Departure: 7:05 am

Weather: Sunny, High 50's to Mid 60's

Total Distance: 10.6 Miles

Time to Summit: 3 hours 03 minutes

Time to Descend:  1 hours 59 minutes

Total Time: 5 hours 2 minutes 23 seconds

On this absolutely beautiful Sunday I was able to hike Mount Baldy with a great group of people. We started later than normal but were pleased to find parking with relative ease when we arrived at Manker Flats just after 7:00am. After a few minutes of gathering our gear from the back of the car and stretching, we were ready to head out.

We took it mellow and stopped a few times along the way to the summit. The cafe at the Baldy Notch was open and a bartender was serving cold ones to those interested, but our group just used a picnic bench to relax while suckling down some Gu Gel calories. A couple of hard little pushes up the barren ski slopes and we made it to the Devil's Backbone. The youngest in our group was a little concerned about traversing the backbone, but with a little coaching on how to properly use her hiking poles for stability and the pleasant fact that there wasn't much wind, we made it across.

Another mile or so of hard climbing after the backbone and we were on top for lunch and photos. The trip down was decided to be handled via Ski Hut trail which was shorter and very likely less crowded than returning via the backbone. The trail was well marked but be warned; it's steep and there are many many places where you are likely to slip and slide even with hiking poles to aid you. Go slow like we did and you'll be fine 😉

After a couple hours of making our way down Ski Hut trail, our hike was completed. For a few of the members of our group this was the farthest distance and highest climbing hike they have done. It was awesome to be a part of helping them along the journey and standing with them at the finish to say, “We did that!”

Happy Trails and reach out to me if you still want/need to do Gorgonio or Cucamonga… those are my next two adventures just waiting to be planned (soon…like the weekend after Father's day soon!)