Silver Moccasin Trail

Silver Moccasin Trail
View along the Silver Moccasin Trail
Length	53 mi (85 km)
Location	Los Angeles County, California, USA
Trailheads	Chantry Flat above Arcadia, California Vincent Gap near Wrightwood, California.
Use	Hiking, Backpacking
Elevation
Highest point	Mount Baden-Powell, 9,407 ft (2,867 m)
Hiking details
Trail difficulty	Moderate to strenuous

The Silver Moccasin Trail is a 53-mile (85 km) trail located in the San Gabriel Mountains, just northeast of Los Angeles. It begins at Chantry Flat Recreation Area above the city of Arcadia, California, traversing upward and down through several canyons and along the high ridges of the Angeles National Forest. This trail connects Mt. Baden-Powell, Mount Burnham, Throop Peak and Mount Hawkins. It comes to its highest point of 9,399 feet (2,865 m) at Mount Baden-Powell after which point it descends to its terminus at Vincent Gap on the Angeles Crest Highway near Wrightwood.

The landscape of the Silver Moccasin Trail varies from lowland chaparral slopes, to oak-lined canyons, to the fir and pine forests of Mt. Baden-Powell, where several Southern California councils of the Boy Scouts of America have placed a monument to their founder, Lord Robert Baden-Powell.

The Silver Moccasin Trail started as a series of Indian trails originally created by the local Native Americans (probably Tongva), but its use was continued by Anglo settlers who either hunted or hiked along its route. In 1942, the Los Angeles Area Council of Boy Scouts established a designated route as the Silver Moccasin Trail, and any Scouts who completed the hike, usually involving several days travel, were qualified to receive the Silver Moccasin Award. Boy Scouts, especially those who are enrolled in “hiking troops,” walk this trail usually as part of a five-day backpack trip.

Alternate starting points, or trailheads, have been established for the SMT more than likely due to overuse or overcrowding at Chantry Flat, which has somewhat reduced the adventuresome attractiveness of the younger, less-traveled version. However, sections of the trail which are only 8 miles (13 km) to 10 miles (16 km) in length while reaching the Baden-Powell summit qualify it as a 20-mile (32 km) (flatland) hike due to gains in elevation which are about 5,000 feet (1,500 m). The Baden-Powell portions of the hike are also beneficial for acclimation to altitudes for beginning hikers who may experience mild altitude sickness between 8,000 feet (2,400 m) and 9,000 feet (2,700 m).