Definitely start early because the trail doesn't have much shade. We had a bit of a late start and got to the trailhead a 6:30am but didn't start until 7am and honestly cannot imagine starting any later because we were lucky in that there was still a good amount of shade because the sun wasn't fully out. I strongly suggest bringing a wide brimmed hat.

The route we took was in the counterclockwise direction (ski lifts –> peak –> ski hut –> trailhead). The Ski Hut/Baldy Bowl trail was insanely steep and difficult to come down on our way down because portions of the ground were unstable and we were already tired from the hike up. If I had to do it again, I would probably have just done it in-and-out along the devil's backbone since it's not as steep.