Mount Baldy — Saturday, Jan. 23, 2021

Hiked up to Mt Baldy on Saturday 1/23. As others have mentioned, the road is "closed" at the fork where Kachess Dam Rd turns in to NF-4818. There isn't a gate or anything, just a sign that says closed while there are obviously vehicle tracks continuing on down the road. Anyways, we followed the rules, parked, and walked to the Trailhead. The trail was in good shape, with only one moderately difficult blow down to deal with. There is a lot of crusty, icey snow throughout the trail, so microspikes were necessary. You start out climbing, then get a breather only to realize that what you were just doing wasn't really climbing, now you start the real climbing (that's not a knife... This is a knife!). Anyways, the final climb is a lung and leg burner, but the path has been fairly well trampled down so there was plenty of foot holes and good grip. Once on the ridge, enjoy a leisurely ridge walk to the summit and take in the spectacular 360 degree panoramas. Trip details: 11 miles, 6 hours, 3,881 ft gain

A few final notes: 1) In the current conditions, I would recommend microspikes and trekking poles. The snow is too icey, lumpy and there are boot holes everywhere. We lugged our snowshoes all 11 miles with us and never used them, I saw many other parties do the same. Poles would be useful for the steep climb and descent, Ice axe is overkill unless you want to pretend you're a grizzled mountaineer (which I did). 2) This hike packed amazing views and quite a bit of solitude. We only passed probably 8 parties total and shared the summit with only one other group, I'll take that any day of the week! 3) For being such a big climb, I was surprised how avalanche safe this trail looked. You're below the tree line the whole time and never have to cross any steep, exposed slopes. There are cornices to contend with on the ridge, but you have room to give them a wide birth. As always check NWAC and make you're own assessments while on the trail.