5/27/2023:

I was invited to hike up to Mt  Baldy using the Old Mt. Baldy Trail (aka Bear Canyon trail) by one of my hiking sister.  She's using this hike as a training for her Aconcagua hike.  I did the Old Baldy route in the past and I loved doing it.  I committed to the invite.  However, there was a misunderstanding on the start time.  I was 30 minutes late and she started before I got there.  I have done this hike without snow.  I was very hesitant of going alone on this route.  So, I decided to meet her at the Mt. Baldy summit.  I drove myself up to Manker Flats and started my hike up to Mt. Baldy via Ski Hut.  Today, there were many hikers going up Mt. Baldy.  I saw my two hiking friend (i.e. Chris Coronel and Tony Barragan) were taking 4 new hikers up to Mt. Baldy for their very first time.  They asked if I wanted to join them.  However, they were too fast for me.  So, I slowly paced myself up to Mt. Baldy.  There were many deaths on Mt. Baldy these past years.  This deadly statistics were always on my mind.  For this, I respect Mt. Baldy.  I took great care on my footing and direction.  I wasn't going to reckless and become part of tge death toll Mt. Baldy was racking up.

I slowly paced myself up to the Ski Hut.  This year was very different in terms of my hiking ability.  With all the snow on various mountains, I wasn't able to hike up to elevation around 10k.  I usually use Baden-Powell as a training ground.  But this year, I couldn't do it.  The roads to Baden-Powell are closed and hiking is prohibited.  So, Mt. Baldy is my first 10k hike of the year.

The trail leading up to the Ski Hut was great.  It was dry and well maintained.  However, patches of snow appeared after the rocky portion section leaving tge Ski Hut.  The first sight of snow and ice, I wore my microspikes.  Around 9k elevation, the trail was blanketed with snow.  I followed the footprints of other hikers to make my way up Mt. Baldy.  It was such a beautiful sight to see so much snow on tge last 2 miles before the summit.  There weren't any snow at the Mt. Baldy summit.  I cried sweet bitter tears when I reached Mt. Baldy summit.  What a special meaningful hike for me on this Memorial Day weekend.  My hike up to Mt. Baldy this year was dedicated to my dear hiking sister, Crystal Paula Gonzalez.  Crystal lost her life on Jan. 8 of this year climbing up to Mt. Baldy.  She was on my mind throughout this hike.  May Crystal rest in peace.  May God bless her family and friends. And may God give them courage to live on.  My dear hiking sister Crystal, you'll be forever in our hearts, on our minds.  You're truly missed, our hiking Queen.

I didn't stay long at tge summit because I feeling the chill.  I took my summit photos.  As I was about to head down, a young couple requested that that I escort them down.  They had in tennis shoes while hiking to Mt. Baldy.  This was their first time doing a snowy hike at Mt. Baldy.  They lost track of the trail due to the white out trail.  After hearing this, I agreed to look after their safety and get them safely to the Ski Hut.  I had hiked up Mt. Baldy numerous times and I can confidently assured them I can complete this task for them.  We slowed and safely got down to the Ski Hut.  They stayed there for awhile.  And I headed myself down to my car.

I was so blessed today to have given a perfect hiking window up to Mt. Baldy.  This is my sixth peak for my 2023 Six Pack of Peaks.