from Baldy Village to the mouth of Private Canyon, directly across from Icehouse.
It took a bit of scrambling over fallen logs and boulders and yucca and junk to get to the narrow, somewhat hidden, rocky bed of Private Canyon.
It's a relatively short trip up this gully, the highlight being the Nipple Chute,
a cool place to practice some rockclimbing
and nearly kill yourself by pulling loose boulders onto your right knee while in a precarious position.
If you're similarly inclined, you too can try to find Pavel's route down to Bear Flat along the ridge. Or, if you're in a hurry to get down, you can give up on Pavel's route and instead trash your exposed parts by plowing through the thorns.
I'm still trying to remove the thorn-tips from my palms. But I guess it was worth it for the views.
