Snow in SoCal?!?!

Yes, we've seen it all in this section. We went from slogging through snow at 9000' to reuniting with the toasty desert at 2000'. We had several chilly nights that froze our water bottles. After leaving Cajon Pass, we briefly dropped into Wrightwood to get supplies (and a veggie burger and beers) before making the 2700' ascent of Mt. Baden-Powell. The storms that drove us off the trail last week had indeed dropped many inches of snow and most of the trail was hidden. Luckily, we were not the first to go through and we had footprints to follow. It was very slow going and perhaps the most challenging 10-mile stretch yet. Many hikers opted to walk Highway 2 instead of dealing with the snow. Both of us had forgotten how beautiful the San Gabriel mountains are, especially considering their proximity to Los Angeles.

We are now in Agua Dulce at the Saufley's house. Donna and Jeff have been hosting hikers (sometimes as many as 65 per night) for almost 10 years. They provide everything a hiker could need including use of their car, laundry, showers, tents with cots, TV, music instruments, etc, etc, etc. We are enjoying yet another full day off before heading out into the Mojave desert. Hope all is well in the "real" world. Keep those comments coming.