It was my first time hiking Baldy and it was an unforgettable time! I started around 7:15am on a Friday, and it wasn't too busy. I came across a deer on the start of my hike, and I took this as a sign of good luck. The hike from Manker Flats to the Notch was lovely. It was cool and quiet and I was feeling really great. Once I got to the Notch, I unfortunately made a wrong turn and inadvertently went up the Turkey Shoot instead of the Devil's Backbone Trail. It was steeper than anticipated and I had to cut through a hill to get back on track, this tired me out quite a lot, but I kept trekking along.

I got really winded going up the Devil's Backbone, but the nice part was that I was surrounded by spectacular views every time I stooped to catch my breath. The last mile up to the summit were no joke, I had to stop several times. My head was pounding and I felt nauseous from the elevation change, but I just took my time.

I took the Devil's Backbone back down because I heard the trail down to the Ski Hut was very steep, and I wanted to avoid falling on my face.

Back at the notch I stopped to get a delicious beer. It was a beautiful, challenging, and memorable hike! On to the next one!