As 300 pound, pack a day smoker I had no business doing this hike. I knew this was going to be tough but I had no idea what was in store for me. I’m an avid outdoorsman but I have very little experience hiking mountains. We started at Manker Flats trailhead which is a fire road that has some pretty decent up hill grades to get to the Ski Hut. Every step I could feel my hip flexers getting tighter, my calves burning. Every other thought was “I can’t do this I’m going back down” but my best friend and his girlfriend pushed me every step and did not want me to give up on my self. Once we got to the Ski Hut and took a breather I reevaluated and thought the hard part was over and I was SO Wrong. We climbed about 300ft of loose rock and gravel and about half way up, the pain was almost unbearable. This was when I verbally told the crew that I was done and could not go any further. After talking through it and my best friend telling me a story about two wolves and few f-words later from myself I was back on track fighting the pain and keeping my own pace up that mountain until we reached the Devils Back Bone which is pretty accurately named if I might say so myself. After multiple false summits and loose gravel and pain and what seemed like a never ending climb. We finally made it to the the summit of Mt Baldy. After a few False summits I wasn’t sure if we were actually there and my first words were “Is this really it?”. When my best friends said “This is it, you did it brother”. I dropped to my knees in front of that summit marker and the tears came running down my face. Tears of both pain and joy knowing the climb was over. This Mountain broke me mentally. Pushed me to limits I didn’t know I had. Made me realize that change is coming. This mountain showed me who I am as a person. For others this might be a simple trek. But for me, this was the spark that ignited the change within myself that has been needed for years. There are many more summits to come. But this will forever be the mountain that broke me. So Mt. Baldy, my words to you are, until next time you magnificent bastard, until next time.