Mount Pinos, Grouse Mountain

30 June 1996 (Anniversary Hike)

By: Joe Young

Leaders: Ruth Dobos, Frank Dobos, Joe Young, Bobcat Thompson, Mike Sandford, Peter Doggett, David Eisenberg, Stag Brown, Jim Fleming

Thirty-one hikers met at the Sylmar rideshare point on Sunday morning for the drive to Mt Pinos. Leaving the sweltering heat of the Los Angeles basin for the relatively cool air at 8,000' was refreshing. They were joined by six more hikers at the parking lot below Mt Pinos, where Joe Young made a brief announcement about the significance of this outing, then were joined by three more hikers on the summit. Group pictures were taken at the relatively new signs marking the beginning of the trail from Mt Pinos to Cerro Noroeste. Now totaling forty hikers, the group left the summit of Mt Pinos at about 10:15 for Sawmill. The leaders took turns leading, sweeping, and mingling with the rest of the group today. One hiker checked out on Sawmill. The rest headed for Grouse Mountain. We celebrated on the summit of Grouse for over an hour. Many photographs were taken of much of the group as well as of individuals recreating the epic handshake of Jack Bascom and Weldon Heald on the summit rocks of Grouse fifty years ago. The group celebrated in customary HPS fashion with champagne and shared goodies.

The group then headed back to Pinos at varying speeds, with the slowest arriving on its summit at 4:00. Most hiked down the road to the paved parking area while a few were lucky enough to receive rides down the dusty road.

Nowadays this is a simple hike on an established and maintained trail. Many leaders today could find the summits of Pinos, Sawmill and Grouse in their sleep. But it was not always so. Fifty years ago when Jack Bascom and Weldon Heald drove to Cuddy Valley and began their hike, they had nothing but topo maps, compasses, and a will to succeed.