It was a beautiful June day when Weldon Heald and I hiked to Grouse Mtn. He was excited over the prospects of finishing his 100 Peaks. Although I had been with him in climbing a dozen other peaks on his list, I hadn't, as yet, become afflicted with the 100 Peaks "bug." I recall that I drove my car that day. We stopped at the Chuchupate Ranger Sta. in Lockwood Valley to inquire about the one way dirt road that ended in Cuddy Valley. We left the car at the highest point on the road and in less than one hour of cross-country travel, reached the top of Mt Pinos. We passed a small green cabin that had been built by Glen Bowlus, a fellow I knew. From there, we followed the present trail to Sawmill but there was no trail to Grouse Mtn. We had no champagne (its use for HPS celebrations hadn't been discovered), and to record my congratulations, Weldon set up his camera for a picture. I remember his enthusiasm and excitement, while my thoughts were "Poor fellow, he must think that someday others will be doing this."
We returned on a trail that Weldon was familiar with (he had been to Sawmill before) that was south of the present trail from Grouse to Pinos and passed by a spring.
I always enjoyed my trips with Weldon, for besides his fine personality, he was one with many new ideas and he had an abundance of mountain knowledge.
[Lookout Editor's note:
Jack Bascom's write-up is a composite of his trip report which first appeared in THE LOOKOUT in 1976, and a letter to me dated July 13, 1996.]
