Category: Peaks

Mount Baldy via the Backbone Trail – Summit #5

@serafinahikes

This would be Mount Baldy summit #5. It was a cool fall morning in the Cucamonga Wilderness in October as I began my hike to Mount Baldy from Manker Flats around 7:30 am. It was just below 50 degrees out and the weather was perfect. I had no planned eta on this one. However long it takes. However many breaks. If I needed to turn back I would. I was trying to be realistic, and not push too hard on this one. I began heading up Baldy Rd. towards the notch, since today I planned on summiting Mt Baldy via the Devil’s Backbone Trail. It had recently snowed here a week ago, and I had a feeling the snow had melted off along the trail just enough in the past few days, with the warmer drier conditions, to make the backbone trail safe and passable. I brought micro-spikes and a trekking pole for stability on small patches or snow or ice.

Butler Peak Fire Tower

@serafinahikes

Fall is here in California and October is the perfect time to hike near Big Bear Lake. I headed up the wide paved road to the Butler Peak Fire Lookout. The road is also a popular OHV route, and I started to be passed by multiple off-road vehicles. The landscape was dry and parched, characteristic of fall in California, but brightened by the flecks of color, as the leaves changed their shade.

Hiking to Monserate Mountain – Summit #2

@serafinahikes

It was my second time hiking to this peak, in northern San Diego County, just south of Murrieta. Why have I not been here more than once. It is only a 45 minute drive from my house. Enough excuses, and here I was for summit #2! Monserate Mountain loop is a popular and often crowded 4 miler. It is also the site of a 911 monument, which pays homage to those lost in the events of September 11th. Every year hiker's will visit here on that date, to pay their respects to the fallen. It was a gorgeous foggy and cool fall morning in September, similar to the first time I visited here.

Waterman Mountain Loop

@serafinahikes

My goal for today’s hike was to explore the Waterman Mountain loop, that sits within a scenic wilderness area of the San Gabriel Mountains. The trailhead sits along SR-2, the Angeles Crest Highway, and is a bit out of the way. It is well past Chilao Campground, and Mount Williamson, along with most of civilization. The highway had been closed for repairs for sometime, which made visiting here again exciting.

A 19.5 mile hike to Cottonwood Lakes and New Army Pass

@serafinahikes

In 2021 I obtained a permit to hike the JMT starting from Cottonwood Pass, late in the season, during the first week of September. I had been dreaming about hiking this trail for sometime. I knew all about the PCT, Kennedy Meadows, and the idea of entering the Sierra solo felt both scary and like… Continue reading A 19.5 mile hike to Cottonwood Lakes and New Army Pass