This cache is placed in honor of Benjamin Davis “Don Benito” Wilson, for whom Mount Wilson is named.
Benjamin Wilson, born in Tennessee in 1811, came to Alta California in 1841, married into the local aristocracy and became a Mexican citizen. During the Mexican War, he joined the American side, was captured and became a prisoner of war. With the end of the war, he was released. In 1850, California became a state and Wilson was elected Mayor of Los Angeles in 1851.
In 1864, “Don Benito” (as he was known to his Mexican friends) was looking for a source of timber to build wine barrels and fences for his vineyards in San Marino. He set his sights on the mountain peak that loomed over his rancho where, he had been told, stood stands of cedar and sugar pine. To reach the mountaintop, Wilson constructed a trail to the summit. Expecting to be the first white man to reach the peak, Wilson was disappointed to find two abandoned cabins near the summit (possibly built by horse thieves).
The timber on the mountain did not suit Wilson and he abandoned his timber venture. The trail remained, however, and for many years was the only path to the mountaintop. Locals referred to the mountain as Wilson’s Peak. The name “Mount Wilson” first appeared on USGS maps in 1900.
A Sierra Club web page with more history and detail on Mount Wilson is HERE.
This cache is located near the upper end of the Mt. Wilson Trail.
From April 1st until December 1st, the quickest access to the cache is from the south parking area of Skyline Park. (Look at N34 13.357, W118 03.756 for a plaque honoring Benjamin Wilson.)
From December 1st to April 1, the entrance gate to Skyline Park is closed but, since trails run through the park, it is accessible. To reach the upper trail during the winter, hike down the Mt. Wilson Toll Road (the gate is just west of the Skyline Park entrance). At the junction of the Mt. Wilson and Mt. Harvard roads, look for the Mt. Wilson Trail on the left and hike up to the cache.
For the serious hikers among you, there’s year-round access via Sierra Madre and the lower Mt. Wilson Trail.
As John Robinson notes in Trails of the Angeles, Mt. Wilson has more trails leading up to it than any other mountain in the San Gabriels, so there are numerous other routes as well. The Angeles Chapter of Sierra Club’s Hundred Peaks section has an excellent page with directions on reaching the peak. It can be found HERE.
Cache container is a 4.5-inch round aluminum butter dish container. The cache is slightly off the trail on the uphill side in a rock overhang with fairly easy access. Please carefully conceal the hiding place when you are finished. The spoiler photos are no longer applicable, but remain for historical purposes.
Be on the lookout for muggles. This is a very popular trail. I was surprised by one while hiding the cache.
Have fun!