Weekend number two of big efforts – Baldy and Cucamonga. Today was my first day up Baldy, which is amazing as I lived the first ~20 years of my life in the area.  Now back as a visitor I was ready to strike Baldy off my list.  Being a glutton for punishment and having a willing partner I decided to take the long way up Bear Canyon.  Starting at Sunrise made for a beautiful first couple hours up the climb.  Since we were by West Baldy, we trotted up that before taking Baldy.  It was a windy and the sky was an unbelievable blue.  I truly loved it up there.  After Baldy we cruised across the summits of the 3 Ts, my partner starting to flag and both of us running low on water.  I foolishly forgot to seal my food pouch on my pack somewhere along the way resulting in my uneaten food apparently littering the trail somewhere behind me and me getting none. I hope someone or some animal got use of it.

That made for a rather challenging trip up Cucamonga Peak for me and my partner.  Me being used to going ultra distances managed ok on my remaining water and empty stomach.  My partner faired somewhat worse but persevered to summit a few minutes after me with a smile. We were both rewarded with the amazing view of the IE and the rest of the visible basin.  There were some really strange mid-day hazes out there, with much of it looking like wisps of smoke.  Strange and beautiful.  The trek down Ice House just seemed long and dry.  I think I missed out on some of the beauty as I just wanted to finish and get a drink.  It was a shame but when I was done I was happy. When it was all done 6 peaks, around 25 miles and 9000+ ft of climbing.  Good day's work.  Got down the hill in time to go to the mall with my daughter where she got her ears pierced (maybe a bigger adventure for a parent than all of the trails…).