Mt Baldy & Devil's Backbone

So this one time....we went on a 11 mile (completely exposed) hike in the middle of summer. 3,900 feet of elevation gain--no problem. Mt Baldy, Mount San Antonio...whatever you want to call it...total leg buster. We suckered some friends into doing it with us. It took much longer to get out to the trailhead than we expected, so we got a "late start" at about 8:30am. Parking was tough too. It seemed like the whole world was there already.

 The San Gabriels are very hot and dry, but everything outside is beautiful.

The views from the top were breathtaking. 

(We've since climbed Old Baldy in a better mindset, once even with snow on it. This first time it took us an embarrassingly long time to get to the top.) 

Worst shoe choice ever!!!! Merrill Moab's I believe. I took them back to REI after this trip and have been using trail runner's since. 

It's always nice when there is one of these at the peak, it's like getting a gold star on my hiking badge. 

Here's a few from the route down, via Devil's backbone. I tried to capture how steep it was.

It was a successful day, even if it was a long one we all came home sunburned and blistered from. 

L to R: Katy (me), Sam, Nicole, Seth