Baldy is the only peak in the challenge that I had actually done before, so it was interesting to see if it was as difficult as I remember. It honestly seemed much easier this time around. I want to say that Cucamonga is harder but I can't because although you have around 200 more feet of ascent on Cucamonga, there is no part of it that I would describe as “grueling.” Baldy, however gets really grueling near the top. The last hour or so, where the air gets thin and the grade gets really really steep, had me stopping every 2 minutes or so.

I honestly don't think I like Baldy as much as i used to. It's really, really dry. I would almost describe it as desolate at parts. And part of the loop back down is spent walking down a road from the ski lodge. There's something about walking on a full road that isn't as cool as walking on a trail. The upshot of the ski lodge is that you can stop in for a beer before the final 3o minutes of walking back down. And I of course did.

All in all, this is a great hike, it maybe just doesn't age well. I would however be interested in hiking it during winter.