This is our 2nd peak in 3 days (we hiked Baden Powell 2 days earlier). We arrived at the Manker Flat traillhead at about 7 a.m. on Sunday and were able to find a parking spot pretty easily.  Last time we hiked the Ski Hut trail, it was so windy and we didn't feel comfortable going down via Devil's Backbone. But this time, the weather was much better and I decided to take my bf down that route, which is my favorite way of hiking Mount Baldy, because we can stop by Top of the notch restaurant and have a beer before heading down the mountain!  We also took the ski lift down, which some might feel it's cheating, but in my opinion, it's a much better way to get down the mountain as compared to the boring 2-mile hike down the fire road.