It was an absolutely beautiful day to hike Baldy. We met at 6:00 but didn't actually start the trail until 6:30. It was brisk and cool when we started the trail. The first two miles were pretty intense for me because like an idiot as always I decided to hike the day before. I seem to never learn my lesson. At any rate, by the time we hit the waterfall I was already dying and we weren't anywhere near the Ski Hut. We turned for the Baldy Bowl at 7:13 and started the long journey north to the Ski Hut. There were beautiful views over looking the valley below. Because of the elevation and the low line clouds, the views from along the trail were absolutely stunning. Being in the back of the pack, as I was ridiculously slow on that day, me and my fellow slow hikers took advantage of the views and got some stunning pictures with beautiful cloud formations. The weather simply couldn't be beat! We finally hit the Ski Hut at 9:00 as everyone lined up to use the utterly disgusting but appreciated vault toilet. We had a snack at the picnic tables and were visited by some cerulean colored blue birds. We continued the trek up Baldy starting at 9:40. We finally hit the summit at 12:30 and boy was that a personal struggle for me. My legs were so tired at that point. Not even 5 miles and I was spent more than I ever have been before. After hanging at the summit for about a hour, we started the rest of the journey down the Devil's Back Bone to the Top of the Notch Restaurant for some much needed nourishment. Although doable, I had a bit of a struggle with the way down the back bone. It was very steep and rocky and the gravel like nature of the terrain made for the perfect storm for slipping and sliding down the hillside. Luckily, I never fell down although it required being mindful and careful of each step that was placed as to avoid sliding. As we made the decent, we watched the clouds slowly drop from above us below us. We walked through the clouds and watched as the Devil's Back Bone trail disappeared from sight at intervals as the clouds blew by us in the wind. It was a glorious and often creepy sight to feel yourself lost in the low line clouds or only see the trail a few feet ahead of you or watch your fellow hikers disappear only a few feet ahead of you. Finally at 4:00 we reached the Top of the Notch. Seeing the ski lifts seemingly floating in the distance as it came into view was such a glorious consoling sight. I had nachos and chicken strips at the restaurant and a much needed Coke and then we headed back down the ski lift in freezing weather and fog at 5:00 reaching our car at 5:30.