Climbing Mt Baldy USA Part 1

While it is still a few months from the official start of winter in the US, some states have already experienced some snowfall due to some early storms.  So I guess its not too early anymore to feature a snow-related travel post.

Mt Baldy (or Mt San Antonio) is actually very visible in the residential area where I used to live in Southern California.   Well how can you not notice a mountain that rises from the desert floor at about 10,000 feet making it one of the tallest mountains in California?

This massive mountain is also very accessible  from Los Angeles, as it is only 55 miles east if you Google map it.

Mt Baldy also offers  the usual snow activities
provided there's enough snowpack

Mt Baldy parking

The is the trail we took after inquiring and paying the permit fees at the visitor center  The tips and info here can also be used for most mountain trails in the US.  Note the yellow bear alert.

And remember the last piece of advice: "bury it."

During the first few stages of the trail, you would be walking through forested areas with meandering streams. It is not that difficult for experienced hikers, but some of the rocks can be quite slippery, especially after a recent winter storm.

You will see some house ruins as well, which makes you wonder how they got here. Several years ago, Mt Baldy was ravaged by a massive forest fire that gutted several houses, leaving only their stone or brick remnants.

No this is not the Blair Witch's lair

right out of a horror movie

As we continued to follow the mildly ascending trail, we reached areas still covered by some snow. Note in that in SoCal, snow usually falls only at elevations above 5000 feet.  You gotta climb if you want to experience snow.

Midway, the terrain also gets more difficult.  Plus the heat of the SoCal sun is now at full blast, which still matters, even if this trip happened during the peak of winter (January).  So remember to bring enough water for this climb.  There are no vending machines at the trail's end nor vendors hawking bottled water, soda or ice candy (like some forests and mountains in the Philippines) 

I will continue this in the next blog post to prevent long page load times.  But here is one last photo.