Mt. Baldy is the highest point in Los Angeles County at 10,064 feet, and it is the next rung up from Wilson. I go up from Manker Flats and around the Devil's Backbone loop, which is about ten and a half miles and roughly 4,000 feet of climbing. This is a lollipop route, and I highly recommend going clockwise. That way, your ascent will be much steeper than your descent. If you choose to go counterclockwise, this will really come back to bite you on the descent.
This one is harder than Wilson, and the difference is not just the numbers. The Backbone is a narrow ridge with the trail running right along the crest and the ground falling away on both sides. It is a walk, not a scramble, but it is the first place near LA where the mountain feels like it has some consequence to it. Snow in winter, scree in summer. I've never found the backbone to be frightening, but if you have a fear of heights, perhaps this could get you.
It is also extremely popular, and the small lot at Manker Flats fills before dawn. The later you get there, the farther down the road you park and the longer your day gets. Every lap lives here, newest first.
Second lap, a year and five days after the first. Moving at 8:27 a.m., and under four hours on the clock for the first time.
Seventy-two minutes faster than 2025 on moving time, but the gap car to car was almost two hours. That second number is the honest one. In 2025 I stood around for an hour and twelve minutes; this time it was thirty-one. Half the improvement was pace and half of it was just not stopping as much.
First time up, and the second of the two SoCal warm-ups. Whitney was a month out.
Moving at 6:05 a.m., which is about the latest you want to be starting if you would rather not park halfway down the road. Six hours and twenty-three minutes car to car, and an hour and twelve of that spent standing still. This was the day standing at ten thousand feet stopped feeling theoretical.
