Blogging My Life

This was Dad’s first hike since his August accident. We hiked from Manker Flats to the ski hut at 8200′ on a clear, warm beautiful December day, New Year’s Eve, in fact.

This weekend was the charm. Hiking Saturday, Dec. 10th., with new friend Dan, we left the Manker Flats Campground (at 6,160 ft., a much higher trailhead than that of my attempt last weekend) at 8:50, arriving at the San Antonio ski hut, 8,200 ft., at 10:40. After a break and a snack, we headed on up the ridge that rims the bowl and then up to the 10,064 ft. summit, arriving at 12:50. Half an hour on top for lunch (it was chilly but pretty calm), enjoying great views all the way up to Mt. Whitney, over towards Death Valley across the desert, the San Bernadino peaks to the east, Catalina Island and ships on the ocean. We headed down at 1:15, a fairly leisurely descent, getting back to the car at 3:45. Four hours up, two and a half down. There was patchy snow in the trees on non-south-facing slopes and some packed snow on the trail now and then, remnants of a few drifts on the summit. We were leery enough of snow and ice on the Devil’s Backbone trail over to the ski area, so we skipped our plan for this alternate route back. No pix ’cause Leda took the camera with her on her trip to Huntington Gardens with her mom. Next time….

I’ve been thinking that any day now, Mt. San Antonio (Baldy) is going to be covered in snow for the rest of the winter and I won’t be able to climb it. I put off attempts lasts weekend (for variations on the obvious reason 🙂 ), and Friday’s rain down in the San Gabriel Valley made me nervous. But the snow it put up high melted off Saturday and I set off for the summit today. My late start was too late for a time of the year when the sun sets at 4:30, and I didn’t make it to the summit. I met several hikers who did, but they had started a 7:00 a.m. I did get up to about 8,000 feet, and I think it was still probably blowing hard and very cool on top, so maybe it was for the best. I get some great views south and west. Several people were apparently heading later than I, including one guy in shorts, who sort of made me wonder if the search and rescue team would get some more Baldy practice out of him later tonight.
The trail starts from the Visitor Center, climbing along a road with some spectacular cabins and real piles of junk along the Bear Canyon Rd. After fifteen minutes, one is on the real trail and after five more one passes the last power line, which goes down to a cluster of Robinson Crusoe cabins seen only from above. The ascent is through dense oaks in the canyon, open chapparal and then very open p-pine and sugar pine at the higher elevations. Wherever it was that I stopped, it took me 2 1/2 hours up and 1 1/2 down. Great views of the ocean, to which my camera failed to do justice: