Baldy overnight

TRs for the San Gabriel Mountains.
Post Reply
User avatar
JeffH
Posts: 1166
Joined: Sun Nov 28, 2010 7:09 am

Post by JeffH »

Note: No snowflakes were harmed in the making of this TR. The trail is dry.
Last week I went up Baldy, spending the night on the summit. Since it was mid-week I had the place to myself which was pretty cool. Speaking of that it was also windy and very cool all night, especially three times when the door side of my tent broke free and collapsed in on me.
I went up the Baldy Bowl trail and down via Devil's Backbone, my standard loop route. On the way up I stopped at the stream just above the ski hut for a break, while there I filled two 32-oz bottles and topped off my Camelbak via the Sawyer Mini. I also drank quite a bit there too. I didn't see anyone else on the trail from that point upward, so I was free to take one of the approximately 432 trails that now lead up from the ridge to the summit. Just when I got there another hiker came from West Baldy, actually he said he started at Manker and went over to Iron and was heading down DB trail. Wow that's a pretty long day.....
Once I settled in at the top I set up in the windbreak closest to the summit sign, however I quickly learned that tent stakes don't work here. I tried a couple different spots but no way was I getting anything into that mountain by hand. I also learned that if you need to tie out the tent, make sure you have enough line-locks packed, one definitely is not the right number. Since I only had the footprint and fly, I put a rock in each corner just to hold things down and fought the wind for a while to get the fly set up over the center pole structure. I used a stake in the door loop and tried wedging it behind/between some rocks but as mentioned before that didn't work too well, eventually I found a long piece of wood and secured things down. Despite being behind the rocks, I still had cold wind blowing inside all night, and of course the side of the tent was flapping around until the wind died down around 4am. Yes, I was still awake!
Two people showed up in the morning to watch the sunrise, so I got up and had a double batch of hot chocolate while also catching the view.
On the way down, I saw a person lying behind a big rock near the saddle, so I wandered over that direction and he got up quickly. He said he had planned to spend the night on the summit but took the wrong trail and couldn't find a warm place out of the wind. In the morning he left his gear and headed toward the top but laid down behind the rock to get warm and take a nap. I asked if he was OK for food and water and he said fine and asked how much further to the summit before heading up in that direction.
After that I crossed paths with a few day hikers and reached my truck eventually after taking the fire road down past San Antonio Falls.
Just another great couple of days out in the local mountains.


Image
Sign is fixed once again.


Image
Looking down canyon from above the rock garden, where the bottle opener was formerly located.


Image
Serious erosion in this section through the trees. Since I don't know the solution am I part of the problem?


Image
Almost near the top. Walk, stop, pant. Walk, stop, pant.


Image
I used the last patch of snow to chill this off for my evening relaxation.


Image
Great sunset view up there.


Image
Tent spot in the morning. Wind is still blowing!


Image
I found this little guy in my water bottle, still alive in the morning. I filtered it through a bandanna to the Sawyer and he jumped out, lost in the dirt. Hope I didn't drink one earlier!


Image
New marker over on the west side of the summit. Anyone know the story?


Image
Trail back down to civilization. I enjoy the mornings above the sea of clouds.


Image
I took a little shortcut off the road on the way down. This full trail is way too steep to attempt with a full backpack.
"Argue for your limitations and sure enough they're yours".
Donald Shimoda
User avatar
Sean
Cucamonga
Posts: 3769
Joined: Wed Jul 27, 2011 12:32 pm

Post by Sean »

Lloyd Charton was the subject of this thread. He died on Baldy last March.
User avatar
Girl Hiker
Posts: 1327
Joined: Fri Apr 04, 2014 7:46 am

Post by Girl Hiker »

JeffH wrote: Image
New marker over on the west side of the summit. Anyone know the story?
Nice find! I must find this one to add to my collection of locating markers :)
User avatar
jjoshuagregory
Posts: 5
Joined: Wed Nov 18, 2015 9:35 am

Post by jjoshuagregory »

Girl Hiker wrote:
JeffH wrote: Image
New marker over on the west side of the summit. Anyone know the story?
Nice find! I must find this one to add to my collection of locating markers :)
Great TR, in the 30 times I've been up, I've never spent the night atop baldy. Between the beer and the sunsets, it looks like a really nice time.
User avatar
headsizeburrito
Posts: 279
Joined: Wed Nov 15, 2017 1:18 pm

Post by headsizeburrito »

Just when I got there another hiker came from West Baldy, actually he said he started at Manker and went over to Iron and was heading down DB trail. Wow that's a pretty long day.....
If it was May 30th that was me! It was my first time doing the San Antonio Ridge Traverse and it was indeed a long day! I actually took Register Ridge both ways from Manker to and from the summit of Baldy.

I'll have to look for that marker, I haven't spotted it before. I do remember hearing about that death, it was quite a year on the mountain. Speaking of deaths on Baldy, I'm a little bummed there isn't something up there for Sam Kim, who died on Baldy also in 2017. I know there was something at the summit for a short time, but I think he deserves something lasting like this.
User avatar
JeffH
Posts: 1166
Joined: Sun Nov 28, 2010 7:09 am

Post by JeffH »

Yep that was the date I was there. So as Roland of Gilead would say, we are well-met.
"Argue for your limitations and sure enough they're yours".
Donald Shimoda
Post Reply