We came down from Mt Baden Powell today, bagging a couple of off trail peaks along the way. Today’s hike was 14.5 miles, 23.3 km. A lot of that mileage was on the road due to a section of trail closed to allow an endangered species of frog to recover.

We started on trail at 8 am and right away headed up to Throop Peak at 9108 ft, 2776 m. The sharp climb, with no pack on, was a perfect way to start the day. The view from the top was excellent as well.

We descended back to the trail, and continued along the ridge until reaching Mt Hawkins. The peak here is at 8832 ft, 2693 m. A faint trail can be followed down the other side to save backtracking to the PCT.

After bagging a couple of peaks, we followed the PCT until Little Jimmy Spring. Here, we could collect water from a metal pipe embedded in the rock. This was also a good spot for breakfast and I heated up a couple of McMuffins from Cajon Pass.

The trail descended 2 miles from Little Jimmy Spring to the Islip Saddle on highway 2. From here, we began walking on the road for about 4 miles. The road walking was a bit mundane, but efficient and still had some good views. We also got to walk through a couple of tunnels which was quite cool.

Eventually the road took us to the Buckhorn Campground, where we could access the Burkhart Trail back to the PCT. It was great to be back on trail again, and very shortly we arrived at the junction with the PCT. Having finally walked around the closure at Williamson Rock, we decided to stop for dinner while still light. After dinner, there was just 1.2 miles to the camp at Cooper Canyon. There was a stream flowing through the camp and space for 20+ tents, as well as pit toilets and animal proof food storage lockers.