location: Mount San Antonio, San Gabriel Mountains
distance: 8.75 miles
details: we kicked off training for our next hiking adventure (to New Zealand this fall) with a recommendation from one of Andy's co-workers - the highest peak in the San Gabriel mountains. officially, it's Mount San Antonio (probably named by a rancher in the 1840s for his patron saint, Anthony of Padua) but everyone refers to it as Mt. Baldy.
lots of hikers start off from Manker Flats, once home to a gold-rush era store, following a 13 mile loop with a 4,300 ft elevation gain. however, not sure of our hiking readiness, we opted to take a ski lift up to Baldy Notch, which cuts some 2,000 vertical feet off the ascent (along with several miles on foot). this set us up for the more strenuous ascent (the climb up from Manker Flats is more gradual) along a trail called the Devil's Backbone. there are portions of the trail that snake along the top of vertiginous ridges, or cling desperately to the mountainside with a gut-clenching drop to one side. normally, I have no problem with heights, but there were moments when the 18 inches directly in front of my dusty boots became fascinating.
we were on the trail by 9 a.m., which made the temperature warm but tolerable throughout the hike. as a person who prefers having extra water on-hand at all times, we budgeted a bit short -- or thought we did until I found an extra bottle of water at the bottom of our pack upon returning home. all the same, there was plenty of shade, opportunities to rest, and fellow-hikers to leapfrog and hike-chat with. one pair in particular were a dad and son wearing kinesio tape and a hoodie, respectively.
from the outset the views were stunning - north to Victorville and beyond; south to the rest of Los Angeles county. because of haze we couldn't see much to the south beyond the great blue sky, though on a clear day I'm told you can see Catalina (and vice versa). on most days, you can see Mt. Baldy from near where we are staying. it'll take some adjusting to the drier, warmer climate while we're prepping for NZ, to make sure we have adequate hydration and fuel on these hikes, but it seems pretty reasonable that we'll be better prepared for the Routeburn Track than for the Camino or Dingle!
