Coach Travis completes the Mt Baldy 10 Peaks Traverse
Overview: The Mt Baldy ten peaks traverse is an approximately 40 mile route that summits ten different peaks in the mt baldy area. There is roughly 13,000 Ft of elevation gain with all peaks being above 8,000 Ft. The standard route starts at the bear canyon trail head, across the street from the the baldy lodge, and ascends the north face of mt baldy, and ends with a short road run down from Icehouse canyon trail head.
It started early Saturday morning, I excitedly rolled out of bed at the ungodly hour of 4 AM. After sucking down two cups of coffee and a Nalgene i was finally awake and the excitement began to hit me. Those nervous butterflies i get help channel my energy and get my adrenaline pumping for what I am about to experience. every time i step into the mountains my soul feels free and unrestrained by this crazy thing we call humanity. I feel an unlimited potential, a strong overwhelming feeling of belonging. Home.
The short drive up to Baldy village was full of hype music and plenty of signing along. (I was going hard on a new favorite band i discovered, Ocean Grove.) As I arrived it became apparent that i was actually one of the late starters. All the parking spots at the trail head were full! at 5 AM! After collecting my gear and doing some warm ups it was time for the attack. It was very peaceful running up the bear canyon road while everyone was fast asleep in their cozy cabins, unaware of the carnage that was about to go down outside of their windows. I step off the pavement. the steep dirt trail starts to climb the side of the canyon, washed with the light from the full moon. All you can see is steep faces all around you, and it seems impossible to climb that high that quick. After crossing the creek, the trail begins to switch back up the north face of Mt Baldy at an insane 17% average grade to bring you up 6,000 ft in 6 miles, 1,000 ft per mile. It is very important not to burn yourself on this first and biggest climb, so i just put my head down and grind it out, being mindful of my heart rate to not let it get too high, and fuel with plenty of carbs throughout the climb. After about two and a half hours, i was nearing the summit.
First on the list was West baldy, A small peak on the west side of baldy ridge. This short detour is only about a .5 mile from the baldy summit. I did not spend any time there, just snapping a pic and turning around to go get #2, Mt Baldy. At 10,064 ft, its the tallest mountain in the San Gabriels. I did the same thing on the summit, grabbed a picture, mixed up some HEED and munched on some gummies. They call the descent off the east face “suicide descent” and this is definitely the proper name. Steep, loose and exposed add some spiciness before reaching Mt Harwood. I found the small trail that cuts off the devils backbone and grabbed Harwood. No more than a 12 min detour. Snapped a pic on Harwood, and started to bomb the devils backbone. Another fitting name, the backbone follows a thin narrow ridge off to the east of the summit. The exposure is wild, with steep drop offs on both sides. I always make sure I am paying attention and the footing is solid. At this point i was passing all the morning hikers, getting me excited to get to the Notch restaurant to get water and a coke. After a quick re-up and coke chug, it was time for the Three T’s.
The three Ts are one of my favorite routes ever, I know them inside out, forward and back. It starts with Thunder mt. which is easily accessible on the ski trails to the top of chair 3. here, i sat down for a min to snack on some garlic rye chips, which are delicious. Telegraph peak is guarded on both sides by extremely steep and technical terrain. This mountain puts up a fight and can humble you quickly. But as with anything, I put my head down and started grinding. At this point i start checking on my water supplies. I had refiled my flasks at the notch but not my bladder. this would bite me in the ass later. As i bagged Telegraph, I ran into an older couple who told me they were in their 80s, and they were doing the three Ts out and back! This blew my mind. I told them “I want to be like you when I'm your age”. They assured me that if I kept doing what i was doing that day, I would be. This got me fired up, to share the mountain with someone who has the same passion just in a different style. I gave them a big GIDDYUP and was on my way down toward Timber mt.. I’ve done timber so many times that it was just routine. After snapping a quick pic and mixing some HEED, it was time to head down to Icehouse saddle and grab the 4 north side peaks.
Cucamonga peak was next on the list. This mountain is no joke, especially after 5 Peaks. As i was moving up the south face, I realized that I would not have enough water to complete Cucamonga and Etiwanda peak. After some careful calculation, I decided to keep charging on. I have some tricks up my sleeve for dealing with this situation. I dropped my pace but the climb was too great. It was also 92 degrees. After spooning my water all the way up, I had to drink the last sips while I was resting for a minute on the summit of cucamonga. I said screw it, what doesn't kill me makes me stronger. I embarked off of the east side of Cucamonga for the 1.5 mile trip to Etiwanda. This 1.5 miles felt like 10. I had to go all the way back down to Icehouse saddle and 1 mile up the Ontario peak trail to Kelly camp for the nearest water source. About a 7 mile trip with no water. It was hard. I almost made the decision to bail, but used my adrenaline to push me to Kelly camp. I did not come this far to give up. I got to Kelly camp and was severely dehydrated. I was stumbling and extremely dizzy. I sat and drank from the small pipe that was driven into the side of the hill with about 1 L a minute flow. I basked in the cold, refreshing water as it hit my lips and rolled down my chin. After drinking my fill, I mixed up yet another batch of HEED and headed up for my last two peaks. This is when the excitement kicked in. My body was beaten down pretty bad from the dehydration, and i was moving forward on pure heart and determination. Somehow, I saved the worst trail for last, the west ridge of Bighorn Mt. Loose, windy and steep with lots of dead fall made this final ascent and descent pure hell having to climb over logs and some mild bushwhacking. VICTORY!
I had bagged all ten peaks, Now all that was left to do was to descend Icehouse canyon as quickly as I could. I stopped at alder glen spring and grabbed the purest water coming straight out of the rock. Feeling much better descending I was able to move at a good pace being slowed down by the occasional hiker. Once I reached Icehouse trail head, I still had another 2 mile road run back to the village. I ended up running out of water again on the road. It was crazy hot. As i crossed the bridge over San Antonio creek i couldn’t think of anything other than an ice cold Coke. It was so intense i could taste it and visualized myself pounding one repeatedly. I smacked my car for the final time. 10:28:32
After fumbling my keys from my pack, I threw all my gear in and B Lined for the baldy Lodge. Right at this point i saw my girlfriend pulling up to join me for the celebration. I was so hot i could not catch my breath for 15 min, hyperventilating while talking and ordering my cokes. My Pupils were fully dilated and I was extremely high on all the endorphins. I immediately put down 2 cokes in quick succession. They snapped me back to reality, and me and my girlfriend ate chicken strips while reflecting on the day that I just had. Perfect ending to a perfect day in the mountains. Now it was time to go home and shower, rest and plan for the next adventure.
Since then, I have submitted the route to fastestknowntime.com and now am the FKT holder for the baldy 10 peaks traverse. I will now begin to work on improving this time, even though I know some savage will likely grab it. But that's totally fine, i like the extra motivation.
