We hiked Mt Baldy via the Bear Canyon Trail (aka Old Baldy Trail or Baldy Village Trail). Maybe they should call it the Brutal Ass-Kicking Trail,  because that’s essentially what it is:  a very steep hike with elevation gain of 5,600+ ft over just 6.5 miles. Average gradient is about 15% over the first 4 miles.

We started at 5 AM so it never really heated up until our descent.  The descent was worse;  it's very steep, with loose dirt and rocks, and you have to be extremely careful with your footing.  Plus it was starting to heat up;  once we entered shaded areas the bugs were relentless!

However, this has been on my bucket list for a long time;  I've hiked Baldy via Devil's Backbone numerous times, including the Run2TheTop race on Labor Day a few years back!  Indeed, the finish line refreshments had already been dropped off at the summit via helicopter for the race taking place the next day.  I've also hiked up via the Ski Hut Trail, and once last December via the Baldy Bowl in the snow.  I haven't gone the Register Ridge route yet, and I've heard there are a couple of other ways to ascend.

Despite the extreme difficulty, I would do it all over again!  The views are spectacular and we did not see very many people on this route.  Parking is precious as gold in Baldy Village, so if you want to go this route it's encouraged to get an early start, and carpool if possible.