This is part 31 of the “Why We Hike” Series
Thursday, June 25th / 18.2 miles / 3,422′ gain
Vincent Gap to Three Points
We woke up at 4 am. Once again Kelly didn’t get much sleep which affected my ability to sleep. We’ve GOT to figure out how to make it more comfortable for her while sleeping on the trail! Anyway, we were on the trail by 5am.
For breakfast we got to eat 4 miles going up the Baden-Powell switchbacks – ouch! Zach was so excited to be out of the desert and back up in the mountains he practically dragged me up the mountain!
Along the climb we took a minor detour to Lamel Springs to filter some water. Normally springs are found much lower than the surrounding mountains; this one was at 7,750 feet!
We finished the climb to the 9,250’ peak, took the obligatory pictures, travel down for a mile or so, went up another small ascent over Throop Peak and then started a very long downhill section.
This downhill was really wearing on Kelly; it was killing her feet and subsequently her spirits. On every step she had to grit her teeth. I could see how much she was struggling, and so I suggested we get on the road at Islip Saddle and hitchhike down to 3 Points. This would shave a few miles of grueling downhill and because of the trail closure (for an endangered frog) ahead; we were supposed to do most of the road walk anyhow.
This part of the trail was well know to us, we’d hiked it numerous times in the last few years and we pretty much it by heart. It started feeling like we were back in our home turf. We got another reminder of home looking south through Windy Gap, the thick ozone haze creeping from the Los Angeles basin blanketed the Crystal Lake valley.
The spring at Little Jimmy Campground was flowing wonderfully with clear, cold water. After filling up our water at the Little Jimmy Spring we ran across 3 guys out for a day hike with their dogs about the time we made Little Jimmy Camp, none of which were on leash. The guys were looking for water as it was obvious they didn’t bring any and their dogs were in need. Irresponsible dog owners are a personal peeve of Kelly and I but we kept our mouths shut about that as I informed them how to find the nearby spring.
On the last half mile descent into Islip Saddle, we came across rattlesnakes #3 and #4 within a hundred feet of each other. One was in the trail and calmly slipped off into the very thick brush.
The other was near a cliff and desperately wanted to get back onto the trail. This poor fellow required that I use my trekking poles to toss him out and away from the immediate area as we were within sight of the trailhead and parking lot for Islip Saddle.
Good thing I did too, while we were taking a break at a picnic table in the parking lot area the day hikers came down the trail with their dogs off leash, leading the way. The only reason that none of those dogs had a rattlesnake encounter was sheer luck. As a general rule, dog owners seem to be clueless.
Normally it’s not the case, but the road walk was much kinder to Kelly’s feet. There was very little traffic on the road so we ended up walking about 3 miles until we finally got a ride.
Sam and his buddy Mark had experienced some trail magic the day before and were now paying it back by picking us up. They dropped us off a few miles down the road at the 3 Points trailhead. We thanked them profusely and continued on.
We hiked another 3.8 miles into camp and I spent over a hour collecting/filtering water from a small, dripping spring while Kelly set up camp. Tomorrow we go home so I indulged in double meal portions!
Continues here: Mill Creek Summit