In Wrightwood for the first time since both our Yosemite trip and the concurrent Blue Cut fire that nearly reached the community, we were anxious to stretch our muscles that hadn’t seen much activity once we returned to our daily grind. We had discussed hiking the 7+-mile Waterman Mountain trail again but decided to visit Throop Peak instead, since it lies about 20 minutes closer to Wrightwood and we’d get back before the day got away. We first hiked Throop Peak on our second visit to Mt. Baden-Powell in May of 2014 – by trail, the summit lies 2.3 miles south of the high point of Hwy 2 at Dawson Saddle, and is reached via a wonderful trail built by Boy Scout volunteers in 1982. The Dawson Saddle trail is well-constructed and elegantly routed, following the contours and natural features of the ridgeline at a moderate, steady grade – after trending more or less due south for about 1-1/2 miles, the route turns abruptly eastward as it passes across Throop Peak’s north slope, ascending to a junction with the PCT east of the summit. From here, our ascent would follow the PCT for only about 30 yards before digressing up a use trail that winds its way up through a lodgepole forest to the open summit area. We were out the door at the cabin a little after 7:30am, arriving at Dawson Saddle about 25 minutes later. The morning was fairly cool for August, and we both wore light jackets as we headed south up the trail under a light but constant breeze. We used the conventional trailhead on the east side of the ridge, and our legs felt so spry to walk with only light daypacks on our backs – what a huge change from Yosemite. We made good time up the handful of switchbacks above the trailhead, quickly gaining the ridgeline and continuing southward. There are a number of great viewpoints along the ridge, where the tree cover seems to open and allow expansive western vistas down the range – we stopped at one of them and munched our belated breakfast of energy bars, thinking of bringing the kids, still back at the cabin, up here later that evening to watch the sunset (ended up not happening, but we’ll do that someday soon). Just before resuming our walk, we were passed by a pair of southbound hikers, the only other folks we’d see on the way up – soon, we found ourselves making the turn eastward, and within 10 minutes, we were at the PCT. Turning south and then west up the use trail, we continued climbing without fanfare, save for the views south to a cloud-covered Inland Empire, its marine layer blanket yet to burn off with the morning sun. The summit was as we remembered, barren and without a register (that we could find, anyway), but the views here (at 9,138′) rival those found at Mt. Baden-Powell three miles distant and 261′ higher to the northeast. In this arid Southern California landscape, it’s interesting to note the comparative differences with the areas at similar elevations near Sunrise and May Lake in Yosemite – a couple of degrees of latitude obviously means a lot. After some photos, we started back, spending only about 10 minutes at the top – we met a few groups heading south as we returned north, evidently having beaten the crowds up here for a change. We were back at the Jeep in under three hours, choosing the steeper use trail back to the western, alternate trailhead at Dawson Saddle. Back in Wrightwood by 11:30am, it felt good to get outside and breathe some clean mountain air to start the day. Included in the photos below are some snapshots of the burn areas east of Wrightwood – all local residents, both full-timers and weekenders like us, owe the firefighters, law enforcement personnel, and volunteers a huge debt of thanks, as well as condolences to those whose homes were among the 105 structures lost to the fire in other communities.