Bear Canyon Backpack Trip (2023)

Meet:  Saturday morning, 6:30 a.m. sharp, at the Scout House (eat a big breakfast before arriving).  We will distribute the dinners and cooking gear among the crews (I will send out the cooking crew list later this week). 

Drive up:  Shortly after 6:30 a.m. we will split into carpools and drive to the trailhead at Islip Saddle, about an 80-90 minute drive from San Marino.  We should try to squeeze into as few cars as possible – we can leave extra cars at the Scout House parking lot.  Cars parking at the trailhead should hang a National Forest Adventure Pass on their mirrors – these are available at REI and sporting goods stores, as well as the gas station just south of the 210 at the Angeles Crest exit.

Food:  Everyone should bring their own trail lunch for Saturday and breakfast for Sunday, plus any trail snacks you may need.  The troop will provide the dinner for Saturday.  You do not need to bring any cooking gear – the troop will provide backpack stoves, propane fuel, pots, cooking spoons, sponges and soap.  You just need to bring your own mess kit (just a bowl and a fork or spork, and a cup if you will be making hot chocolate or coffee).

Gear:  We hope all our new backpackers had the chance to attend Dr. Reiling’s Intro to Backpacking meeting to learn what to pack.  The Backpacking Checklist on the troop website (http://www.bsa-troop355.org) has a full list of the gear you should bring (from the home page click on Resources then Backpacking Checklist).  In short, you will need a backpacking tent (5 pounds or less), plus a backpack that fits you, plus a sleeping bag that is rated between 15 and 30 degrees F and is about 3 pounds.  These items can be borrowed or rented from REI.

Clothing:   Do not bring cotton clothing of any kind.  You want wool or synthetic hiking socks, a tech hiking shirt, and a fleece or other synthetic jacket, as well as a seam-sealed rain shell or poncho.  Good hiking pants or shorts – preferably zipoffs so you can covert between pants and shorts as needed. Moisture-wicking underwear.  And boots that are broken in, that are comfortable to walk in.  Try not to pack more clothes than you will need – for a one night trip our experienced backpackers will be bringing only the clothes they are wearing on Saturday, plus rain gear, a jacket and a sleep system.

Weather:  The NWS forecasts great weather in the San Gabriels.  It should be fairly warm during the days (low 70s) but since Little Jimmy is at 7500 feet, it could be cold at night (low 40s).  And while rain is not in the forecast, in our experience it could always rain no matter what the forecast says, so bring your rain gear and pack covers. Bring your sleep systems (long johns and beanie hat).

Navigation:  We will emphasize proper navigation on this trip.  All scouts should bring a compass – it is an essential component of any scout’s gear.  We will provide the maps for this trip – our scouts will orient the maps before we start hiking, and tell us which way to go. 

Water:  Everyone should carry 1- 2 liters of water for the hike up to camp (either in plastic or nalgene bottles or a Camelbak style water bladder).  We can get additional drinking and cooking water at Little Jimmy Spring just outside of camp – but it needs to be filtered, so every tent should have a water filter (you can borrow from another scout or dad if you don’t have a filter).  The spring suffered some damage in the recent fires and the basin to catch water from the spring is gone.  Plan on either bringing a gravity filter or something to catch water in that can then be filtered.

Other Gear to remember:  Insect repellent, sunscreen, TP, first aid kit, headlamp or flashlight.  A cathode shovel is also needed as the restrooms have burned down.  Extra Ziplock bags for packing out all our trash – don’t bring large trash bags, bring gallon Ziplocks instead.  Since we will be ditching our backpacks on Saturday afternoon for a 3 mile hike to Mt. Islip, we recommend you bring a small daypack or string bag to carry water, a rain jacket and a snack up to Mt. Islip – these can also be shared.  Check our Backpacking Checklist to make sure you bring everything else you will need.

Additional Questions:  We know it can be difficult to gear up for your first backpack trip, most of us had many many questions the first time we backpacked with the troop.  So please feel free to contact the troop leaders if you have have any questions.  Our main goal for this trip is to have a safe and fun trip – and a big part of that will be helping our new backpackers become experienced backpackers.