Tucked away in a quiet glen beneath the winding Angeles Crest Highway once stood Camp Pajarito, a former Girl Scouts camp. Fully funded by $15,000 raised through cookie sales, the camp’s name, “Pajarito,” meaning “little bird” in Spanish, captured the site’s youthful spirit. In 1949, the camp was officially dedicated beneath the pines, with over 200 Girl Scouts, along with their parents and friends, in attendance.

During the 1950s and ’60s, Camp Pajarito hosted individual troops on weekends and served as a destination for snow trips to nearby Mount Waterman. The camp was later used by the YMCA before being destroyed by a fire in the late 1980s.

The PCT passes right through this area, though thru-hikers are usually unaware that a camp once thrived here. A closer look reveals vintage relics from its prime…

An old roadbed to Camp Pajarito and the PCT intersect by Buckhorn Campground

The area is pristine high country!

High country incense cedars

A newspaper clipping from the Van Nuys News and Valley Green Sheet in 1960 showcasing mom loading a case of Hamm’s beer into her wagon for the Girl Scouts weekend…

Getting ready for a two day trek to Camp Pajarito with Hamm’s Beer!

Also a relic I found. Coincidence? All-Aluminum Can

A vintage Prince Albert “Crimp Cut Long Burning Pipe and Cigarette Tobacco” tin found at the camp. On the back, it says “Does not bite the tongue.” Photo on left for comparison

Relics at camp: A 7-Up can from 1950s to 1960s with its “bubble” logo and vintage slogan style (“You like it, it likes you”) along with a vintage “Pepsi-Cola”

Relic found at camp: Spry was a brand of vegetable shortening produced from the 1930s-1960s. It was a competitor for Procter & Gamble’s Crisco.