Not many people know it,

Less people do it.

Some want to crush it.

Some people fear it.

It is long.

It is steep.

With very few flats.

You are lucky to hike it up at 1.5 mph

Runners maybe 2.  Elites maybe 2.5 up or maybe 3.

We personally hiked it around 1.8 but we paced ourselves, as both of us had not done it in awhile.

It is ONLY 6 miles (well, actually closer to 7 if you start from Mt. Baldy Road)

But the catch is…

You gain 1000 FEET per MILE!  Unrelenting! No matter how you slice it, it's TOUGH!  And we did track our altitude, and it did exactly gain 1000 feet per mile!  Some sections steeper than others, and very steep, like the upper reaches of Skyline after Flat Rock (see below), but going on WAY longer!

It is the dreaded OLD BALDY TRAIL, perhaps called by other (nasty) names from people who did it! 😉

We did it the day after we logged 14 miles doing Ontario and surrounds, and our joints were sore from that, surprisingly!  Icehouse was a lot of up and up and up – good warm up for similar but longer the next day!

Yes, masochistic were we!

We started out just after first light on a gorgeously clear and cool morning!  Had a light wind as we got higher – beautiful weather day!  Got hotter as the day went on, but not crazy hot like the day before coming off Ontario and Icehouse.

We went by about a mile of crazy built on stilts in cases houses along a beautiful creek.

First the steep road, next on the trail getting higher and higher climbing up a narrow path up the first ridge.

Glad we brought our bug nets!  And wore light colors!

Now it's time to get back to my rhymes!

Climb, and climb, and climb did we,

And such beauty we did see!

First as mentioned brush and trees

And HUGE cedars WAY bigger than me!

Up and up and up and round and round we went

We did our best to not be spent!

Had the mountain all to ourselves; such a delight!

And no sketchy scree fields to give me a fright!

The summit itself was clear and free!

With gorgeous views and scenery!

After a few minutes, one guy and a couple came up to the top

The guy came up our way, the others from Backbone did stop.

We sat and ate and talked and what did we see?

Something we all had NEVER seen on Baldy!

A tiny dust devil there they be!

It danced around us I kid you not

Then disappeared as quickly as it came!

The one guy said “Thank you God!” by name!

Such a special time on the peak

But then we had to think.

I did NOT want to go down Bear

I was very afraid I would slip and not well do fare.

I wanted to go down Ski Hut, a trail I knew

But the top half had all this loose rock and some areas water had run through

So had some boulders and a few little carved-out chutes to climb down, then later one large rockslide luckily flat not steep

And saw between switchbacks by the Ski Hut water cut channels deep.

It was clear that both the winter then Hilary made lots of a mess.

Saw it on our other hikes but not as much rock and gravel

So very slow and carefully we did have to travel.

We got out a few hours before dark

And were walking the road

Luckily the one car we saw coming out

Was a woman we saw on the trail as we were hiking out.

Mark flashed some money

And to our delight we did see

She pulled over and gave us a ride and she recognized us,

As it was miles more than we thought!

So back at Baldy Lodge where we had spent the night,

We got a nice warm dinner, to our tummies' delight.

And got back safely and we both agreed

Never do a back-to-back

Especially a trail that is harder than (and I've hiked them all, so I know!):

The Grand Canyon Rim to River (4800 ft of climbing; it's an “upside down” trail where you go down then have to hike back up.  The Bright Angel Trail has so many warning signs “Don't Do It!” as well as the South Kaibab Trail.  There are SO MANY rescues of people who overheat; don't pack enough food and water.  The signs actually say “Going down is optional; coming up is MANDATORY!” and basically “Don't do it!,”

The Grand Canyon Rim to Rim.  I did this solo October 2022.  That one is 7 mi and 4800 ft down to the Black Bridge at the bottom of the South Kaibab trail.  Then you need to time it early so you don't get to The Box near the start of the 14 mi North Kaibab trail.  It is a steep-walled narrow canyon of dark Paleolithic rock that acts as a literal oven on hot days.  It can reach 130 for real in the summer!  The North Kaibab trail gains 5660 ft.  Again, pacing yourself and having (and eating and drinking) ample food and water is key!  It was a LONG day but not nearly as steep and draining!  Another “upside down” trail with all the warning signs!  People die in the Canyon, too.

Skyline (Palm Springs Art Museum to the Palm Springs Tram – 8000 ft in roughly 9-10 mi; no water; no shade)

Rabbit Peak (desert 22 mi hike – harder than C2C which is Skyline up to San Jacinto Peak.- 10,300 ft elev gain; Rabbit has a 3000 ft gain and loss in the last 3.5 miles of the 11 miles out then rinse and repeat going back)

Whitney (the main trail is in good shape and decent slope; it's the 14,500ish altitude that gets people, plus the 22 mile round trip like Rabbit).  People have trouble there, too, especially with fatigue and altitude sickness, which can be fatal at that altitude.

So done with my second Six-Pack!

Changed it up a bit

Discovered two new for me peaks – Baden-Powell and Ontario (in place of the original Wilson and Cucamonga)

Two of my favs now!

Thanks SO, SO much, Jeff, for organizing this!

And have fun, be safe, and drink in the beauty of nature everyone!

Also, PLEASE, RESPECT winter conditions!  SO many people have died out here in winter, especially in the San Gabriels and ESPECIALLY on “scree pile” Mt. Baldy/aka Mt. San Antonio!  You may think you have crampons and an ice axe and know how to use them, but on the crazy steep slopes of most of our fault-line-birthed mountains, they are way too steep and get the sun melt on the snow that makes a thick ice layer.  Your ice axe will not grip no matter how well you know how to self-arrest, and even the best 12-pt crampons won't stick.  In winter, if you know what you are doing, go on flatter trails without any sort of runout (if you slip, you go down a steep, steep embankment that usually has rocks at the bottom).  Just search “Baldy deaths” etc and you will see I do not lie.

Have fun everyone!  Enjoy, stay safe, and hike within your limits!  I love reading all of your posts, especially areas I never have been!