Baldy Pass extended revisit

So very long ago, I played in the Baldy Pass area one day with a bunch of friends.  I figured it was about time to take that play further and recruit a crew to come along.  Being almost eon-like years later, a different month, different weather, different conditions than the prior time, this could be like a whole brand new hike and experience.  It was exactly that.  Gearing up in the trail head parking lot and seeing surrounding scenery like this, I knew we were in for one fine day.

The trail did not look that familiar, well it is many years later plus it took a devastating blow from that flood in June of 2013.  Along the way when the views opened we spied our first destination which is that bump up there in the middle.

Baldy Pass

After taking a short break at Baldy Pass to add a layer and have a snack, we aimed north to scrabble over and up all that rocky stuff then scramble up the short section to the the first summit spot which would be the southern-most bump of Mount Baldy.  We put our plan in place and then went about our playtime business.

my first destination spot

Nakiska Ski Hill behind me

another view from our summit spot looking towards the Hunchback Hills I believe

then looking north to the next major bump of Mount Baldy

We stayed at our first summit spot just long enough to capture our group and individual shots.  We gingerly scrambled our way down to a flat wide open section to dine.  We could see Midnight Peak to our left.  Later when we were back at Baldy Pass, we watched two as*es slide in the snow from the very top on their behinds down that first steep left gully.  It looked purposeful yet out of control.

my view whilst dining

We had a second objective for today and that was to head back to The Pass then explore south up onto a ridge.  We reached many cairns of varying sizes.  This being the largest so I elected to have my second summit shot taken here.  Above my head is where our first summit spot was.

We aimed higher until we found a wide open space with a grand vista.  

This would be our second lunch spot.  

We spent some time here feeling the sun beat down upon us.

It was now time  to call it a day and retrace our steps back to where we began our day this morning.  I was glad we had a somewhat early start (not really that early but earlier than most others) because the area was quite populated by now.  Back at Baldy Pass, we slipped on our microspikes to safely and securely tackle the snow and ice as we descended.

I would rate this extended revisit as a successful mission.  

How could it be anything but when your stars align in every which way.