Got up early and made the 2 hour drive out from L.A. Was on the trail by just after 7 am. Weather was perfect! Slightly chilly..especially in the shade. The little water that was on the ground during the hike was frozen. Man, that first couple miles is no joke..very steep. It hurt more on the way down though for sure! It being a Tuesday in the fall..I only saw 8 people total on the entire hike. Stopped a bit to check out a family of deer. I love encountering wildlife. Beautiful views that just kept getting better the higher you went. I had a little bit of trouble finding my way to the top on the boulders. What helped was looking in the ground at peoples footprints. This also helped on the way down. The view at the top was absolutely stunning. Killer 360 view!! Definitely the best view of the 5 peaks I've been on so far.
1 more peak to go to complete the challenge!! This whole challenge really inspired me to up my hiking game this year. Much appreciated Jeff! I started with Baldy and did 4 others in the So Cal area. But it also inspired me to check out Yosemite and Sequoia..where I spent most of my summer doing trails like Panorama, Mist, 4 Mile, Upper Yosemite Falls, Lakes Trail to Heather and Pear, and conquering peaks like Alta Peak in Sequoia and even Clouds Rest from Happy Isles in Yosemite.
Thank you very much.