My decision to do Cucamonga Peak this morning was touch and go due to a back injury I suffered at my climbing gym earlier in the week. I had been feeling good, and was taking it easy so I wasn't sure how I would feel. I ending up taking off a little later than normal because I know this hike well and my pace is usually fairly quick. I got the trailhead at 7:45a and as usual for a weekend hike the parking was stacked out to the main road. I felt pretty good as I started but by mile 3, my back started to ache and within a few minutes the pain was shooting down the outside of my leg. This was something I wasn't used to and really took some effort to keep going. At one point I took off my backpack and carried it on my chest to take the weight off my back. There was a moment I thought about turning around but decided to make the call when I got to the saddle. This is reminder to everyone why the 10 essentials are so important, I remembered I had my emergency med kit with me that contained aspirin tablets. I stopped for a few minutes at the saddle took the aspirin and continued to second half of the hike. By the end of the next mile my back pain subsided and it made the rest of the hike much more enjoyable. I still made good time, ate a snack at the top, and was able to train run down first half before hitting a lot of traffic early afternoon on the switch backs.

2 out of 2 hikes have been marred by aches and pains so I'm hoping for a more straight forward Mt. Baldy attempt.

Key notes: 1) 10 essentials are essentials for a reason. 2) Listen to your body when you are in pain and manage accordingly.