Throop Peak, Angeles NF – May 24, 2009
The Angeles Crest Highway (Route 2) up and through the San Gabriel Mountains has a fairly convoluted history of being open and closed in various places, at various times, for various reasons. For most of time in Pasadena, at least some of it had been closed, and I had never driven the entirety of the road. One particular section, from Islip Saddle to Vincent Gap, had been closed for several years, and while I had been right up to either end of that closure, I had never gone through that middle section. So, when I heard it was open, it seemed like the right time to head up there for a hike. There aren’t actually that many trailheads heading out from that section, but there are a couple leaving from Dawson Saddle, which is also the highest point on the ACH at 7901′. Joe and I ended up heading to Throop Peak, which has the added amusement value of being named after Amos Throop, the man who founded Caltech. The hike was fairly brief at 5 miles and 1200′ of gain, but it was a nice day, and we managed to do a complete loop from Pasadena to trailhead to Pasadena. And with hindsight and the Station Fire messing everything up again, it was good that we grabbed the opportunity.
I look pretty good there, if I do say so myself
