7/29/21 Another evening trip up the Ski Hut trail, this time in complete darkness well before the summit, and then all the way down. With snake, deer, and a rare bear sighting as a bonus!
1 The sun is already low as I head up Ski Hut. There were a few people around the waterfall, the last humans I would see all night. One guy gave me an encouraging "you're almost there!" referring to almost making it that tough half mile from the parking lot. I chuckled as I headed for the summit.
2 This guy was 3-4' long laying across the trail. Looks exactly like the one that shot between my legs a couple years ago higher up the trail. Kind of an ominous start to the night.
3 Up past the Ski Hut, and it's starting to get dim.
4 Top of the bowl looking back down at the Notch and the glowing lights of the ski lodge.
5 The lighting is not realistic because of the camera, but this gives you some idea of the reflective markers that help guide the way at night up the hard to follow "choose your own adventure" section above the bowl. These are a relatively recent addition and are a big help. You can see two more dots in the distance.
6 Made it to the top in pretty good time. My first time on top when it was already pitch black by the time I got here. There was someone sleeping in a tent on top. He was snoring away and probably never even knew I was there.
7 Just over the other side, I saw a pair of green eyes low to the ground staring back at me. At first glance, I just saw the eyes, and the light tan color, and from the front it looked just like a crouched mountain lion. Then it turned sideways and was clearly just a deer. Whew.
8 If you like night time cityscapes, this one is tough to beat.
9 Looking out the other side to the Northeast.
10 Night time 360.
11 Heading back down, and I almost literally ran into another deer. He was really close and just froze in the light of my headlamp. We definitely startled each other pretty good.
12 Back down to the Ski Hut with the odd lighting that the camera creates. End to another fun night on Baldy. Then on the drive back to Baldy Village, I almost ran into a black bear on the shoulder of the road. My first bear sighting on Baldy!