Mt. Baldy

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!

7/14/21  Another trip up one of my favorite SoCal trails. 17 miles and 7,000' of gain is always a great test hike when training for something big.

6/10/21  Another trip up Icehouse Canyon to Cucamonga Peak, only this time via the Cedar Glen route to avoid the crowds. It adds a little more than 3 miles, but is well worth it for the remote, rugged terrain.

5/27/21  A quick loop up Register Ridge and down Ski Hut. That 2,500' mile and a half never fails to be a butt kicker. 20 min alone on top. Early evening hikes are definitely the secret to avoiding the Baldy crowds!

1/21/21  A relaxing hike with Dad up the Baldy Bowl trail to the Ski Hut on a beautiful January day. There was just enough snow to make it feel like winter but not enough to slow us down.

12/17/20  A quick trip up Icehouse Canyon to Cucamonga Peak on a cold, icy day. The normal view of urban sprawl from the summit was replaced by a blanket of cotton ball clouds. 13 miles and 4,400' gain.

12/3/20  A quick trip up Ski Hut on the day of a big Silverado Canyon fire, which you could clearly see from the summit. It was 28 degrees on top with a chilly wind, which made it all the more fun.

10/15/20  Another trip up the Bear Canyon trail, this time on a warm, dry day. It was a tough one, but not too crowded, and fun as always.

10/8/20  Another evening up the Ski Hut trail coming down in the dark. I thought the trail had reopened, but evidently it was the following day. I snuck on regardless and had the entire mountain to myself. Smoky but fun.

10/1/20  Another trip up the backside of Baldy. The National Forest was closed due to fires, but I managed to sneak in a trip to the top of Dawson Peak and Wright Mtn.

8/24/20  My first night hike on Baldy. Up the Ski Hut trail in the early evening, alone on the summit for sunset, and then down entirely in the dark. An awesome, eery, experience!

8/6/20  My second time doing the Baldy Loop, this time on my birthday. 22 miles and 7,800' of gain makes for a great birthday present!

7/30/20 Up the Middle Fork trail from Lytle Creek to Bighorn Peak between Cucamonga and Ontario Peaks. First time on Bighorn. Nice peak, nice view, and much less crowded. 17 miles and 4,300' gain.

7/2/20 My first double summit of Baldy! To the top and down twice via the Register Ridge to Ski Hut loop. First counter-clockwise, then clockwise, for 7,500' of gain in just 15 miles.

6/26/20  Another trip up one of my all-time favorite trails. It's been a couple years since I've done the backside of Baldy. The brutal up-and-downs of it's 17 miles and 7,000' of gain never get old!

5/22/20  Another trip up the Bear Canyon trail. The 6,000' of gain is the most I've done in a little while. Felt great to be doing this trail again!

10/26/19  Another trip with Dad up the backside of Baldy from Wrightwood. This time we only went to Pine Mountain, but that section of the Backbone trail is unquestionably one my favorite trails in all of SoCal!

6/22/18  My first time doing the Baldy Loop. 22 miles and 7,500' gain up Icehouse Canyon, across the Three Ts, up Baldy, then down Bear Canyon. I ran out of water, making it a particularly tough day!

6/12/18  My third time round trip up/down Register Ridge. This time just for a quick training speed hike. But that 2,500' 1.5 mile section is brutal no matter how many times you do it.

5/6/18  A return trip up the Middle Fork trail to Icehouse Saddle, except this time continuing on to both Cucamonga and Ontario peaks. Great views, great weather, 21.5 miles, and 6,800' of gain.

4/15/18  My first trip up the backside of Baldy in over 6 years. I missed this trail! Defintely still one of my all-time favorites. A little snow left on top added to the challenge.

8/31/17  A quick trip out to Icehouse Canyon and part way up to Cucamonga Peak. A great trip with an unexpected thunderstorm that added to the fun but ruined two cameras!

4/26/17  A quick trip up the Ski Hut trail in memory of 79 year old Seuk Doo Kim, better known as "Sam", who tragically died on the mountain a couple weeks eariler after over 700 successful summits.

12/2/16  Another trip up the Ski Hut (Baldy Bowl) trail, this time with Dad in conditions somewhere between a hike and a snow trek. Featuring temperatures down to -3.1 degrees with wind chill, it was a great adventure.

6/6/16  I had so much fun on Mt. Baldy a few days earlier, I returned for another trip. This time up the Ski Hut (Baldy Bowl) trail for a quick 9 mile, 4,000' gain day. And I got to meet the famous Seuk Doo Kim on the trail!

6/3/16  Another trip up Mt. Baldy, this time via the little known Register Ridge use trail. With one section of more than 2,600' in just 1.5 miles, it's a blast! Together with detours to San Antonio Falls and Mt. Harwood, it makes for an excellent day.

2/16/15 Another hike with Dad, this time up the Middle Fork Trail to the Icehouse Canyon Saddle. 12 miles, almost 5,000' of gain, and some great trail without the normal Icehouse Canyon crowds.

4/29/12  A trip on the Mt. Baldy trail up the front side of Mt. Baldy. Though it's maybe not quite as difficult as the backside route, it's unquestionably the second hardest way to summit Baldy. 6000' of gain in 13 miles averaging almost exactly 1000' per mile the whole way to the top.

10/25/11  Another trip to Baldy, this time bringing my Dad to experience the little used trail from Wrightwood to the summit. Unquestionably one of the toughest trails in Southern CA with rugged terrain and over 7000' of total elevation gain.

8/8/10  Another trip to one of my all-time favorite trails- up the backside of Mt. Baldy. This time joined by Dustin. This is now my fifth trip up the Acorn and Backbone trails, 3 times in snow and twice in summer. At around 17 miles and 7000' of elevation gain, it is unquestionably one of the toughest trails in Southern CA.