Ride Report Mt. San Antonio - aka Mt. Baldy

Don't do it.

I've hiked it before several times, and it's a strenuous but enjoyable hike. But I've lived within view of the peak all my life, and always in the back of my mind thought "One day, I should ride this." I'm a somewhat strong climber - not very fast, but I like climbing. I'm wierd.

Just don't. Read this, get it out of your system, and be happy you're doing the Floop or San Gabes out of Pasadena or Hurkey or Sycamore w/ nipples or Aliso or CHSP or...you get the idea.

Started out from Manker Flats along Mt. Baldy Rd, and proceeded to ride up Falls Rd toward the notch at the top of the lifts. It was a cool morning in the shade, the parking areas were packed with cars, and I was ready. The fire road ascent combined with the elevation was getting me breathing hard pretty fast, but it was sustainable. "No prob" I think to myself.




At the top of the fire road, where the lift dumps you out..."I got this!" I'm thinking...





...until I see what I thing is going to be the steepest part. If it looks steep and loose to you, you're not alone. This was, however, just the beginning.#-o





I clear this initial steep section by walking a good portion of it. Like all of it. Man, my calves were not happy about that. I clear it after waaay too much time hiking, and can finally roll just a bit, when I look ahead and see this:



Crap! It's like, going straight up! If you look closely in the pic above, you'll see the singletrack going off to the left high up on the mountain side. Well, it becomes an exercise in determination and method recovery...I'm forced to stop for breaks pretty regularly on this section. I would end up just stopping and standing there for a minute. Just...standing. The bike of course is not to blame. It was performing flawlessly as a 30-lb anchor with wheels. (Flash back to March: Sure, let's add a 2 lb dropper post!...Flash back to January: Sure, let's add heavier tires!) I'n not a fan of flashbacks.

So by now I've done the hard work, earned my badge, made up for whatever evil I've done while on a bike. And so I rest. Heck, even God rested on the seventh day, right? Enter gratuitous bike picks while I rest:





Just after shooting the above pic, I stand up and my internal dialogue kicks in: "Whoaoaahh!!!!! Wait a second here - WTF is THAT up ahead? Yeah, I know it's the peak smartass. I'm talking about how I'm getting there. Again with the trail going like, straight up!?! Where are the long, swooping switchbacks? Where are the short flat areas for catching a breather?"

Where's that smiley for crying?



So as I approach this last (I hope!) segment of a death-march, I'm seriously contemplating just quitting. Turn around, head back. I've done enough, haven't I? Is this really what I want to be doing? Is it worth it?
Of course the answer lies in my knowledge of how I would feel if I didn't finish...that nagging, that "What if?", that "How the hell could you quit when you were so close?" feeling.

I slug on. More time is spent resting than climbing now. I take maybe 7-8 strides, either pushing my bike or carrying it across my back, and I must rest for a solid 2-3 minutes before I can continue. This was a stupid idea.

The second pic below was taken by a hiker. Before he caught up to me. Handlebars swinging around hitting me in the face, pedal poking me in the low back...I was not having fun.



I did eventually make it. I can check this off the list. I never have to do it again. Nor would I want to.



So if you haven't tried hiking in your cycling shoes, good for you. It's even worse going downhill though. I had resigned myself to walking down most of the Devil's Backbone section, as the trail is narrow and there were a lot of hikers going up and down the trail. On the way I met another insane person with his bike up there. He was easily persuaded into turning around - running out of water makes it easy to decide to head back. He and I basically hiked much of the way back down the Backbone section in between hikers. It wasn't until the last section before the Lodge that we were comfortable getting on the bikes to ride.

The fire road was a fast, fun trip back down. Unfortunately I lost track of the other rider - he stopped to check something and I never saw him again. Anyway, I was zooming - I figured I should get as much out of this as possible, so I was practicing letting off the brakes more than usual, carrying more speed into the turns, and leaning further onto the edges of the tires. It was a blast!

Did this last few minutes of fun make up for the stupidity of going up to the peak? No.

Would I ever do this ride again? Hell no.

Would I recommend this ride to anyone else? No - in fact, I would try to dissuade anyone from doing it.

Don't do it.





Now, with all of that behind me, I would like to learn about the trails/roads behind Baldy Notch - the ones that head down to Lytle Creek. I'm already thinking of cooler weather and a loop ride from Rancho, up and over the notch, down thru Lytle Creek, and back...:-k:lol:

 

I've hiked Baldy a few times. I would've never even considered trying it on a bike--too steep, too narrow, too rocky, too loose. Kudos on completing a trek most would never attempt.

 

You came back down the wrong trail...bummer you missed the goods after that long of a HAB. The back side: road down to Stockton Flats is good after that it is a mess on a bike with very loose big bady heads almost all the way to the firing range.

 

What "goods" are you referring to Dean? Didn't see much choice in coming down...the Ski Hut trail is too steep, loose, and narrow to navigate w/ hikers (worse than Backbone if I remember correctly), and the other one further west drops you down into the village. I'd then have had to ride up Mt. Baldy Rd to Manker Flats to my car. None of these options are good IMO.

Thanks for the heads-up on the backside though. Maybe it's not a good idea either, but I wish it could be.

