Segment: Baldy Notch to Mt. Baldy (Devil’s Backbone Trail)
Stats: From Baldy Notch to Mt. Baldy:3.2 miles, 2225′ gain. From Mt. Baldy to Baldy Notch: 3.2 miles, 2225′ loss. Round Trip: 6.4 miles, 2225′ of gain and loss.
Last Hiked: 9-12-2012
Hikes:
From Baldy Notch, head north up the road until you reach the intersection.
Looking down toward Baldy Notch from dirt road intersection
At the intersection, turn left (west) and hike up the dirt road.
Up (left) goes to Mt. Baldy, down (right) goes to Stockton Flat, behind (not in photo) goes to Thunder Mountain.
As indicated at the sign at the intersection, there are about 1.2 miles to travel along the road to reach the Devil’s Backbone Trail.
Sign at the intersection.
Along the way up the road, you will see two options to go left (or if coming down from the summit to go right) that a little longer but significantly less steep making them easier to traverse. The first one looks like this:
Go left to travel a longer but significantly less steep trail taking you under the ski lift, go right for the most direct way to the summit.
View where the trail reconnects with the road. Go right for the longer and less steep trail, go left for the more direct route.
The second trail going off the road is close by and the junction looks like this:
Slightly longer and less steep trail on the left, more direct road on the right.
The trail reconnects with the road again near the ski lift area (pictured below). From there, continue up to Mt. Baldy
View of Ski Area from where the trail reconnects with the road.
More photos of the Devil’s Backbone Trail here
Hiking Angeles Forest 