Monday, July 19th, 2021 at 6am my son and I started hiking Mt. Baldy. We were able to get great parking right by the beginning of the trail because it was a weekday. We pretty much had the trail to ourselves on the way up. My son and I chose to hike Mt. Baldy clockwise via Mt. Baldy Bowl trail aka Ski Hut trail. We are so glad we chose this way because there is more shade going up this way. The temperature was cool the entire way up and there was a cool breeze. We saw only one other hiker on the way up who passed us as we were taking a break. The hike going up was breathtaking filled with beautiful white and yellow  wild flowers. There was a beautiful little creek we passed that made the hike peaceful and calm. The views were absolutely breathtaking going up. I stopped many times just to soak in the views and enjoy every bit of this hike. When we reached the top I felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude to reach the top and shed a few tears of joy. When my son and I reached the top we had the whole summit to ourselves. We enjoyed the amazing 360 degree views surrounding us. The desert, the desert cities, we could even see the city scape of LA. We spent a good 30 minutes on top ate lunch and just relaxed. Five days later and I am still feeling high from reaching the summit of Mt. Baldy. When my son and I were up there it felt as if we were levitating. Going down Devils Backbone was so fun and adventurous. I loved the narrow path and looking back at Mt. Baldy Bowl. I was awe the entire time I was on this trail. I am glad we chose to go up clockwise because on the way down there is not much shade especially when you are on the fire road. Summiting Mt. Baldy with my son was one of the greatest experiences in my life.

P.S. On a side note when we were approaching the summit and reached the summit we saw two helicopters circling. We later found out that two high school students were rescued that morning via helicopter and the day before a dozen more had to be airlifted to safety. This was after 51 students and 3 coaches had attempted to hike Mt. Baldy on Sunday for a team bulding hike. Lesson learned the hard way for the coaches, students, parents, and everybody else from the high school involved in planning a hike to one of the hardest hikes in Southern California. Fortunately everybody came out alive and safe.