The eastern San Gabriels had gotten some snow the previous weekend, but whatever stuck had virtually disappeared by mid-week, and we were anxious to start exploring the area with vigor. Having not done anything at altitude for weeks, we decided to find something that would help us acclimate while still being a good workout. The Blue Ridge trail runs from the base of the Mountain High West ski area at Big Pines some two miles up the north face of Blue Ridge, terminating at a campground of the same name – another mile or so east of the campground is the unofficially-named Frost Peak, a prominent 8,405′ bump on Blue Ridge atop which is a large radio site. The Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) runs the entire length of Blue Ridge, so we figured we’d hike up to the campground, then follow the PCT eastward for some indeterminate distance before retracing our steps – in all, some 6-7 miles with about 2,000′ of elevation gain. We found the trailhead easily enough at the outlet of the west ski area parking lot and headed out about 11:30am, right away climbing moderately through some short switchbacks before trending more southeast in a more gentle traverse up the ridge. We encountered several parties heading down, each of whom had enjoyed cooler temperatures early in the day – by this time, the midday thermometer was close to 80 degrees, although the trail offered plenty of shade and a light breeze the whole way up. While at a definite incline, the trail gradient never felt too taxing – it was just the ticket for the acclimatizing workout we were after. After about an hour of hiking, we emerged atop the ridgeline at the base of a ski run and chairlift that dropped westward from a taller height to the east, and we found the campground just west of that point as well. We wandered through the empty campground looking for a nice lunch spot, choosing a table at the facility’s southern edge with views over the San Gabriel River drainage to the south – this would definitely be the spot to camp. We hadn’t seen any PCT signs yet, but as we wandered a little further south in search of better views, we found a well-groomed trail that we followed eastward, discovering a PCT marker where the trail entered the eastern ski area property. The trail winds its way east through the ski runs, eventually merging with the Blue Ridge road, a Forest Service route that closes in winter (but is now open given the absence of snow). A few hundred yards up the road, we found more PCT markers which we followed northward, contouring around a large catch basin above the ski area containing some water that didn’t look very fresh – with Frost Peak rising above us to the east and the PCT appearing to trend more along the north side of the ridge and away from its top, we veered up a steep 4WD access road that we followed to the summit. Frost Peak is so named for a benchmark designation on the topo map, and we passed the various antennae as we reached the broad and largely bare mountaintop, unsuccessfully searching for the survey monument. While various small mounds were probable monument locations, the large tree stump segment at the center of the summit clearing was the obvious highpoint, albeit an unnatural one – Chris climbed atop this to take some photos, although the 3-foot elevation gain did nothing to improve perspective. We poked around a bit through the radio facilities, noting several signs indicating continuous video surveillance of the equipment but finding no security fences or other measures – among the various structures was a stone house, and we wonder whether this was originally some sort of shelter that was later converted to its current use housing telecom gear. Wanting to take care of some business in Wrightwood before it got too late, we decided to head back, using a different access road for our descent but eventually reaching the same point on the Blue Ridge road at the catch basin. From here, it was all familiar terrain as we backtracked our way down the ridgeline, past the campground, and down the trail to the car. In all, we walked just under 7 miles, enjoying beautiful views and fantastic weather.