that looks exactly like an eagle. It is easy to miss because you can’t see it from the trail, but a quick walk to the other side is definitely worth it.

Just an Eagle Scout sitting on a rock that looks like an eagle in a country where the national bird is an eagle.

The Beginning

The day started when I left for the airport at 4am. After saying goodbye to my family, I was off on my own. I arrived in San Diego at 9 am and was picked up by a trail angel named Rob. Rob was amazing and drove me straight to the start of the trail. The start of the trail is very hot and dry but the people were plentiful and everyone was very cool. I finished the first day having gone 15 miles and camped with about 30 people.

Stay tuned for more to come! -Noel Nelson