This was our daughter's hike! She was the first to summit and definitely earned it! She rocked the whole thing, leading most of the way up and down without a single complaint. For our 9 year old, girly girl, that's saying a lot!!

The day before the hike, we all sat together and reviewed the various trails to the top of Mount Baldy. After a lengthy discussion about the pros and cons of each, they decided on the Register Ridge trail to the summit. It was easy to find and well maintained even though there weren't signs posted for that route. We aren't avid hikers, so we decided to get an early start and take our time. We arrived at the trailhead at exactly 4:00 AM. It took us an hour to get the kids all awake, fed, and geared up. We reached the gate at the San Antonio Falls trailhead at 5:03 AM to begin our adventure!

The trail was absolutely beautiful. What a great hike! It was steep, and the footing was often slippery gravel and unsure, but the views were worth it! We took lots of breaks to turn around and take pictures! We stopped about half way up to have a long, snacking break and met quite a few people who make the trek regularly. They are amazing, not even stopping once the whole way! That last 1/2 mile before connecting with the Devil's Backbone trail nearly did me in! That being said though, this was an energizing hike and a real pleasure. Not the most beautiful mountain, but it felt good to climb! We decided to summit Mt. Harwood since we were there. We had absolutely perfect hiking weather until we were about 1/2 way up Mt. Harwood. The wind really picked up up there. The kids built a small rock shelter while my husband and I took in the views!  We found a bit of a sheltered spot in the saddle between Harwood and Baldy and took a nice, long lunch break before we made the final climb. The kids and my husband did awesome! They all hiked like champions! I was the turtle! Slow and steady and getting there in the end! Woo hoo! We did it! I reached the top at 11:57 AM. Before noon!!

A weird thing though, as we summitted, a helicopter flew in low like it was going to land, but then flew off after getting low enough to touch some bushes and blow sand and wind at us. It was a weird thing, and struck me as both odd and dangerous. Other than that, we had a great time taking in the views and enjoying some time at the summit.

We took the Baldy Bowl Trail down, which a lot people seemed to do, but seriously, that's a sketchy trail! It was clearly well traveled, but I'm glad we didn't hike up it! Register Ridge may have been steep, but at least there we no big step up rocks or over roots, and the footing was better. Baldy Bowl Trail had all of us slipping and falling and generally needing to focus the whole way. For a downhill, it was a lot of work! We did get to meet Ranger Dan though, so that's cool! We stopped a few times to rest and rehydrate. It was windier after noon, but felt nice with the hotter sun. We stopped by the Ski Hut for quick look as well. Again, I was the slow one, but my family waited for me at the Old Register, and we walked down to the Falls together. By then, we were all pretty tired and ready to be done hiking, arriving back at the car at exactly 4:00 PM. That cracked me up a little, since we parked at exactly 4:00 AM that morning. A perfect 12-hour adventure!  We're half way done with our challenge!!