Tag Archives: hike

MOUNT BALDY (via Old Baldy Trail)

10 Thursday May 2012

Posted by in Distance hikes, Outdoors, Peaks, Strenuous Hikes

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Plaque on the top of Baldy

This past April our group decided to hike up to the summit of Mount Baldy (officially Mt. San Antonio).  There are 4 ways to reach the peak. With Mt. Whitney just a few months away, we decided to challenge ourselves and take the Old Baldy Trail which is 6.4 miles long and has a gain of about 5,800 ft making it a very challenging and difficult hike.

The parking lot for this hike is located right next to the Mt. Baldy Village Church. A forest adventure pass is required.

After a quick bag check we started up Bear Canyon Rd for about .4 miles to the trailhead.

Trailhead at the end of Bear Canyon Rd

After enjoying the the sounds of the creek and sights of the cabins for .4 miles we left the paved road behind and continued on the dirt single-track trail that is Old Mt Baldy Trail. Our next destination was Bear Flat (1.8miles) here we regrouped and took a short break before continuing on for the remaining 4.6 miles.

The First 1.8 miles are the easiest…

The rest of the hike has a gain of 900 feet per mile making it very difficult.  As soon as you leave Bear Flat you start to switchback up the south side of the mountain leaving you exposed to the sun , so bring a hat and pack on the sunblock! Views of Ontario Peak are all you can see from here.

Ontario Peak

After about 2 miles we hit the end of the switchbacks and continued up the ridge. This is where SoCal began to reveal itself.

getting higher and higher.. The Santa Ana Mountains are starting to reveal themselves!

If you make it here.. Just keep on going as the hardest part is now over. My favorite part of this hike(other than reaching the peak) was when we I reached the Narrows Ridge This was an Amazing experience with awesome views!

My Wife making her way up Narrows Ridge

View of Mt Baldy from Narrows Ridge

When we reached the top of the ridge my jaw dropped!

Jaw is Dropped! top of the Narrows Ridge

Up until here we were on a dirt trail which was easy to follow and easy to walk on.. This was a first for me.. hiking in the snow.. it sounds nice in ones head but the fact of the matter is this stuff was slushy and knee deep in some places.. With Baldy in our sights we had no choice but to fuel up and keep on trekking!

Once we hit the saddle between West Baldy and Baldy we had a choice to visit WB but we were just too drained, so we continued to the right and made the final push up to Baldy!

WE MADE IT!!!!

My krew and I on the highest peak in LA

Happy Trails,
Alex G.

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  • 12.8 round-trip
  • 6.4 miles to the top
  • 900 ft of gain per mile
  • 5,800 ft of gain
  • 10,834 ft peak
  • Tallest peak in LA
  • 3rd tallest peak in So Cal
  • adventure pass required
  • Difficulty– Very Strenuous
  • start early to beat the heat 6 or 7am
  • total hike time 7-11 hours depending on pace

BLACK STAR CANYON TO SILVERADO CANYON

01 Thursday Mar 2012

Posted by in Distance hikes, Outdoors, Peaks, Strenuous Hikes, Waterfalls

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This 20 mile hike begins at the Black Star Canyon Trailhead and ends at the Maple Springs Trailhead. We used the car shuttle system to complete this hike, meeting at the Maple Springs Trailhead, leaving a car there and carpooling to the beginning of the hike.

This is a great hike with lots of points of interest: A coal mine, school bus, historic Indian site, Beeks place, doppler radar, Pleasants Peak and amazing views are things that you will experience along the way.

The hike begins at the parking lot just past the large steel gates.This is Black Star Canyon Rd. The first 2 miles are on a wide level fire road. Along the way you will see a closed off coal mine on the right and shortly after an old abandoned tractor and an old school bus in the creek are visible on the left.

New Bridge on Black Star Cyn Rd

School bus in the creek

A little past the the 2 mile mark you will see a house to your right, this is Black Star Bills house. If you see him say hi and keep on walking. When you reach the large concrete cylinders make a left and continue up the road. Making a right and dropping into the creek will take you to Black Star Waterfall

The next 3 miles are a gradual climb consisting of a few switchbacks and several hundred feet of elevation gain. (aprox 800ft) for the most part this section of the trail is exposed with very little shade and hardly and trees but around the 5 mile mark you will notice a bunch of Oak Trees on the right. This is the site of the Historic Indian village. This is a wonderful place for a break and an even better place to do some exploring. There’s a large amount of grinding rocks here which indicates that there was a large group of Indians that called this place home. There is a great lookout point located in the southwest section of the site.

Entering the Historic Indian Site

Grinding Rocks

Historic Indian Site

After a quick break and a small snack we continued on to the next of many points of interest on this hike. Next up, Beeks place, which is at the 8 mile mark. Beeks place sits on the Main Divide Rd and offers amazing views of Orange County, The San Gabriel Mountains and IE.

Entering the Cleveland National Forest

Beeks Place

We continued right, passing Beeks place and headed to our next destination, The Doppler Radar which is just over 1 mile from Beeks place.

Break time at the Doppler

On our way to Pleasants Peak we stopped at Little Pleasants Peak to check out the views

view from Little Pleasants Peak

Our next stop was Pleasants Peak (4,007 ft) This peak is much like the Santiago Peak but on a smaller scale of course. 360 views are not possible because of the many communication towers that call this place home but a quick scramble up the ridge provide awesome views!

Pleasants Peak

My beautiful wife an I before leaving Pleasants Peak

Leaving Pleasants Peak

From here we still had 8 miles to go! We thought it would be all down hill from here but we were mistaken. The rest of this trek on the Main Divide consisted of rolling hills once we reached the 17 mile mark we reached the junction with Main Divide and Silverado Truck Trail. We took the Silverado Trail (straight ahead)  for the remaining 3 miles to the car. Making a left will take you to Bedford Peak.

On our way down the Silverado Trail we had amazing views of Santiago Peak as the clouds rolled in.

Santiago Peak from Silverado Trail

Happy Trails,
Alex G

RECAP:

  1. ****STAY ON WIDE FIRE ROAD THE FIRST 17 MILES****
  2. First 8 miles are on Black Star Canyon Rd
  3. Make a right at Main Divide towards Beeks Place and continue for 9 miles
  4. At 17 mile mark go straight past the brown rails and take Silverado Trail for 3 miles to Maple Springs.
  5. Once on Silverado Canyon Rd make a right towards the Maple Springs parking lot
  • 20 MILES
  • 3,400 FT ELEV. GAIN
  • HISTORIC INDIAN SITE
  • DOPPLER RADAR
  • PLEASANTS PEAK(4,007FT)
  • 8 -10 HOURS TO COMPLETE
  • >>>>NO SHADE<<<<<
  • CAR SHUTTLE

CLICK HERE FOR MAP OF HIKE

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