We started at 7:30 AM on Saturday morning and it was a struggle finding a parking spot at the Manker campground. We took the trail through Devil's backbone. The first 3.5 miles is on a dirt road leading up to Mt. Baldy Notch. The dirt road continues until the end of the ski slope. The gradient is not very steep which makes for a pleasant hike. There is also an option of going up the ski runs, which can be extremely steep.

The devil's backbone section starts after the last ski lift. The section is narrow, exposed and very windy. It can become unnerving when there are large crowds and hikers coming from both directions. Although, there are some great views to cajon pass.

The last section leading up to the summit is steep and has lots of criss-crossing trails. I was lucky to get a glimpse of a couple of bighorn sheep. The views from the summit were limited because of haze, but had a nice view of mt. baden-powell. After spending 45 mins at the top, we headed back on the same trail totaling 13.25 miles out and back.