My friend, Stacy, and I started our hike at 5:45 a.m. On the drive to the trailhead, we saw a bear rambling through Mt. Baldy Village. It was magnificent to see but the butterflies fluttered in our stomachs knowing we would soon be out of the vehicle. We were already nervous to do this hike. We read about the steepness, the narrowness of some parts, and seen some photos. The nerves calmed a bit after viewing some YouTube videos from other hikers. Still, this trail is challenging and we had to pay close attention.

We started from Manker Flats and took the Ski Hut Trail a.k.a. Baldy Bowl Trail. By the way, we nearly missed the trailhead. Luckily, I saw it as we were walking past it. From here the climb gets steep and stays steep. It does vary in the degree of steepness. Surprisingly, there were quite a few other hikers our, and all were very friendly. Everyone was happy to be out on the trail.

Clouds shaded us from the sun and a breeze ran along the trail. We climbed steadily. The trail is buffed for the most part except when it runs west through a boulder field. After the field, the trail follows steep switchbacks through a wooded forest. Painful but the view and the woods are totally worth it. We rose onto a small saddle and then the climb became precarious for a bit. The trail forks, we went right. At one point, I literally crawled and clawed up a portion of the trail. The vegetation thinned out, growing low to the ground. At the final stretch, I could see a marker on the summit. I could feel the tears welling. It was magnificent to reach the top of the tallest peak in the San Gabriels.

The views were hindered by some dark, ominous clouds rolling along. There had been reports of possible thunderstorms for the day. We didn’t stay long. We didn’t want to chance lightning showing up! We took the Devil’s Backbone down. There’s something intoxicating when plodding along the top of a ridge with shear slopes on either side. It is just you, the wind, and the sky. We stopped at the Top of the Notch restaurant for sustenance and then made our back to Mankers Flats. This is now a favorite hike for sure! Peak: 10,064 feet; approx. 4,000+ ft. elevation gain; 12+ miles; 9 hours. #sixpackofpeaks2018 #sixpackofpeaks #52hikechallenge #hike30 #mtbaldysummit #mtbaldy #mtsanantonio #fiercehikers