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Which direction to hike San Antonio/Mt. Baldy?
Hi all! I’m excited to be a party of the SoCal 6-Pack team.
I’m going to be hiking the Mt. Baldy loop this weekend (Saturday 7/17/21) and wondering if anyone had a suggestion on which direction to do the loop — clockwise from Manker Flats up past the ski hut and switch backs first, then down Devil’s Backbone, or counter clockwise?
I’ve hiked this only in winter when there was still a bunch of snow and did an out and back up the switch backs (and had to kick step and scramble up the bowl in the snow, which I don’t recommend haha), but I have not done the Devil’s Backbone yet.
Any recommendations would be appreciated!
Thanks,
Tess
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3 Replies
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I’ve done both ways. Personally, I liked going from Manker flats to the ski hut up the bowl then down devils backbone. The Manker to ski hut to bowl is shorter, but steeper. The part that is underestimated is after devils backbone when you have to go down the ski routes. It’s a lot steeper than you realize. Also, having the lodge to stop at and get a bite to eat and drink before finishing the last downhill of the hike is a real plus.
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Awesome, thanks Mark!
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I’m not sure which “down” route I prefer, but the “up” route of preference for me (in case anyone is reading this now since it’s past the time OP planned her hike) is the “Register Ridge” route. It’s by far the steepest climb, and I needed a good pair of Exo Spikes to help on most of the climb (though I didn’t see anyone else with a pair), but it was well worth the extra effort since it shaved at least 2 (maybe 3) miles off the route.
For me, I went down the Baldy Bowl Trail, and it was a hot mess of falling in sand. It was quite steep, but I couldn’t imagine climbing up it.
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