Mmm…Strawberry! (Strawberry Peak Day Hike, 2016)

Strawberry Peak Day-hike (Saturday, March 5): The troop parked at Red Box and hiked up the trail to Strawberry Peak. Strawberry Peak has its name because it looks like an upside down strawberry. The last mile and a half seems straight up, as we climbed the ridge to Strawberry Peak. This definitely tested some of the Scouts on their hiking and boulder scrambling abilities as well as the parents.

We had a few of the younger scouts that were noticeably struggling with this hike. The older Scouts stepped up to encourage and take care of the younger scouts’ needs. This is what Scouting is all about. This was very impressive. Young Scouts are far more impressionable by the assistance of an older Scout than by an adult. It definitely showed on this hike.

The view on top of Strawberry Peak was incredible. One could see the front range of the San Gabriel Mountains to the south. To the west, you can see towards Ventura. The desert mountains and flat lands could be seen to the north, and the east shouldered Mt. Baldy peak in its snowy splendor.

We could also see Sunday’s storm coming in from the west and from the south. The clouds were split into a thick layer of clouds that pushed up against the front of the San Gabriel Mountains. The high layer of clouds left a sun halo the entire day. Every so often a wisp of a cloud would make it over one of the mountain passes and rush past us only to dissipate into the drier air. By the time we finished the hike, what little moisture was in the clouds started sprinkling on our vehicles on the home.