We’ve driven on Hwy 2 many times past the turnoff to the Grassy Hollow visitor center, but we’ve always had other places to get to and have never stopped in to check it out. With the grandbabies with us in Wrightwood for the second weekend in a row, we decided to pay Grassy Hollow a visit and catch a presentation given by a local search-and-rescue team member with her rescue dog – we thought it also might be fun to hike down the PCT from Inspiration Point, since the one-way distance didn’t appear to be much more than a mile. The talk started at 1pm, so we arrived about noon at Inspiration Point – where Hwy 2 makes its final crossing of the Angeles Crest before dropping east through Wrightwood to its northern terminus at Hwy 138 – and headed out shortly thereafter. We immediately climbed a moderate pair of switchbacks to reach the eastern shoulder of Lightning Ridge, where the trail leveled out nicely for a stretch before descending down the western side of the ridge top – the views here were typically awesome, ranging from the Mt. Baldy area to the southeast to the always-impressive Mt. Baden-Powell to the southwest. As we came off the west slope of Lightning Ridge, the views opened northward as well across a clear desert floor. We thought the PCT might ascend the next bump on the ridge, but it leveled out again after dropping briefly into a shady dell and bypassed the ridgeline. Hwy 2 follows a parallel route just to the south, so our walk was accompanied by the steady hum of motorcycles passing by on their way wherever. We covered the 1-1/4 miles to Grassy Hollow in about 40 minutes, arriving about 10 minutes before the talk was scheduled to begin. After wandering about the place for a while, we found the amphitheater area, where we and another lady were the sole audience members for the presentation. It was an interesting talk, and the boys enjoyed meeting Spanner, the rescue dog (now retired), as she demonstrated how she detects a person hidden from view, returns to her handler with a report (a bark), then leads help back to the person – quite remarkable. We ate some lunch and checked out the various displays at the visitor center before heading back up the trail – it took us a bit longer on the return trip as Jude began to complain about tired feet almost immediately, so we went slowly and took frequent breaks (Ollie cared not, as he quickly fell asleep on Chris’ back shortly after leaving Grassy Hollow). We eventually reached the crest of Lightning Ridge again, and Jude’s enthusiasm revived as we walked down the final grade to the trailhead. Nearly three miles total, Jude certainly had a good workout as he did the whole thing under his own power (with some hand-holding from Jane). We totally recommend Grassy Hollow visitor center, which is complete with stuffed specimens of most local animals and other informative displays – Jude got a kick out of the “touch boxes”, where he could stick his hand into a box, feel and guess its contents, then open it to see if he was right. This short section of the PCT is also kid-friendly, as we passed two other families on the way with young kids walking on their own. A fun day we’ll have to do again.