My one day to get out on a hike so I headed east to try and get out of the rain. Mission accomplished, but I was still in the clouds and I bet there was some really good views from Mount Baldy. Not a whole lot to add to other past trip reports. Above 4700 ft. there was a dusting to an inch of new snow. Probably with the sun being out in the next few days it should all melt away.
WTA directions were good, just a small distinction on a road description. It says to turn on the "gravel road" off of the dam road. Maybe years ago it was a graded gravel road, but today it is a pot-holed compacted-dirt road. I went past it the first time to make sure there wasn't a gravel road I was missing. The pot holes on the dam road and the turn off to the trailhead were all manageable at low speeds. No cars at the trailhead when I arrived. Never saw anyone on the trail and the lot was still empty when I got back to the trailhead. No wildlife sightings but I did some large elk tracks in the lower part of the trail. The trail is a nice workout if there are no views. Pretty steady elevation gains working the ankle tendons and hamstrings going up. Knees and quads were screaming on the way down. Garmin puts it a bit less than 8 miles roundtrip and 3000ft elevation gain. Too cold and exposed at the top for a proper lunch (and I forgot my thermos of hot tea).
Comments