Took a stab at a new mountain today to complete my 6 pack. I chose Baldy. Arrived at the trailhead at about 6am. The restroom at the trailhead is a pit toilet but it was relatively clean (4/10) and well stocked with toilet paper. Headed out on the trail at 615am. First stop was the waterfall at the end of the paved incline. Then the road turns to a dirt access road all the way up to The Notch. The Notch was vacant when I got there, so I walked around and took some pictures, wondering what it would be like covered in snow and full or people. The restaurant was not open. I continued up to Devil's Backbone, which was intimidating from the YouTube videos I watched. But as everybody said, it wasn't as bad. The wind was very minimal and the trail is plenty wide. Boy did that get steep fast though. I huffed and puffed and pushed my way to the summit. After getting my obligatory picture with the plaque (wooden peak sign was gone), I hunkered down behind a rock wall for a quick lunch. Prepacked tuna, a Power Crunch Bar, Premier Protein drink, and 1L of Liquid IV water. I packed up and headed down Ski Hut Trail. Down, down, down, down. My hamstrings were burning on the way up, and now my quads were on fire. The trail down was steep all the way back to the fire road. I saw many people on their way up and tried to give as much encouragement as I could, but I knew what they were in for. I stopped at the Ski Hut to use the pit toilet and hydrate. Beautiful views. One guy was camped in his tent next to the building. I kept descending all the way back to the trailhead, passing a stream or two. About 10.65 miles according to my Garmin watch, 5hrs 53min. 4,964 ft of elevation gain.
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My actual hike log…the one linked above is incorrect!!!
https://www.alltrails.com/explore/recording/mount-san-antonio-and-mount-baldy-notch-trail-73c0318