Mt. Baldy (San Antonio)

Peak Name: Mt. Baldy
Distance: 10.5 miles
Date: June 23, 2019
Summit: 10,064 feet

What an incredible summit today! Ted Markus and I drove back up to Mt. Baldy for the Climb For Heroes Comeback Tour event. The weather had canceled the first attempt in May. This was to be about an 11-mile round trip hike with about 4,000 feet of elevation gain topping out at 10,064 feet.

Ted and I at the start

Working our way up the road

Looking south from the trail

Along the way, we meet and chatted with wounded vets, and watched them climb the summit as well. Our route took us across the Devil’s Backbone, so we had quite the traverse.

Wise words…

About to cross the Devil’s Backbone

On the Devil’s Backbone!

Selfie on the Devil’s Backbone!

It was a tough one. The final push to the summit was hard and took a lot of mental energy to ascend the last mile.

Getting closer!

More wise words…

The safety rope just past the Devil’s Backbone

About to make the final push

On to the summit

Ted and I at the summit

Woot!

The views were incredible and the entire crew supporting this event was awesome.

Looking south from the summit

Looking north from the summit

Looking west from the summit

This peak was the first of our A16 3 Peak Challenge. Thanks to all the sponsors for this event including Eddie Bauer.

 

Mt. San Jacinto (via Marion Mountain trail)

Peak Name: Mt. San Jacinto
Distance: 12.1 miles
Date: August 13, 2017
Summit: 10,834 feet

So I decided to take a break from the 100 Peak Challenge and go for a big peak. San Jacinto was the closest of the Six-Pack of Peaks (another challenge I am considering for 2018). I opted to start at the Marion Mountain trailhead near Idyllwild. This route a steep, relentlessly climbing over 4,600 feet in just 5.7 miles.

A deer in the early morning light.

I trekked along, climbing ever steadily. The trail was mostly empty. I encounter just a few hikers along the way. A helicopter passed overhead. I watch, hoping that no one needed its assistance. After a few minutes, it flew off. I took a short breather at Little Round Valley.

Soon I had reached the emergency hut. I could almost start to smell the summit. After a brief boulder scramble, I had reached the top!

Benchmark!

I rested a bit, taking in the view. Took the obligatory sign selfie as well. Some of the other hikers milling around were interns from JPL. We chatted a bit about their experiences. Some knew my friends who work there. But I knew I had a long trek back down and said goodbye.

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As began down the trail, my hips began to feel the effects of the steepness. My pace began to slow, as I descended. It was then I released truly how steep this trail was. I finally made it back to the car, and once the phone charged up some, I checked in with my wife who was starting to worry.