by AlanK » Wed Aug 22, 2007 2:26 pm
The Big Baldy Loop starts from the Icehouse Canyon Parking Lot. It includes a walk down to the Village on the road, a trip up Baldy via the Bear Flats Trail, the Backbone Trail to the Notch and the 3Ts Trail back to Icehouse Canyon. It is a bit over 20 miles.
Some people hit the summits along the way: West Baldy, Harwood, Baldy, Thunder, Telegraph, and Timber. We call this the 6 PEaks hike. It is about 22 miles.
We (my son and I) have done a 9 Peaks version that is also popular in a certain crowd. The extra three peaks are Ontario, Bighorn, and Cucamonga, in no particular order. Our route was 32 miles, but one can shorten that a bit with better route choices.
I believe that Rick Kent has done an 11 peaks version, which included Etiwanda and Sugarloaf. We tried that this summer but had to retire early due to a foot problem (mine). I think that our route would have been around 32 miles.
There is also Baldy via San Antonio Ridge. the route starts at Heaton Flat, ascends Iron Mountain, and then takes San Antonio Ridge over to West Baldy. Most people do a car relay and descend via the Ski Hut of Bear Flats trails. Rick Kent has done Heaton Flat to Baldy and back. The second time, he descended to Manker Flat for a snack as an addition to the route.
Of course, there is also Baldy from Venice Beach. Richard Piotrowski has done it. He used a bicycle to get to Baldy Village. Of course, Richard has done Whitney with that approach, but not as a single day outing.