It was the winter of 1926-27. The Boy Scouts of troop 14 were going to climb from Sierra Madre to Mt. Wilson, a 15 mile round trip. My brother, who was a scout, got permission to bring me along as I was only 10 years of age. At that time, a boy had to be 12 years old to become a Boy Scout.
We hiked 4 miles to Orchard Camp where we stopped to eat lunch. There was a cabin where hikers could buy food and drink, but we had our own. There were a lot of fruit trees, but being winter, the trees were bare.
After lunch, I hiked behind the leader and we were the first two to reach Mt. Wilson. I was so proud to beat the rest of the scouts. I played in the snow until it was time to hike back. My groins were so sore that I could hardly walk. A man and his wife gave Philip, a fat Boy Scout, and myself a ride home.
On February 26, 1992, Tony, my nephew, and I drove to Sierra Madre in two cars. I left mine there and drove to Mt. Wilson in his. As we hiked down towards Orchard Camp, some parts of the trail were washed out. When we reached Orchard Camp, everything was grown over - no fruit trees, no cabin. We took a couple of pictures and hiked out.
So you see, 65 years later, I completed the round trip of Mt. Wilson - my longest climb!
