Mt San Antonio — Local services in Wrightwood

Spur of the moment decision to hike this. Up at 0330 to drive from San Diego to Angeles National Forest. Arrived at 0600 for start...surprised at sheer amount already there..excited and started hike..at fork after Service road, took right steep trail (I think to Devil's Backbone prior to Mount San Antonio (Baldy). Very steep and a bit difficult..Highly recommend bringing hiking sticks.View amazing, at Devil's backbone, took a break to eat a banana and a Kind fruit brick, drank a bit of Orange juice while in the shade. Then as I watched trekkers heading up Mt. Baldy, got excited and headed up....Again amazing view, and met two nice folks struck up a bit of conversation, few pictures at peak, then headed back down...heading down is a bit brutal on knees..recommend a sock change at peak...hopefully your shoes (hiking boots preferred) are a perfect fit...loose or tight shoes will be painful by the time you get back to vehicle.....highly recommend this hike, go early...go early..go early..if you have headlamp, recommend a 0400 or...

Worth it for the views at the summit and fun downhill via the ski hut. The weather was 52F and winds at 6/hr at the top for a summer hike in mid July. Parked at Manker campground and went via the ski lift area and onto devil’s backbone to the summit. Mostly fire road and scree after backbone then scree and a rocky, steeper technical descent into the ski hut and back down to the waterfall area and campground. Under 10 miles for the loop. Started later than I wanted at 8:30 and was already sunny and warm, single layer weather. Drank about 2.5L. Two hours up and an hour down on a training trail run. Loved the sea of clouds views. There were some colorful wildflowers surrounding a stream down by the ski hut. Look for the yellow tipped posts from rock fields upwards. I’d leave earlier and have a cooler ascent. Glad I brought the cap with face and neck flaps. I wouldn’t do it in winter unless I went with an experienced hiker and had crampons as there’re many rocks on the descent towards the ski hut and backbone would be...

Mt San Antonio, or colloquially known as Mt Baldy, is a challenging and beautiful hike with a peak at 10,064’. The usual route I take is a loop, via Devil’s Backbone and Baldy Bowl, or vice versa, about 11 miles total. You can save some pack room on water either by filling up at the top of the Mt Baldy Resort from the Devil’s Backbone side or the Ski Hut from the Baldy Bowl side. Unless you’ve got mountaineering and snow trekking experience, this hike, like many in the SoCal mountain ranges, is best used in the spring till first snowfall in the late autumn or winter. Highly recommend checking out AllTrails or Gaia GPS for a reliable non-cell service dependent map of the trail you choose and the area. Parking for the loop mentioned above starts at Manker Flat. Make sure you have an adventure pass or national parks pass displayed in your dash for official use/payment of the recreation area. Always make sure you’re prepared for any hike and assume safety and responsibility for yourself...