Mt. Baldy & Hearst Castle

Here is bottom of the lift. This photo was taken after I came down. On the way up the sky was unsettled and it even sprinkled a bit.

At the top of the lift, inside of the lodge, we find a sign indicating our destination is 4.1 miles away. On the way to the summit I had to pass over the Devil's Backbone!

And 1.7 miles later here I am, at the backbone, making a funny picture to hide my mounting fear.

Actually, the backbone part of the trail, seen here from above, is pretty damn cool. It drops off steeply on either side but is so wide that it isn't a big deal. The parallel curves in the background are Interstate 15 as it winds up/down from Cajon Pass south of Victorville.

And here is a view of the trail just beyond the backbone. The trail is cut into a near vertical cliff.

We are getting close, the vast summit is to the left of my head.

Switchbacks on the final push to the top. Note the drastic change in the weather from the previous picture.

And...these people I don't know have made it to the top. I spent 90 minutes going up and 90 minutes going down after relaxing for about an hour on the summit.

A fair number of people made the hike that day, including this group featuring the woman with the oversized Asian visor. When I first saw her I did a double take and wondered what Em's mom was doing up here. Thankfully Em's mom doesn't were humongous visors.

According this plaque and the information at the ski lift the elevation gain from the top of the ski lift is 2264 feet. Based on some people I talked to it was a pretty clear day for Mt. Baldy. In fact, although the Los Angles basin was covered with a layer of smog we could see some of the peaks from Catalina Island sticking out above the clouds, about 73 miles away, as the crow flies.

With time to kill before our tour we went down to the beach. Hearst Castle is on top of the hills to the left of Em.

This picture, with four distinct zones, pleases me to no end.

Must pet puppy!

Except for a few Korean tourists we enjoyed the tour and our guide tremendously.

Lunching with my parents at Nepenthe I managed to lodge some food in my teeth and Em was not willing to help me dislodge it. This photo and subsequent viewing on the 2"x2" viewfinder was a failed attempt to extract the offending debris.