Tag Archives: Devil’s Backbone Trail

Gallery Update #11: Snags

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My Gallery Updates are about sharing photos I’ve added to the gallery section of this site. The galleries are my way of creating a visual approach to searching for hikes by having collections of photos that link to information about hiking to where each photo was taken.

This week I added a new Snags Gallery. One of my favorite blogs (Backyard Biology) recently posted a piece (Dead tree wildlife condo) describing the role that snags (dead or dying trees that are still standing) play in nature. Previously I didn’t know there was an ecological term for the many standing dead trees I photograph. Here’s a few in different contexts.

September 2011

September 2011

Above photo taken from the Devil’s Backbone Trail.

May 2012

May 2012

Above photo taken from the Islip Ridge Trail.

December 2012

December 2012

Above photo taken from the Mt. Hillyer Trail.

February 2012

February 2012

Above photo taken from the Silver Moccasin Trail near Little Pines Loop.

May 2012

May 2012

Above photo taken from the Pacific Crest Trail between Islip Saddle and Little Jimmy Campground.

Weekly Gallery Update #7: Trees

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My Weekly Gallery Updates are about sharing photos I’ve added to the gallery section of this site.  The galleries are my way of creating a visual approach to searching for hikes by having collections of photos that link to information about hiking to where each photo was taken.

This week I’ve added five photos to my existing Trees Gallery.

February 2012

February 2012

Above view from the Dawson Saddle Trail.

September 2011

September 2011

Above view as seen from the Devil’s Backbone Trail.

December 2011

December 2011

Above view from the Lower San Gabriel Peak Trail.

May 2012

May 2012

Above view from the Islip Ridge Trail.

November 2011

November 2011

Above view from the South Fork Trail

Introducing Weekly Gallery Updates

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I originally conceived of this blog as more of a website.  Presently, it’s a little bit of both.  When I started I had no concept of what a blog was as I had never followed one before.  While I do something to add content almost daily, I can go weeks without publishing a post.  Most of the time and effort I spend creating content is to be found on pages that don’t show up in news feeds and don’t have the ability to be tagged.  My current ratio is roughly one post for every six pages I create.

Lately, I’ve been thinking about that ratio.  At its core, this endeavor is about sharing my enthusiasm for hiking in Angeles Forest and hopefully inspiring and helping others to go there too.   In order to reach more people and emphasize better what can be found on the pages of this site, it is clear I need to post more.  At the same time, I’ve fallen way behind in updating key features I feel are central to how I want my site to work.

The gallery feature that I originally felt would be an important component of this site has gone neglected for far too long.  This feature gives one the option to visually search for hikes by looking through galleries of photos that link to information about hiking to where the photo was taken.  In part inspired by the WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge, I’ve decided to implement my own Weekly Gallery Update, where I publish a post of a few photos that I’ve added to one of my galleries.  This will help keep me on track updating my galleries, generate a post that alerts others of the new photos that were added, and introduce new readers to this visual approach to navigate my site.

This week I’ve added five photos to the Trails Gallery.  All photos in this gallery have a portion of trail depicted in them.  For me, these are places I really enjoyed the experience of walking through.

May 2012

Above view from the Devil’s Backbone Trail.

October 2011

Above view from the Dawson Saddle Trail.

August 2011

Above view from the Icehouse Canyon Trail.

November 2011

Above view from the Pacific Crest Trail.

April 2012

Above view from the Mt. Waterman Summit Trail

Ski Lift Short Cutting Our Way To Mt. Baldy

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There is no easy hike to Mt. Baldy.  There is just a comparatively easy hike among a myriad of significantly more strenuous options.  We chose this easier version for our weekly family and friends hike.  The hike begins by taking the ski lift up to Baldy Notch from the parking lot at the end of Mt. Baldy Road.  This eliminates over 1,500′ of gain over the next easiest way.

From Baldy Notch we took the Devil’s Backbone Trail to Mt. Baldy which gains a fairly steep 2,225′ over 3.2 miles.  The views are spectacular and descriptions and photos don’t capture what it feels like to walk and look out from the often precarious trail which has at some remarkable stretches drops of thousands of feet on both sides from a roughly four foot ridge.

Fortunately, we were treated to a crystal clear day.  Normally, the views of the Mojave Desert are clear.  However, to be able to see Catalina Island with reflections of the sun on the water is uncommon.

View toward Catalina Island from Mt. Baldy at 10,064′.

Going down the Devil’s Backbone Trail in the late afternoon provided many opportunities to enjoy the sun setting and casting reflections on the Pacific Ocean in the distance.

View toward the ocean from the Devil’s Backbone Trail

Using a tree to block the sun and allow me to enjoy looking at the Pacific Ocean.

As the sun went down and shade began to cover the trail, our focus turned toward making it down in time to eat at the restaurant.

After enjoying a festive meal celebrating the first Mt. Baldy summit for five of my companions we headed down the ski lift and enjoyed the last moments of sunlight and the lights coming on from the city below.

Science on Mt. Harwood

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Mt. Harwood is a peak that the Devil’s Backbone Trail traverses the south side of connecting Baldy Notch to Mt. Baldy.  The way to the summit isn’t obvious and is part use trail and part scree scramble.

View looking toward Mt. Harwood heading down the Devil’s Backbone Trail from Mt. Baldy.

Since hiking to Mt. Baldy is reasonably strenuous on it’s own, most people don’t bother peak bagging Mt. Harwood.  I didn’t the first several times either.  However, on one of my training hikes for Mt. Whitney I met another hiker (Charles) on Mt. Baldy who told me about his summit of Mt. Harwood as well as some science equipment near the summit. I had to see it myself and learn more clearly what the scientists are researching.

Description of the research objective of learning about the movement of the Earth’s crust.

View of the EarthScope Plate Boundary Observatory Station with Mt. Harwood in the background.

I enjoyed looking at Mt. Baldy from another vantage point as I headed up to the summit.

View toward Mt. Baldy heading up the scree scramble to Mt. Harwood.

Heading down from the summit and looking toward Mt. Baldy yields probably the most comprehensive view of the last portion of the Devil’s Backbone Trail leading up to Mt. Baldy

View of Devil’s Backbone Trail and Mt. Baldy.