On the trail: Bailey Canyon Trail to Jones Peak

As I mentioned in my last post, our last few weeks have been spent really focusing on training, so we hadn't gotten to go on many hikes recently. Plus, I've been battling a pretty nasty cough for over a week now, so I've been trying to lay low. But this week we decided — enough is enough! We need to get outside, smell all the good outside smells, and get a good workout in! So we headed to Bailey Canyon.

Bailey Canyon trail is awesome — it's a great work out, has great views, and doesn't get super crowded. A lot of times if we only have a limited time for a hike, we'll head to Bailey and just hike to the first lookout point, which is honestly a pretty short hike (probably around 20 min up and less going back down) but it's steep enough to make us sweat (or pant). But today we decided to head all the way up to Jones Peak, a trek we haven't made since Thanksgiving. Here are the details:




Location: Bailey Canyon Wilderness Park in Sierra Madre
Length: 6.2 miles
Difficulty: Difficult
Parking: There is a free lot, which I've never seen fill up.


First things first, getting to the trail head is a tiny bit confusing if you've never hiked Bailey Canyon Trail before. From the parking lot, follow this first trail marker through the park, past the picnic areas until you reach a metal turnstile that goes out onto the street behind the park. The road only goes about a quarter mile, where it turns into a dirt trail with a big flash flood sign.



As you continue up this trail, you will see signs for the Canyon View Nature Trail/ Waterfall, and the Live Oak Nature Trail. The Live Oak Nature Trail is basically a meadow area with a few trail markers (not really work checking out.) The little trail to the waterfall is overgrown and kind of fun for a few minutes, but there is no longer a waterfall there. You want to head up and left to the Bailey Canyon Trail, which starts to climb steadily and turns into a series of switchbacks.



After about 15 or 20 minutes, you'll reach the first overlook point. A great stopping point if you're new to hiking or have limited time and just want to get outside for a little while. Also the perfect place to drink some water, take off a layer, and put on some sunscreen. Even though it was overcast when we did this hike, I could feel the sun radiating through the clouds. I will tell you now, in full sun this hike is HOT, so really prepare with sunscreen, a hat, water, etc. There is not a whole lot of shade from here on up.

This time of year, the trail is absolutely bursting with wildflowers, lush and colorful and humming with bees. We also saw several hummingbirds! But definitely keep an eye on your dog, as the fox trails are starting to dry out. These can be seriously dangerous is they lodge themselves up your dog's nose, eye, etc. Once they get into an orifice they are incredibly hard to remove, and they will usually creep further and further up. I've had a really horrible, expensive experience with a dog inhaling a fox tail, so they make me really nervous.



We ran into hardly anyone on the trail, so as we ascended further and further into the clouds, it felt increasingly peaceful, as if we were being enveloped into the natural world. The trail continues to ascend, twisting you back and forth, the views growing more and more spectacular, even shrouded in fog.




Eventually, the narrow switchbacks will bring you to a more shaded side of the mountain, where the trail will split in two. To the right is a little cabin foundation with a placard, which can make for a nice shady rest area or a turnaround spot for many hikers. Straight ahead, the trail continues — the last leg up to the peak, and it just gets steeper from here!



Finally, we came around a bend where the trail forked into three directions. To the left, a skinny trail rose up a ridge into the fog. To the right, a rocky scramble will lead you to Jones Peak. Out of curiosity, we climbed some of the ridge to left, which we discovered would eventually lead up to Mt. Wilson (an adventure for another day!) The view looking back down at Jones Peak was worth the extra sweat, though!

We headed back down to the fork, scrambled our way up the last stretch of trail, and took in the beautiful scrubby view on top of Jones Peak. I put Koa on the long line so she could tromp around and explore (within a 30 ft radius), poured her a bowl of water, and enjoyed a Clif bar on the bench. I was sticky and hot, my lungs felt hugely expanded, my thighs were complaining, and that Clif bar tasted like heaven. Even Koa took a few good sniffs around, and then plunged herself into some shrubbery to cool off and relax.Yes, she is in the dangerous fox tails, but since she was basically just lying there and not really sniffing around, I wasn't too worried. There are some really yummy smelling plants in the area, and Koa smelled great after her plant bath!




There's still no shade up on the peak, so we hung out and rested a bit, sunscreened up and wrote a bit, and then headed back down the way we came, for our much faster ascent. All in all it took us around three and a half hours, including our little detour up the Mt. Wilson Trail.