Southern California's Three Saints–
Southern California's three tallest peaks are all named for saints: San Antonio (everyone calls it Mount Baldy), San Gorgonio and San Jacinto. This fall I set out to stand on top of all three, one hike at a time. First up was Mount Baldy (10,064 ft), on September 26.
San Antonio Peak–
I drove up from home that morning. There were a lot of cars parked by the trailhead, but I found quite a bit of parking farther up the road, between the trailhead and the resort parking lot. I started from Manker Flats at 9:20. The directions are simple: walk up Falls Road past San Antonio Falls to Mt. Baldy Road, then turn up the Baldy Bowl Trail, which climbs past the Sierra Club Ski Hut. The spring there was still running in late September. It's a steep one: 4.1 miles of nearly nonstop climbing to the summit, which took me 3 hours and 10 minutes. From the top I could see the other two saints, San Gorgonio and San Jacinto, lined up to the east and waiting for me.
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| The gate on Falls Road at Manker Flats, where the hike starts |
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| San Antonio Falls, down to a trickle in late September |
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| The Sierra Club Ski Hut, tucked into the trees at about 8,200 feet |
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| In the Baldy Bowl, with the summit ridge still a long way up |
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| Steep, loose trail on the way up |
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| Looking back down the Baldy Bowl trail on the way up, with the valley far below |
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| The summit: San Antonio, better known as Mt. Baldy, 10,064 feet |
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| The other two saints from the summit: San Gorgonio on the left, San Jacinto on the right |
I came down the Devil's Backbone to the Notch, at the top of the Mt. Baldy Resort lifts. On the way I took a bit of a slip on some loose talus and mildly tweaked my left ankle. Gotta be more careful! At the Notch I had a well-earned burger and a cold NA beer, bought a lift ticket right at the bar counter, and rode the Sugar Pine chairlift (Chair 1) down like a civilized person.
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| Looking back at the summit from the Devil's Backbone |
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| The reward at Top of the Notch |
Baldy was steeper than I expected, both up and down. But all in all it was a great day, even with the ankle tweak. Thank goodness for the chairlift down to save my ankles and knees!
The numbers from my watch: 6.9 miles, 3,510 feet of climbing, 13,572 steps, and 4 hours and 56 minutes on the clock. Here is the full track on Garmin Connect
One down, two to go
Next up is San Gorgonio, the tallest of the three, and after that San Jacinto. Stay tuned!
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