Mt Baldy’s open again: go climb the tallest peak in Los Angeles County.

Words: Keaton Kustler Photos: Steady Archives

In September 2024, visitor access to Mt Baldy ,the tallest peak in Los Angeles County was closed due to the Bridge Fire. Reopening dates were TBD, then slated for December 2025, and then…seemingly out of nowhere, the Ski Hut and Devil’s Backbone trails partially reopened at the end of May. The Bear Canyon Trail remains closed…but Devil’s Backbone is the trail I’ve had on my list since I got really into running trail.

So, on June 1st, I dragged my ass out of bed at 5am, with enough time to put two Celsuis and a coffee in me, and headed up to Claremont with my friends Kam, Sam, Steady, and Yuriko. Kam happened to be visiting from New York, and had never run a “real” trail before…but we’d just ripped a 400 mile ultra-relay race across the state of New York together , so even though this was the first trail run of her life, I knew she could hack it.

Sam met me at mine, we scooped up Kam along the way, and we met Steady and Yuriko on the mountain, hitting the trail by 7:30 or so. The plan was to summit via the Ski Hut route, which is the shortest but steepest way up, and to descend via Devil’s Backbone - a windy ridge with nothing but air on either side of the single track trail. We’d make a pit stop at The Notch for $8 cokes before zipping down the fire road to the cooler of less expensive snacks waiting for me in my car.

I’m by no means the world’s best trail runner, and I’m garbage at vert, but the Angeles National Forest has been been calling my name all year, and having never been up Baldy, I wanted to get ‘er done before summer gets too hot, and before hordes of other runners and hikers realize Baldy is back open. We started our run at 6,000 feet of elevation, and I quickly accepted I’d be doing more hiking than running for the next 4 miles as we climbed the additional 4,000 feet of loose rocks up to the top. Like real runners, our stop at at the Ski Hut, was an excuse to eat Nerds Gummy Clusters and sour worms before noon “for fuel”. We made it to the 10,064 foot peak of Mount Baldy just as the clouds started to burn off for the day. I have to pause to get back on my bullshit: Nature is crazy, and my favorite part of living in Los Angeles is how much nature I can experience for literally FREE within an hour of my apartment. No parking fees, no permits, no tickets, no QR codes, no assholes playing shitty music on a portable bluetooth speaker…just a trail and some wooden signs stuck in the side of a mountain. There’s no railing either. You either pay attention, or you don’t…and you fall off the side of a mountain. I don’t have plans to fall off a mountain anytime soon.

As rewarding as it was to look down on Los Angeles from 10,000 feet up, the way down was where we really got to fly. Steady casually pulled his DSLR out of hydration pack as if it was nothing. He snapped photos of us while we all quite literally galloped down the Devil’s Backbone. It was sick as hell. Once you get some momentum going, you’re really just prancing on this skinny little path, your eyes flitting between the ground beneath your feet, and the vast nothingness that is the drop on both sides of you. It should feel scary, but I think the altitude makes you fearless.

We refilled our waters at The Notch, an overpriced bar/restaurant with an empty ski lift churning, and put down a few more speedy miles before rinsing off in San Antonio Falls as the sun reached its full strength for the day. Oh- did I not mention the waterfall at the bottom of the trail? Yeah, that was pretttttty cool.

11 miles in about 3 hours isn’t bad when you consider the vert and terrain. If you plan to go, don’t be a dumbass: make sure you carry enough water; 2 liters at least…more if it’s a scorcher. Oh…and take your rings off, your hands swell like crazy when you get up that high.

Nature is free. Running is free. Hiking is free. Wake up early, and go outside. You wont regret it.

Not a little bitch? Then come run with Keaton and Vacant Strava club the first Saturday of every month.