I wanted to do this hike for a while, and was waiting until there are no more reports of snow on the top of the mountain. Mount Baldy via Devil's Backbone trail is not an easy one. Well, let's be honest here, it is the second toughest hike I have ever done after Alta Peak.
It started out pretty good with slow and steady elevation gain. In the early morning, parts of the trail are still fully shaded, so it was nice to feel cool at least at some portions of the hike.
The elevation started to be felt almost right away. Usually pretty energetic in the first few miles, I felt out of breath at times due to higher elevation. I remembered how thin air gets closer to 8 to 10,000 ft, but the hike was worth it. The views were incredible from the very beginning.
Sap was flowing from the fur trees, seeping onto the cones and shining in the sun. It looked like they were covered in ice.
I soon came across a restaurant that was near the ski lift. It was too early for it to be open, but their bathrooms were fabulous!
The next section was brutal and straight uphill. It seemed like minutes were dragging like hours. My legs were killing me, and were weren't even half way there!
Finally, we were on top of the first hill only to be greeted by another section with more elevation gain. The hike was supposed to gain almost 4,000 ft from top to bottom, and I felt it.
The views distracted from how tough this hike was.
The last section of the climb was another brutal one. At some point I thought I ran out of water, but decided to finish hiking to the top. Heck, I've gone that far, I had to finish!
Luckily, as I reached the top I realized I had more water than I had thought. I ate my delicious granola bar (that was even more delicious after such exercise) and headed down. I thought for the first time that I would like to camp right there. How amazing would it be to wake up 10,000 ft above the sea level. Will add this to my bucket list...
The way down is usually much easier, but not in this case. The trail became very steep covered in sand so that traction on my boots was barely keeping up from letting me slide down the hill. My knees were angry from constant impact, and my muscles begged for a break. But noooo! I wanted to get down, and so I did.
It started out pretty good with slow and steady elevation gain. In the early morning, parts of the trail are still fully shaded, so it was nice to feel cool at least at some portions of the hike.
The elevation started to be felt almost right away. Usually pretty energetic in the first few miles, I felt out of breath at times due to higher elevation. I remembered how thin air gets closer to 8 to 10,000 ft, but the hike was worth it. The views were incredible from the very beginning.
Sap was flowing from the fur trees, seeping onto the cones and shining in the sun. It looked like they were covered in ice.
I soon came across a restaurant that was near the ski lift. It was too early for it to be open, but their bathrooms were fabulous!
The next section was brutal and straight uphill. It seemed like minutes were dragging like hours. My legs were killing me, and were weren't even half way there!
 |
| On the picture it looks almost flat, but angle it at about 45-50 degrees, and you'll understand my pain... |
The views distracted from how tough this hike was.
The last section of the climb was another brutal one. At some point I thought I ran out of water, but decided to finish hiking to the top. Heck, I've gone that far, I had to finish!
Luckily, as I reached the top I realized I had more water than I had thought. I ate my delicious granola bar (that was even more delicious after such exercise) and headed down. I thought for the first time that I would like to camp right there. How amazing would it be to wake up 10,000 ft above the sea level. Will add this to my bucket list...
The way down is usually much easier, but not in this case. The trail became very steep covered in sand so that traction on my boots was barely keeping up from letting me slide down the hill. My knees were angry from constant impact, and my muscles begged for a break. But noooo! I wanted to get down, and so I did.
No comments:
Post a Comment