Megatransect 2013: Great Hike: Bailey Canyon to Jones Peak

Gary and Sherrie at Jones Peak

Gary and Sherrie organized a great walk today. After reading my last post, they scaled it down a bit. Good thing. This was a tough hike for me. Actually, I feel pretty good right now, nothing really hurts. But I am sure I will feel it tomorrow. My biggest problem is needing to improve my cardio.

The hike is a loop up Bailey Canyon to Jones Peak, down a rugged steep trail to intersect with Mt. Wilson Trail. The Mt. Wilson trailhead is located in Sierra Madre.

We managed climb up 2425 feet in elevation in just over three miles. And my lungs were definitely feeling it. I found this great picture of Jones peak.

We started in Bailey Canyon Park in beautiful Sierra Madre. I parked near Lizzie's Trial Inn at Mt. Wilson Trail Park. Gary and Sherrie picked me up and we drove to Bailey Canyon Park. Then it is pretty much straight up the mountain to Jones Peak. Amazingly there were no cars when we got to the park at 7 am. Which also meant that there were very few people on the trail. I huffed and puffed all the way up. Luckily Sherrie and Gary are both very encouraging and patient. I was so slow. The third mile in took me over 43 minutes, though I decided to leave the clock running when I stopped to catch my breath. I only paused it for our snack break and pictures.

I was really glad for the shade all the way up the hill. Once we got up there, the view from Jones Peak was amazing. We really could see all the way to the ocean and Catalina Island. It was stunning. Here are a few pictures:

The cross-over trail from Jones Peak to the Mt. Wilson trail was very steep. I was really thankful that Sherrie decided I would prefer to go down it than up. Getting to Jones Peak from Bailey Canyon was hard enough. Luckily Gary lent me one of his walking poles. Next time I will definitely bring my shiny new ones. And his advice to lean forward on the down hill was really helpful - better balance and less knee stress.

The top part of the Mt. Wilson trail was through the woods. Luckily today was much warmer than last week, so I didn't mind the woods. Once we got near First Water, there were suddenly tons of people. The trail from there is pretty wide, and much less steep than the higher trails. It is also in the sun, so I was glad we were going down. We then walked down into Sierra Madre, past Lizzie's Trial Inn to my car. Then I drove Gary and Sherrie to their car at Bailey Canyon Park.