almost Mount Baldy

Yesterday, I hiked from Manker Flats to Baldy Notch on a nice, wide dirt road. I did a short sidehike down the trail to Stockton Flats but turned around after about a mile; this added two miles to my hike. I haven't hiked in the San Gabriels before and I'm sad that I discovered this beautiful area right before I leave LA.

Next I took a gravel road with switchbacks up to the Devil's Backbone trail. The Devil's Backbone is a ridge trail leading up to Mount Baldy that has drop-offs of several thousand feet on each side. I was glad I had my ski poles. As I walked, I noticed gathering clouds near the summit. At first they were little white clouds, and as I got closer they progressed to white clouds with dark bottoms and then their tops seemed to be expanding. At the saddle between Mount Baldy and Mount Harwood (approx. 500 feet/1 mile from the summit) I decided to turn around. No lightning strikes for me. My original plan had been to do the loop, taking the Ski Hut trail down from the summit for a 11 mile round trip hike, but I ended up doing the longer out-and-back. I enjoyed the Devil's Backbone on the way back once I realized that the fear in my head was disproportionate to the low risk of falling off. I hope to tackle this hike again next week and make it to the top. Leaving an hour or two earlier would allow me to ascend without thunderheads building up. Also, I wore running shoes instead of hiking boots and they worked quite well.