Sick of June Gloom? Bag Mt. San Antonio, the highest peak in Los Angeles County at 10,064 ft. Follow the winding Mt. Baldy Road up the canyon, and through the clouds until you emerge, basking in the sun and peaks around you. The clouds form a blanket, covering the congestion of the city below and turning it into a sea of puffy white. All you really need to see are the mountains anyway. Right away you will come across the cascading San Antonio Falls. There's also a Sierra Club ski hut at 8,300 ft. that you'll definitely want to check out. You can't go in, but there are scheduled work parties that you can sign up for through the Sierra Club. http://www.angeles.sierraclub.org/lodges/Pages/workparty.html There's a sweet rock that's perfect to read from on the canyon side of the hut. So perfect that you'll never want to leave! You have to trek on though in order to see the amazing view from the top. It's not easy, but so worth it! The Devil's Backbone trail is also a highlight of the hike because there are points where the trail is very narrow and you're balancing on the ridge between two cliffs. Overall a blissful hike that comes with bragging rights!
How to get there: Take the 210 towards San Bernadino and exit Mountain Ave in Upland. Continue right on Mt. Baldy Rd. past Icehouse Canyon. The trailhead is on the left at San Antonio Falls road just past the Manker Flats campground. You have two options when you choose your ascent to the top. The first is to follow the road up and through the Mt. Baldy ski area. This is the long way up, about 7 miles and a little under 4,000 ft. elevation. OR you can do it the extreme way, which is to head up the Baldy Bowl trail, going the same elevation in 4 miles. Both trails begin at the trailhead I mentioned, just follow the paved road up past the waterfall until it becomes a dirt access road. If you choose to take the short way up, there is an obvious offshoot trail on the left. You'll know you're in the right place because there is a register almost immediately where you can sign your name. If you want to take the longer, less steep route continue on the road and follow the trail left when you reach the ski school for Mt. Baldy.
Don't Forget: Display your Adventure Pass, or your America The Beautiful Interagency Pass. Bring extra layers because it can be cold and windy on the top. On the other hand, it can be sunny and beautiful so bring extra sunscreen! You can also bring an extra couple bucks to donate to the Sierra Club. There's a donation box in the outhouse at the ski hut! Lastly, bring a book because you'll need to rest so you might as well make a nice relaxing time out of it.
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