Day 22 -- 5/1/2011

THIS WAS WHAT you'd call a Forrest Gump kind of day.  Life being the box of chocolates thing.  Last night, I packed my ski gear and gathered beta on Mt. Baden-Powell, the second highest peak here in the San Gabriels.  With the recent SoCal warm spell, the deep snowpack in the local mountains has been receding quickly.  But, even with the warm temps, I was pretty sure that Baden-Powell, with its north facing chutes and timbered glades, would probably still hold enough snow for some  decent corn, especially on the higher pitches.
Though the west is covered with unprecedented snowpack, warm weather activities beckon, and reliable ski partners have now turned their interest to mountain biking,  rock climbing, kite-sailing.  This could be the last shot.
I set the alarm for seven but was up by six-thirty, primed for a quick getaway,  The trip to the Baden-Powell trailhead is about 70 miles, requiring and end run around the eastern gap of the San Gabriels by way of the Cajon Pass and Wrightwood.

[ascent, by other means]

Passing Mountain High, things were looking pretty grim with barely a trace of snow at 6,000, even on the north faces.  The Baden-Powell trailhead parking lot is just a couple of miles further.  A Scout troop was forming up for a hike to the summit.  Not a ski, snowshoe, or winter boot in the group.  There was definitely snow in the summit chutes, but access would require a couple thousand feet of hiking on dirt in AT boots -- not a happy prospect.
I wished the Troop Leaders good luck and turned the car around for the return trip to Pasadena.
I was back home before noon and focused on some chores and clean up.  But as I was sweeping out the garage, I had a thought as I looked at the bikes hanging from the rafters.  So I loaded up a set of wheels and headed to the trailheads above Altadena.  It was hot and dusty, and my box of chocolates proved that there's more than one way to ascend a mountain.

Day's Vertical: 2,500*                                    Season to Date: Still 66,500