This hike actually began at Dawson Saddle, but the photo gallery covers the Pacific Crest Trail from Throop Peak to Vincent Gap. It was another lovely day in the San Gabriels with the temperature in the mid-70's all day. Passing Mt. Burnham, named for Frederick Russell Burnham (1861-1947), scout and tracker for the US Army, officer in the British Army, and friend and mentor to Lord Baden-Powell, the trail approaches Mt. Baden-Powell from the west then arrives at a junction of the summit spur trail. The views from the top in every direction are stupendous, especially down the drainages of the San Gabriel River to the south and out across the Mojave to the north. Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell (1857-1941) was the founder of the Boy Scouts and penned a little ditty that demonstrates how his name was supposed to be pronounced. "Man, Nation, Maiden, Please call it Baden. Further, for Powell, Rhyme it with Noel." From the top the trail zigzags down the north face of the mountain to Vincent Gap 2700' below on the Angeles Crest Highway. I was chagrined to notice this time that almost every switchback has a short-cut that people have used to save
time and distance, thereby increasing the danger of erosion and trampling vegetation. I don't know whether this has been the case before but I don't remember it from my last hike here which was in 2011. The picture above is of the final section of the trail heading up to the summit. It is approximately 6-1/2 miles from Throop Peak to Vincent Gap, with another 1.8 from Dawson Saddle. The photographs in this gallery were taken on 7/14/13. The list of species for this segment of the PCT is
here.
