Chantry to Eaton Canyon via Mt. Wilson
Assigning the Pace Setter, Navigator and Sweep. Click here for all photos.
All us backpackers met at Chantry Flats and did last shakedown in the parking lot. I handed out crew gear and had the four scouts decided themselves how they would distribute it out. Based on the forecast, they all decided to cowboy camp (without tents). We did not bring shelter, only lightweight Tyvek groundsheets.
The crew
The stream along the trail still had a decent amount of water. Everyone did very well going up the trail, no one conked out.
We arrived at camp before sundown and no one else was at camp; we had all of Hoegee’s to ourselves to decide what site we wanted. I let the boys decide on the site. I appointed James the crew leader based on his rank. The highest rank and most experienced backpacking scout is typically chosen as the crew leader.
Once a site was picked, James ran down the rules of what needs to be done first in order to set up a campsite.
James carefully explain what needs to be done first starting with establishing a place to sleep, then to set up the stove, followed by hanging the bearbag. Our crew leader delegated each of the jobs out to the boys. The boys all slept in a row on one of the tent sites. Amber and I were close by on another site. Julio shows a small site just above the boys. We took very little space in our campsite.
The Scouts carefully laying out the Tyvek as a groundsheet
It wasn’t long till other campers started to show up. There were yet another five groups that ended up populating about three quarters of Hoegee’s camp that night.
One the boys brought his own stove as well as one MSR stove. We brought our own stove for us three ASMs. None of the boys except for James knew how to set up the MSR stove, so I had James help. Danny was working on hanging the bear bag but had a little difficulty, so James went to help Danny while I showed Evan how to set up the stove for his rank signoff.
Once the stove was roaring, and the bear bag was hung, we started divvying out the boiling water for our meals. Danny was the only other Scoout except for James that had a freezer bag cozy. Something to work on with the boys.
After dinner, most of us what out foraging for wood. They ended up finding a lot of downed branches which made for a great campfire. Some of the boys worked on building the campfire for their sign off.
By 9 o’clock, we were all ready for bed. The sky was clear; the air was cool but not cold. It was going to be a perfect night to sleep out under the stars and the canopy of trees about us.
At 10:30 that night, the group across from us were drinking and really loud, so I got up, with Julio at my back, and asked them to please keep their voices down. While we were there we noticed over 20 empty cans of beer and two, one gallon bottles of vodka. They were in for a long night and a tough morning!
Saturday morning, day two:
The boys waking up after a night of sleeping under the stars.
The morning was cool and perfect for a hike to Mount Wilson. Last night’s low only got down to 56. Everyone slept well. We got up around 6:30 am and began pasteurizing water and tearing down camp. After eating a quick meal, we were on the trail again, heading up the Upper Winter creek trail.
Planning out today’s route
The boys did well on the steep grade. We took lots of breaks and walked slow. We rotated pace setters, navigators and sweeps. James wanted to be sweep but like everyone else, we took turns.
Even Andy the “Lab Rat” did well
Once we reached Manzanita Ridge, we stopped to eat lunch and take a rest. All the boys except one wanted to summit Wilson. There was talk about the cafe at the top and ice cream. One of the ASMs wanted a cheese burger but I do not want the boys to divert from the menu we had planned. Plus, it takes something away from the experience. If we had been in trail for a few days, I think it would have been more appropriate, but I thought an ice cream bar was sufficient as a treat.
After lunch, we took a few photos and discovered our camera’s battery was on the blink. One minute it had 4 out of 5 bars, the next minute it went to zero and shut down. The rest of the trip I resorted to the iPhone.
I told the boys that they needed to decide to either press on to the top or head down to our next camp. Once at the junction, three of the boys made it clear they wanted to summit Mt. Wilson. The other Scout dug in his heals and argued against it. I suggested the boys work it out themselves so we three ASMs walked away to let the boys decide on their own.
Nearing the top of Mt. Wilson
I could hear the boys talking and negotiating. There was talk about redistributing the load, taking more breaks, even leaving the boys that are too tired to stay behind with one of the ASMs. I quickly squelched that idea due to being two deep.
Finally, after a few minutes of negotiating, the boys came to a unanimous decision: they were all going to the top.
The Toll Road is not nearly as steep as the Mt. Wilson Trial. We all walked up with ease and made it to the top. The boys were all very happy and proud at their accomplishment.
We walked to the Cosmic cafe and each ordered ice cream.
The seven of us spent about 30 minutes on top as we talked and reveled in our accomplishment. The hike down was long and arduous, though not difficult. The road seemed to go on forever. Below, the valley was socked in with fog. A layer of clouds blanketed the Southland while the sky above us bright, sunny and warm.
One mile before walking into the “cloud”
As we got closer to our next destination, Henninger, we walked into the fog–into the cloud. Suddenly the temperature dropped and the humidity skyrocketed.
Our camp reservation was thwarted as a group of young adults overtook all of Fuji campground. One of the other sites seemed vacated but there was a crummy tent pitched. The ranger later explained that a party hiked up, set up the tent and continued onto Idlehour. In other words, they were reserving a spot at the expense of other backpackers. Inconsiderate.
We found a site at Upper Campground and set out our packs. Cowboy camping again at its best. The cloud continued to envelope our camp. We knew we were in for a damp night.
A simple camp setup
I made the boys responsible for their own bear bag hanging, stove setup and cooking. We three ASMs did the same. Once we finished our meals we all took a Break. Amber and I went for a walk up to Fuji again to help stretch our legs. When we got back, it was starting to get dark. Everyone unanimously decided to call it a night at 8:00.
Chinese Water Torchure
It must have been around 9:30 that I woke to a cold tingling sensation on my face. At first I thought my face had fallen asleep. But as I looked up into the boughs of the tree above us, I saw that the overcast turned to a thick fog; we were in the cloud and getting wet. At first, the tops of our bags were wet but in another hour the tree limbs became saturated and started to drop on our faces. This went on for the rest of the night and into the morning.
Thick fog blanketed our camp all night. So much for the clear forecast!
The next day we woke to more fog. Every sound was muted, even the birds. We got up and began breaking camp. The boys all got a kick out of the wet conditions. Fortunately, they were all warm and dry. Next time I will at least bring a tarp for conditions like this.
Once we finished breakfast and packed up, we headed down down the Toll Road finishing up our trek at a little over 17 miles. The boys all had a great time and can’t wait to go again!