 

Nice job getting to the top with a bike! I don't blame you for thinking it was not worth it. Too many hikers to enjoy riding DBB anyways even if it were more rideable. Your mistake wasn't going up there with the bike though, it was not taking the best way down. Thats all I'll say online, but if you are interested the info is out there. Just park in the village and ride up.

Here is some beta on dropping down the far side of the notch. I'm not aware of any trails on that side, and even the road was washed out. No idea of its current condition.
http://www.socaltrailriders.org/forum/ride-reports/60676-gabes-redux.html

 

Great job on making it to the top. Thanks for the RR, it makes me want to go back soon. That is one of my favorite hardcore ride. A couple years back I thought I could ride down the ski hut trail but that was a big mistake...I could only ride 75% max of that trail. Ending at the Village is the way to go.

 

Nice freakin job! This is as nuts as the guys who did most of the "Skyline Trail."

 

Some maps call it Bear Canyon Trail others call it Village Trail....it is the trail that drops you out back at Baldy Village. Some maps show it in the wilderness others show it right on the border. I have talked to the forest service surveyor about it being wilderness or not and they really don't know for sure and he said go ahead and ride it as no one is stupid enough to take a bike up there anyway.

 

Now THAT'S an epic ride!

:lol: Apparently I am! As for Bear Canyon Trail, after looking into it on various hiking web sites it sounds interesting (6 miles, up, nearly 6000' gain). But I'm still not sure how bike-appropriate it would be. I'll have to look into it further, and maybe test it out...WAIT, WHAT AM I SAYING!?!

 

Nice outing! Hats off for thinking out of the box, Pat. TFPU.

Pushing my bike has gotten me to and through so many great vistas, experiences, trails...I don't think of it as an evil at all. In hindsight.

 

:lol: Apparently I am! As for Bear Canyon Trail, after looking into it on various hiking web sites it sounds interesting (6 miles, up, nearly 6000' gain). But I'm still not sure how bike-appropriate it would be. I'll have to look into it further, and maybe test it out...WAIT, WHAT AM I SAYING!?!

redwoods, Manker to Backbone Tr is the way up, Bear Cyn is for the ride down. Almost all of it can be ridden down. It works best to have a shuttle from the Baldy Bar to Manker Flats.

 

A few of my buddies and I did this hike-a-bike/ride last month. I was cursing a little bit and saying, the down better be worth this climb! Most of the hikers on the way up were calling us all crazy, which was pretty funny! Got to the peak had a PB/honey sammie and some Chomp blocks, then we were off. We went down Ski Hut trail. I had a blast once I figured out riding the "scree". The buckthorn was a little much but I survived. At first I was like, I'm never doing this again! but now....I'd do it again!

BTW Nice RR I enjoyed it!

 

More than impressed !

Hank

 

Your uphill route combined with the Bear downhill is one of my favorite rides in Southern California. Funny how different our experiences are.

BB

 

good stuff! nice big mountain feel to it eh?

i've ridden this a handful of times and as mentioned, the only way down is bear flats trail (ski hut trail is fun and has some wild sections, but i couldn't ride ~10-15% of it) so done with that route. in my opinion, it makes the top 3 most epic socal descent list (can't mention the other 2 ), but its not for everyone. have good brakes for this puppy as its a brake dragger for 6k!

 

Thanks guys...dammit, now I really need to check out Bear trail! Seriously tho, it really was the lack of a good downhill payoff that made the climb not worth it. Ugh, I so don't want to want to do this climb again, if you know what I mean. I'll have to look elsewhere for big rides for a while - I'm not ready to reconsider this yet. Someday I can see it as a possibility, with a few changes to my planning, such as 1) not riding alone, and 2) not riding on a weekend.

 

Wow, if you're going to get up there you have to at least repay yourself for the pain and go down Bear. It's very rideable.

Now ya gotta do it again.

 

If it'll make you feel any better.. I hauled my xc skis 7 miles each way from the Wolverton trailhead to the Tablelands in Sequoia NP, and skied about 200 yards. Then I carried them all the way back out. The best part of that experience was I managed NOT to break my leg.

I'm guessing your 2nd trip will make you a fan of Baldy. Bring some friends and SHUTTLE!!! from Baldy Village to the lifts, then you won't have to ride the road. I haven't personally made the Bear Flats descent but if Donkey loves it, it must be good. (Oh wait, he did some epic bog slog in Alaska, I think.) Anyway, could it be any worse than going back down the UP route, or descending the Sierra Club hut trail!?!

Other worthless advice.. take off the pedals once you're in HAB mode. Leave the dropper post at home. Zero pavement if possible. Big tires and big brakes.

Props for getting out there and tackling something new (and big!). Thanks for a great report!

 

You can also save your legs by taking the lift to the Notch. Only saves like 800ft but for me it is best to save energy for the decent. If Boxer gets her way that ride will be over as it is scheduled to be brought into Sheep Mountain Wilderness area. Don't wait too long to go back.

 

Sheesh, you people are ruthless! #-o:lol:

@ Jim - Years ago I was hiking up Baldy with a buddy in early summer, probably June, and we saw two guys up there who had hiked their skis up to the top for a tiny patch of snow...maybe 200-300' patch on the north face. I was amazed.

@ Dean - When will this designation change happen? This could change things...