Mount Wilson Astronomy & Mountain Bike Campout

Mount Wilson Astronomy and Mountain Bike Campout
The Big picture: Save the Date!! Sign-ups at 3/29 meeting.
This campout will provide you with the most breathtaking view of Los Angeles you will ever see. We will camp at the LA County facility reserved exclusively for Troop 355. Scouts will be given a private Saturday afternoon tour of the Mount Wilson Observatory including telescopes that George Hale, Albert Einstein and Edwin Hubble used to explore our universe. Enjoy a tri-tip BBQ and later that evening, join amateur astronomers with telescopes in our camp for a tour of the Southern California sky. Sunday morning those scouts who are interested can hop on their mountain bikes after breakfast and head back to the scout house via the Mount Wilson Toll Road through Henniger Flats and Altadena.
The Cost:
$30 per camper (father or son) will cover everything send check to Mr. Tom Koch 1908 Warwick Rd. San Marino, CA 91108

The Details:
Saturday morning we’ll deliver our mountain bikes to Mr. Koch’s house between 8am and 9am. Our bikes will be transported up to the campsite at the County Facility for us. All bikes must be in top condition. Bikes will be inspected (particularly brakes and tires!) and only approved mountain bikes will make the trip.
Saturday afternoon at 3 pm, we’ll arrive at the County Facility at Mount Wilson and set up camp. See the enclosed map for directions. We’ll take a guided tour of the Observatory Complex from 4 pm until 6 pm. NOTE: THE ANGELES CREST HIGHWAY IS CLOSED. WE WILL BE TAKING AN ALTERNATE ROUTE THROUGH SUNLAND. EXPECT 1 ½-2 HOURS TRAVEL TIME UP THE MOUNTAIN. WE WILL BE ARRANGING CAR POOLS.
Saturday evening, Troop 355 will host a BBQ and feed you. We’ll have a camp fire and spend the evening star gazing with the Mount Wilson Astronomers
Sunday morning, the Troop will provide breakfast; we’ll pack our camping gear, throw it in a car and ride our mountain bikes 10 miles down the Mount Wilson toll road back to Altadena. From the trailhead it’s another 5 miles down to our scout house.
What to bring:
The 10 essentials, a tent, a sleeping pad, a camp chair, warm clothing and toiletries. The County facility has restrooms and a kitchen that we will use.
The Logistics:
We are going to carpool to get the scouts to Mount Wilson. We would like as many dads as possible to make the trip, but obviously some of the dads are going to need to drive our gear back down the hill on Sunday morning while other dads will need to ride down the trail with the scouts.
The Trail home:
The Trail home is long 10 mile ride hike down the Mount Wilson Toll Road and then 5 more miles down through Altadena. This is an unpaved and marginally maintained dirt road. The road as been washed out in several locations but single track trails have been cut through these slide areas. We will carry our bikes through these slide areas. Water is available at Henniger Flats. Bike helmets, sturdy mountain bikes with off-road tires, spare inner tubes and good brakes are a must! If you have any questions about your Scout’s ability to complete the ride, please accompany him so that you can encourage him to the bottom.