Mt. Harwood 9,537 ft. via Register Ridge, Mt. Baldy 10,066 ft., Mt. Dawson 9,560 ft. Mt. Pine, back to Mt. Baldy, descending via Mt. Baldy Bowl Tr.
Hiked with: Mary & Sharon from HPS.
Trail:
Register Ridge: very steep, with beautiful views, going through pine forest & rocky terrain.
From intersection with Devil’s Backbone Tr. we went up to Mt. Harwood. Trail smooth, gentle to the summit.
We descended down to Devil’s Backbone Tr. from there up to Mt. Baldy. This area is steep with various foot paths, to the right side on, felt gentler ascent. It is a combination of rocky, scree & such.
From Mt. Baldy we took North Backbone Tr. to Mt. Dawson. Descending to the saddle through rocky & times steep switch backs. Just before the saddle in between Mt. Baldy & My. Dawson, there is an area of maybe 100-150 feet, very narrow, super exposed, with huge drops to the left side. USE CAUTION! Especially if you are not too kin of exposure, like me😜 You need excellent hiking shoes so you won’t slip. Poles is a must! I think it might be an easier way to bypass this area (especially if high winds, or rain, or fear) by going through the right side, it is bushy, but I’ve seen a faint use path worth exploring. The people in my group were not up to it, because they don’t relate to my “uncomfortable feeling” but, next time I’ll try it that way.
From there up to Mt Dawson, steep, switchbacks, trail is safe & ok. Make sure you take the right side faint trail, when you get close to the summit, otherwise, the North Backbone Tr. continues ahead to Pine Mt. it wraps around the mountain towards left side. To summit go up & stay to the right & follow the faint use trail.
From summit of Mt. Dawson, follow the faint use trail almost perpendicular to Mt. Pine, will descend into North Backbone Tr. There are few various faint use trails here. The point is to keep left on the ridge side & down to the saddle between Dawson & Pine & get back on North Backbone Tr.
From Saddle, up steep switchbacks, rocky, scree, limestone. Few exposed areas, but ok. Summit is beautiful, has some flat spots, pines with shade, beautiful!
Weather: we started early & was already warm! We had shade on & off on Register Ridge Tr. From there on, was mostly exposed.
Water Source: Ski Hut/ Sierra Club Cabin, on Mt. Baldy Bowl Tr.
Wildlife Sightings. Two deer, squirrels, birds, lizards
Other Hikers:
Injuries: One from our group fell, hit tight elbow & bruised right side of rib cage area. Otherwise after bandaging she was ok to continue . This happened on descend via Mt. Baldy Bowl Tr. Be careful, can be slippery on scree & rocky trails.
Highlight Of The Hike::amazing area, very strenuous, steep trails, met beautiful people.
Richard a hiker from Santa Clarita who has Romanian roots! Took photos for us😜❤️
Two brothers: Seth & Yan, from Texas who were visiting his father!
‘X” solo male hiker who descend via the gully aka Mt. Baldy Bowl😜 Yeah, that crazy almost vertical sand & scree thing that you see dominating as you climb via the regular trail.
Another fellow hiker from HPS, don’t know his
name.
Few others, which we didn’t exchange words.
A couple that camped at the Mt. Baldy summit.
Note To Self:
Didn’t sleep well the night before.
Blessed to be able to hike.
Happy to spread positivity!
Love can’t be bought! But....one can inspire people to do good, to be better!
I am who I am. I know who I am. You can love me or hate me...it’s up to you! I won’t change because you think I should. I try to do good.