Hiked: 6/19/2021
Distance: 6.5 miles round trip on trail
Summit Elevation: 10064' (3067m)
Prominence: 6224'
Elevation Gain: 2300'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 1.8
Round trip time: 4 hours
Recommended water: 68 oz.
Parking/Fees: Adventure Pass, Lift tickets $25/person round trip
Difficulty: Moderate
Leisa and I continued altitude training by taking the Devils Backbone trail to top of Mount San Antonio (Baldy). This was Leisa's first time on the mountain. This would be my fifth time to summit and third different route. To save time, we rode the Sugarpine Ski Lifts to the notch and started from there. I had never been on the lifts before and I must admit it was more pleasant than walking the road. It was about 8:20 AM when we left the notch. There were several parties on the trail going up and down, but it was less crowded than Baden-Powell the prior weekend.
After an initial steep climb, the trail eased up before getting steep again below Mount Harwood. As we skirted Harwood, a lone hiker reached the top of Register Ridge and merged onto the Backbone trail just ahead of us. The final ascent from Harwood was also steep and multiple parties were sputtering up the trail. We weren't moving fast, but we made steady progress. When we arrived on the summit, there were at least 50 people milling about, maybe more. This was the most crowded I had seen the summit, but everyone was spread out and seemed to be enjoying themselves. We found a patch of gravel to rest on and I even took a catnap. Neither of us felt any symptoms of AMS so mission accomplished. We took a leisurely stroll back to the notch. We went into the restaurant looking for cold drinks but the line was too long.
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