Cyclists Mount: Throop Peak Via PCT from Islip Saddle

Hikin' Jim's list of 23 San Gabriel peaks above 8000 feet has been mocking me relentlessly ever since I laid eyes upon it. So Sunday morning I got up not particularly early and headed out solo for the hills to scratch a few summits from the list. My initial plan was to ascend the PCT from Islip Saddle to Throop Peak and bag Hawkins and Islip on the way back down. As it turned out, I only made the first two due to an equipment malfunction on the return trip so I ended up missing out on Islip.

Anyway, I came at Islip Saddle along the Angeles Crest Highway from La Canada. The cops were as thick along the ACH as Poodle Dog Bush in the burn area. Arrived at the saddle about 9:35 a.m. to a half-full parking lot, clear skies, and reasonable temps. Slid into a pair of trail runners and was on the move by 9:45 a.m.

Less than a mile from the trailhead, I ran into a bazillion boy scouts packing out from a weekend at Little Jimmy. According to one of their leaders, they had used Little Jimmy as their base camp and then had ascended to Baden-Powell to pay homage to their founder.

After the deluge of scouts, I expected Little Jimmy to be hopping. Empty except for one guy waiting for his wife/girlfriend/sister/mistress to scale Islip while he lounged around in the shade. Past Little Jimmy, the trail was empty all the way to Throop except for a couple of trail runners that were making me look bad (which wasn’t difficult).

Given the empty trail, I was surprised when I arrived at the summit of Throop to be sharing it with about seven other folks. I jostled for position to get a pic of the monument, looked for the register without success, had a snack and some liquids, and headed back down. As I neared the Dawson saddle from the Throop use trail, I think I saw Hikin' Jim’s evil twin making his way up to the summit.

On the way down, I veered off on the use trail out to the summit of Hawkins. Once there, I looked for a register to document my monumental achievement but alas, I was rebuffed. I thus changed into a long sleeved shirt, turned tail and headed for Islip.

Midway down from the Hawkins ridge, another trail runner made me feel inferior by whizzing by me sans shirt. Candidly, I felt worse about Mr. Runner having the confidence to go shirtless without blinding folks than I was about his pace, but just to make myself feel better I deliberately passed two older Asian men right before Windy Gap. It was at that point that the stitching on the shoulder strap of my pack gave way. I also ran out of water (long story behind that one). Karma for my competitive little stunt with the Asian hikers I suppose.

So I decided to call it a day and come back for Islip another time. Being out of water, I dropped down to Little Jimmy Spring which was flowing quite nicely. I filled my bottle, drank deeply from it, and made the final descent to Islip Saddle all the while wondering how long it takes for Giardia to kick in.

All in all, a good day in the mountains.

Some pics: