This year Mt Baldy was my big finale for my 6 Pack of Peaks Challenge for 2021. And what an amazing finale it was. We’re knee deep into November, and we’ve only had 1 snowstorm to speak of but I’m sure more are on their way soon, so we had to hustle to get our peaks done. So, into planner mode we went. I needed 1 more, Rachel needed 2. So, we decided to do Baldy first then Sawmill for the 3-2-1 Challenge/6th Peak for her the very next day.

23mi in 24hrs

5 peaks: Harwood/Baldy on Thursday; Pinos/Sawmill/Grouse on Friday

~6200ft elevation gain between the 2 hikes

For the hardcore peakers this was no big thang but for us, it was a busy/strenuous 24hrs. Lots of energizing and eating and drinking at strategic intervals. GU gels/Roctane gels were taken along with electrolyte/energy chews to get us through the slogs and sufferfest sections of trail. Those really help combat the lactic acid burn in your legs and help keep you fueled to just power through.

When we arrived at Manker Flats, it was still dark. We’re prepping in the car then open the doors to strong gusts of cold wind. Uh oh. We did our due diligence and got the peak weather intel the night before and it said 5-10mph winds. This was NOT that. We’re here, we’re giving it a go anyways. Thank goodness we come prepared for the unexpected. On went jackets and away we went. The Devil’s Backbone was really the only concerning spot, so we’ll see what it’s like when we get there.

The first leg of trail to The Notch was lickety split up an access road. The wind was just as windy up at The Notch, but the ski lifts weren’t swaying so at least there was that. So up we climbed the next leg to Devil’s Backbone. We get up to the last ski lift at the top and come face to face with a Bighorn ram and his ewe and a yearling hanging out at the lift departure area. We were so excited to see them so close. A runner scared them away accidentally though, so we pressed on to the start of the Backbone. Turns out the 3 Bighorns were kicking it right there grazing so we hand another opportunity to snap a bunch of really up-close pics.

It was pretty windy indeed and this was the game time decision. We went for it. It wasn’t nearly as bad as I anticipated wind wise though. For those of you unfamiliar, the Backbone is a section of trail where you hike the top of a ridgeline. There’s a cliff drop off to either side of you for a few good stretches. We pressed on through the wind and hustled up to the trail intersection in good time though.

We wanted to summit the smaller Harwood Mountain just off of Baldy along the way, so we hung a right and detoured up Harwood. We were warned by some hikers coming down that Harwood was EXTREMELY windy on top. We could feel it pushing us as we climbed. Once on top, holy shit, that was absolutely nuts how windy it was . It was a quick pic and refueling and then we raced back down to start the final climb to the top of Baldy. That last leg is about .5mi but it’s a decent slog. Its steep with tight switchbacks and windy. It was pretty neat to see a whole murder of crows dancing in the wind, swooping and diving and landing on a tiny patch of snow just before the top. They were a nice distraction during the final push.

And before we knew it, we made it! It’s such a blessing to be conditioned and in shape enough to tackle these beasts all in a day’s work. It was super windy on top of Baldy too but not nearly as bad as Harwood for whatever reason. After our summit pics, we hunkered down in one of the rock windbreaks and ate lunch and enjoyed our victory cocktails before heading down. This was the first time I’ve summited a peak and had any kind of altitude or cold symptoms. We both were having weird numb fingers that lasted a while after starting our decent. It was COLD up on top but not fingers in ice cold.

We picked the Devils Backbone to Ski Hut Loop. It’s such a treat to see both sides of the mountains as it’s really different terrain and trail conditions. It’s a steep slippy descent so poles at the ready and you race down Baldy Bowl. There are tons of great photo ops along this route as well and it’s a different perspective and time of day so it’s a whole new hike coming down. We stopped for a quick pitstop at the infamous Ski Hut to take some pics then on we went.

Once back at the bottom, we took the requisite detour to see San Antonio Falls for a bit before wrapping up our day. Then we were done! We spent the ride back discussing our next day in Pine Mountain Club for the 3-2-1 Challenge and Rachel’s 6th Peak. We got this!

Thank you, Baldy, for another great action-packed day and for my 6 Pack wrap up!! Til we meet again next year! — with Rachel Waddy at Mount Baldy Summit.