I decided to try the backside of Mt. Baldy one more time. I love this trail and know it well. And with nearly two hours of extra daylight since my last trip, I…
I wasn't sure how much snow there would be on the lower portions of the trail. In fact, I thought I would be making quick time until I hit the snow. Definitely…
A look at the valley below on the North side of Baldy.
I have still yet to see any large wildlife in the snow, but there sure are a lot of really large tracks. This footprint (deer?) is huge, larger than my fully…
I made it to the top of the Acorn Trail in good time, nearly 30min faster than my previous attempts. This is mostly due to the fact that I am using boots and…
My first look at Pine Mtn. and the Backbone Trail. A brutal but beautiful trail.
Similar picture as on previous trips. There is easily as much or more snow as last time I was here.
The fire road near the PCT. Like usual, not a single human sighting the entire day. And not a single footprint, which means not a single human on the trail in…
A random, interesting picture of a pine cone rolling down the hill. You know you are in really fresh snow when you see tracks like this.
Getting ready to ascend Pine Mtn. via the Backbone Trail. One of my all-time favorite trails.
The Backbone Trail traverses across a very narrow ridge and there are large snow/ice overhangs. I am always a bit nervous about walking too close to these. It's…
It always pains me to include this picture, because it has absolutely none of the real life impact of seeing this slope in person. This is an insanely steep…
Made it to the top of Pine Mtn. The rock walls of the backpacker's tent spots are starting to show through the snow. Last time I was here, they were completely…
A look at my path traversing across a slope with about 50% incline. This would have been -extremely- difficult and very dangerous in snowshoes (if you wipe out,…
Made it to the spot where I ate lunch last time. I made it here almost a full hour faster than last time. But, it's still 1:30pm and I have a long ways to go to…
A look at my Black Diamond Contact strap crampons. These are much easier than the step-in kind, because you can use them with any type of shoe. They are…
I am embarrassed to say, but in my past photo albums I have said that this peak was Mt. Baldy. This trip, I finally realized this is not Baldy (in fact it's not…
This is the peak I couldn't identify on past snow trips. Turns out this is the real Baldy summit. No wonder there is always so much snow there. It looks much…
The trail towards the summit. Looks like the summit is just a bit above that ridgeline there. How hard could it be?
I finally reach that ridgeline, which is Dawson Peak, elevation 9575'. Only 500' below the summit. I'm almost there! Uh, not really. I remember my heartbreak on…